Does anyone not weigh themselves?

hannah_tuthill
hannah_tuthill Posts: 5 Member
edited July 2021 in Getting Started
Hi
I've just started counting calories again after creeping up from a size 12 to nearly a size 16 (uk sizes!)
Last time I lost weight i was constantly weighing myself and found it stressed me out far to much when I didn't lose so would just give up!How have people got on with staying motivated going by how your clothes feel/taking photos?

I cant be the only one that doesn't wanna go by weight surely 🙈

Replies

  • JessD9031
    JessD9031 Posts: 581 Member
    I weigh myself about once a month or less. I am on maintenance, and have not seen any changes in a few years.
  • dylangrrrrl
    dylangrrrrl Posts: 64 Member
    I like to weigh in every two or three weeks or longer to help ensure I weigh less each time. This helps me to not get discouraged by the scale.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,734 Member
    I'm in maintenance but still weigh myself weekly because I need that slap to the head to remind me to tone down the mindless eating I still do.

    I would love to be able to be one of those that can keep myself in check without having to log or weigh but that's not gonna happen. :)
  • MsBaz2018
    MsBaz2018 Posts: 384 Member
    I have decided not to weigh myself this time around. I lost a lot of weight and gained it back plus some; weight loss was my obsession. I am trying to just eat healthy, in reasonable portions (hence MFP) and exercise,. I want the idea of a lifestyle to stick. As much as I have always told myself that I would be a life long calorie counter, I have always made it previously about weight loss.

    Instead of weighing I go by feel. Yesterday for example I tried on a couple of pieces of clothing to see how far I am from the dress zipping up or the top fitting comfortably.

    Plus tbh I just don't want to see what the scale shows right now :). I'll probably step on a scale when I fit back into some idenfied clothes.
  • swimmchick87
    swimmchick87 Posts: 458 Member
    I don't weigh myself. I'm a serial yo-yo dieter and I like to tell myself I at least learn something from each time. Summer before last, I felt like I had a lot of it figured out and was doing really well. I set my goal to lose 1 pound per week, and with getting more calories per day, no longer felt like I was white knuckling it. Except with constant weighing, 1 pound per week seems super slow. Especially when there are natural fluctuations. Over the summer, I went from 203 (highest weight ever) to 190. Decent progress especially considering I'd knowingly set myself up to only lose 1 pound per week. The problem was that I got depressed that I'd worked hard all summer, and was still "super fat." I could lose 20 more pounds and still be "really fat." Cue falling off the wagon again.

    After that, I quit weighing myself. I focus on how much better I feel emotionally and physically when I eat better, and made that my number one reason for staying on track rather than focusing on pounds. Of course as time went on I lost clothing sizes, and was sort of able to track progress that way.

    That said, I've done this rodeo so many times that I'm sure I'm logging correctly, taking exercise calories into account correctly, etc. I know exactly what I need to do to lose weight, it's just the matter of doing it/sticking with it. For someone who is new to this, I would recommend weighing, at least for the first few months, to ensure that you're really doing everything correctly and it's working. Waiting to change clothing sizes, especially if you're starting in bigger sizes, can be a slow process.
  • NerdyScienceGrl
    NerdyScienceGrl Posts: 669 Member
    I become obsessed with the number on the scale and it ends up mentally draining watching it shift up and down, so I have learned to stop weighing myself all the time. In the last two months, I started taking measurements every other Saturday morning. I weigh myself while doing that and hide the scale the rest of the time.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    There was a period when I weighed every month and it didn't go well.

    I now weigh every day and log it into the Happy Scale app (iphone) - the trend line helps me deal with the normal
    water weight fluctuations.
  • I2k4
    I2k4 Posts: 188 Member
    edited June 2021
    Nice that somebody asked this. I don't own a scale. I'm a natural mesomorph and the only measure of interest is waist size 36" or less. In 2019/20 unstructured low carb and being constantly vaguely hungry took me from an alarming 40" and fat new pants and belts, down to 36" again. Last winter I gained a bit and am using my historic fit target weight to calibrate nutrition on MFP, without knowing or caring about actual weight, but counting calories and macros, working out and using the mirror to spot muscle versus blubber. I've never thought scale weight measures how I look or feel, or found knowing weight to be all that informative.
  • willboywonder
    willboywonder Posts: 137 Member
    I never do. I see my progress in other says without using a scale. A few months ago, I gave my scale away.
  • happimess01
    happimess01 Posts: 9,074 Member
    I have a few pounds left to lose so I weigh in weekly
  • ythannah
    ythannah Posts: 4,371 Member
    I'm not trying to lose weight so I went for long periods (at least six months, usually longer) without weighing myself. When I started strength training seriously I weighed more often because I was hoping to see added muscle weight. That didn't pan out so I got out of the habit of weighing. It doesn't help that the scale is in a bathroom that is rarely used so it's easy to forget.

    I had a big unintentional loss at the beginning of the year due to appendicitis and I'm still trying to get back to where I was so I'm weighing weekly now.
  • I2k4
    I2k4 Posts: 188 Member
    Your dress size alarm bell correlates to my 2019 emergency of 40" pants and belt, and gradual return since to normal 35" and clothing. Never owned a scale, and incremental weight has little to do with anything that matters, though I'll step on a scale out of idle curiosity now and then. (I started tracking calories and macros on MFP recently to complement more exercise, using my historic healthy weight to calibrate the diary. Jury still out on long term usefulness.)
  • jbanta07
    jbanta07 Posts: 15 Member
    I lost about 30 lbs, and weighed myself daily during that time. Then Covid hit and I gradually put on 15 lbs. I had some really stressful situations to deal with involving family, and the weight just came back. I was drinking to cope, and eating junk to deal with stress. And for some reason, I still stepped on the scale every day and just watched the weight pack back on. It didn't help mentally and just continued to fuel a very low opinion of myself (which led to even more eating via guilt). It just cemented a feeling of self defeat.

    So if you are maintaining a good lifestyle that you feel proud of, then the scale can certainly help boost your self confidence and reaffirm that what you are doing is good! But just keep in mind, if you slip and fall into some bad habits, that same scale can turn into a tool that compounds negative feelings.

    I've ditched the snacking and drinking, but I wont be weighing myself. I'll judge my progress by other means; confidence, more energy, better mental health, looser fitting clothes, etc.

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