My own scale shenanigans...

rockylucas
rockylucas Posts: 343 Member
edited October 2024 in Motivation and Support
I often try to encourage others to not freak out over number on the scale, especially if you are weighing yourself daily and have been following a healthy diet and exercise plan. That does not mean I am immune to those stressors myself, however.

After feeling a sense of wonderful satisfaction after weighing in the 180's a couple days ago, I woke up this morning to see... 192.6!!! Ahhhhh... a moment of freak out in spite of myself. In the past I would have let this drive me crazy, I would have not understood what happened, I would have thought, "well damn I guess I better REALLy cut down the next few days to lose that 3 lbs that I somehow magically inexplicably gained!"

But I am older and wiser and calmer now. I have followed my diet and exercise plan for months at a steady weight loss, so I know that the jump forward on the scale is basically meaningless, a combination of factors primarily related to water retention. Looking back on my food diary, I ate quite a bit of very high sodium foods, so for my body to retain a few lbs of water weight is completely normal and nothing to freak out about.

In addition... over the 6+ months I have used MFP, this exact scenario has happened to me SEVERAL times. The unexpected, "what the hell happened" 2-3 lb weight gain weigh-in. I have come to realize they are part of the process. The BEST lesson one can learn from this is to PUT YOUR SCALE AWAY and only bring it out every few days, or weekly, to weigh yourself.

So that is what I have done. My scale is now stuck way up under the couch until next week. I will continue to calmly follow my tried and true diet and exercise lifestyle, trust my body, trust science, and when weigh in again next week, I will be a lb or 2 lighter than my last recorded weigh in, as I have been all along :)

Replies

  • mmuzzatti
    mmuzzatti Posts: 704 Member
    I weigh myself everyday but I have a thing called fake weight and real weight.....it keeps me sane because I know it can jump as much as 5 lbs after a big night and that night might only involve drinking water....so I go by weight and how my clothes feel. All in all we all know that we are eating better and making better choices.
  • PeeTeePee
    PeeTeePee Posts: 235 Member
    Great advice and don't forget it's not just weight that measures progress, the loss of inches are also good indicators.
  • kykykenna
    kykykenna Posts: 656 Member
    Thank you. I needed to read this. No numbers on the scale moving for me. I envisioned digging out my shotgun and shooting it.
  • mandemonious
    mandemonious Posts: 217 Member
    Good advice. A 5 lb jump on Monday can freak anyone out. I like to play games with the scale. Friday is my official weigh in & log it day for MFP. Sometimes I weigh myself on Monday just to prove a point that I need to behave better on the weekends. Then I'll weigh on Wed to see my normal and hopefully slightly decreased weight Gets me excited for weigh in on Friday. Oh the things I do to get myself excited for weigh in day....
  • chrissaucier
    chrissaucier Posts: 252 Member
    Your post culdn't be more timely! I just got off the scale and my weight did increase, but my percentage of body fat went down 3%! I'm not discouraged and will keep up with the diet and exercise that I've been doing:happy:
  • bevhols
    bevhols Posts: 43 Member
    Definitely good advice! I know better, but I do weigh myself daily ... once I hit a weight low, I ignore all other weights unless it is that number or a new low~ I also just keeping following my MFP calorie counting and balanced eating knowing that it WILL come down. At about 6 week mark on MFP, I calculated out my weight loss and it was truly a steady 1.3 per week in spite of the ups and downs ... as they say, slow and steady will win the run!
  • TMcBooty
    TMcBooty Posts: 780 Member
    ..and what a cute gay man you are!!!!! Oh, did I say that out loud? lol
  • rockylucas
    rockylucas Posts: 343 Member
    Thank you TMCbooty! :D *blush
  • mcdonl
    mcdonl Posts: 342 Member
    Dont you just love the diet tracking on MFP? You were able to identify a possible cause of water retention (Damned osmosis and diffusion) and try and fix it.

    Good post.
  • aj_rock
    aj_rock Posts: 390 Member
    I prefer to just set up an x-bar chart instead :P Stats will keep better track of expected than any random weighing system!
  • pope369
    pope369 Posts: 159 Member
    ..and what a cute gay man you are!!!!! Oh, did I say that out loud? lol

    What she said!!

    Thanks for a great post. I have seen the same sudden weight spikes after a day of high sodium or starchy carbs in my diet. I, too, need to hide my fancy-schmancy digital scale. Maybe it has to go in the closet. Hmmm . . . .
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,389 Member
    I agree and when I finish my ED program I think I am going to monthly or even bi-weekly weigh ins. The stress of the scale has me feeling good for sure and concentrating on eating healthier and feeling good about myself. Thanks for reminder!!

    And good job too for not freaking out!:flowerforyou:
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