Twice a Month Weigh In?

kalchthaleri
kalchthaleri Posts: 231 Member
in Motivation and Support
So here is my deal. January 1, 2014 I was 338lbs. Slowly I lost the weight...WW for the first 80lbs. and then this for the rest. My goal was 128lbs. I got to that. But then my goal was 125lbs. Got to that. Then my goal was 122lbs. You can see where this is headed. Got down to 115lbs. and was losing my hair, fingernails brittle, exercising 3 hours a day, eating 800 calories a day. So I got some help. I gained some back. Today I am 134.5 (49 years old, 5ft. 4in.) I limit myself to 3.5 mile run daily, morning aerobics for 20 minutes, bed time routine for 10min. I want to get down to 125 again. BUT I DON’T want the scale to control my mood. I am having good success in the Just Give Me 10 Days thread on MFP but I wonder...I weigh in every day...should I try scaling that back? Weigh in on the 1st and 15th of the month maybe? Does anyone else feel like a prisoner to the scale?

Replies

  • brianpperkins131
    brianpperkins131 Posts: 90 Member
    It comes down to if you have the discipline to eat so that you remain in a healthy weight range without daily or even weekly monitoring?
  • kalchthaleri
    kalchthaleri Posts: 231 Member
    Yeah...I mean I guess I can give it a try and see what happens. Thanks!
  • brianpperkins131
    brianpperkins131 Posts: 90 Member
    If you're weighing daily now, then maybe the first step is to go twice a week or weekly and see if you keep your weight in the range you're looking for as you step back from the scale.
  • kalchthaleri
    kalchthaleri Posts: 231 Member
    Yes...that seems that would be a little easier mentally...yeah! Thanks!
  • nanimoose
    nanimoose Posts: 60 Member
    I personally also dealt with an eating disordered past. I am 5'3" and part of me wants to get back to 115, but I know that's a slippery slope for me, to weigh myself. Instead, I focus on how my clothes feel on my body, and take pictures to note progress. I tried doing just measurements, but found that equally triggering of my obsessiveness.

    I also am focusing on my fitness goals: flexibility, balance, strength, endurance, etc.. and on building consistent, realistic exercise habits. I figure that the high I receive from seeing a lower weight is too addictive for me, in that it propels me towards unhealthy behaviors to get my fix, ya know? Seeing a higher weight also ruined my day. I figure focusing on developing healthy habits will keep me sane whilst managing my weight.

    All this said, I weighed myself in March, and was nearly 130, I weighed myself on a random scale (the temptation is always there) this month and with my jacket and boots and sweater and was reading in at 124. Even without having done that, I knew I had lost weight from my pictures and clothes, ya know?

    I think with someone with an eating disordered past, the best thing for me was focus my tendency to obsess and track numbers, was to track things other than weight. Walk distance, steps, following a exercise program. I like structure and numbers and goals, but my weight really isn't an issue, I'm a healthy weight, so why am I so fixated on it? What I'm really trying to achieve by getting to a smaller weight is health, being slim, and fit.. and I can achieve that without knowing my weight, especially since I'm in a healthy range.

    I didn't mean to go on so long there, this may not even be quite relevant to you. Basically to answer your question: for myself, the less I weigh myself the happier and healthier I am, as a person with an eating disordered past. I'd suggest going for the least amount of times you can weigh yourself while still remaining on track with your healthy habits, and that's probably something you'll have to experiment with.
  • kalchthaleri
    kalchthaleri Posts: 231 Member
    This is REALLY really helpful. Wow. Thank you. Thank you so very very very much.

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