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October 8
Mrs_Hoffer
Posts: 5,193 Member
Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes?
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day?
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank?
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day?
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank?
0
Replies
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1. The scale can be a huge roadblock instead of a motivator. Weight changes daily and sporadically. By removing the scale from the equation and focusing on habits, it doesn’t matter what the scale says. Your habits support the weight you are. As our habits become healthier, the scale will move.
2. People get frustrated because the scale isn’t moving how they hope, then they give up, and drop their healthy habits! So instead of celebrating the beginning of a healthier lifestyle, they give up just because the number of the scale isn’t moving.
3. If we do everything based on the scale’s results, we may feel shortchanged and that our progress is insignificant. However, if we focus on how much better we feel, how much more energy we have, how less swollen we are etc., we’ll see and appreciate the changes that are happening. Why in the world would you want to stop doing something with such positive benefits regardless of what the scale says?
4. Another pitfall of paying too much attention to the scale is that when you hit maintenance, if your only motivation has been to see the scale go down, your motivation is gone because now your goal is to maintain, not lose. She’s seen people gain their weight back because suddenly the “reward” of seeing the scale go down is gone.
5. The only thing that can contribute to change is action – which are the things that you’re actually doing to invoke change. The scale cannot do those things.
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This one is messing with me. I step on the scale every morning, but I enter the # into a spreadsheet that evens out the crazy swings - therefore giving me a more consistent weight. I know that if I only weigh once a week, if that once a week weigh-in happens on an "up" day, then it messes with me mentally. HOWEVER - I totally get what she's saying. The scale alone cannot be my motivation. If I truly want a healthy lifestyle, then the scale is an indicator of my progress, but not the sole source of motivation. Better to focus on the 3 UAC tenets than to focus on a # on the scale. Since we do not have a spreadsheet in the UAC to record our weight, or any formal way of stating it, I think Nugget #3 is in direct support of what we do here on the UAC!
I know that we are all in different phases of our journey and that some have small amounts of weight to lose, others have a great deal to lose. Some are in or close to maintenance, others have a long ways to go. It's become apparent that the benefit of the podcast and these nuggets may have a great deal to do with where each one of us is on that journey. Please bear with me - 3 more days - I know that she has absolutely transformed my approach and kept me from giving up months ago. So I'm hoping there's one or two or more of you that that will find these nuggets helpful and encouraging.9 -
This one is kinda funny right now. The scale has been more in focus lately, but only because I am tracking my TDEE calculations, intake and daily weight to help guide me towards slowing down weight loss in the next few months and transitioning to maintenance. While the scale is more in focus lately, and I have struggled this last week, it's not the fault of that scale.
But in general, I think this nugget is a BIG ONE for most people who have struggled with weight loss.
I recall doing entire diets based purely on the mindset of "as much as possible for as long as you can suffer through it" and reap some supposed health benefits. I even recall my doctor at one time telling me it would be better to lose a bunch of weight in 6 months on a crazy diet than to stay exactly as I was. But to be honest, I am sure I told him something stupid like "I'm not eating only broccoli and rice for the rest of my life, doc". He was probably trying his best to help given such constraints. This is the same doctor who I credit for waking me up to reality a few years later. He's no quack, I really like that doctor, actually.6 -
@biketheworld Thank you for doing this great theme & all of these posts! It’s been (and continues to be) really helpful to me & to many others, I am sure!
Scale. Each time I re-gained, I had stopped daily weighing. I decided 1/1/16, I would weigh myself every day for the rest of my life.
So, I would not go “mindless” and re-gain again.
I look at trends, weekly averages, monthly averages, yearly averages. These keep me honest.
Have to log off!
Can’t wait to see what you all say!
Thanks
Maddie 🌸
8 -
*Follow UAC rules 👍
*Continue to maintain weight 👍
* Actively use grazing container daily👍
* Stretch as much as possible 👍
* Monitor sugars👍
* Journal write👎
* Hve me time👍
* Use complaints free braclet👍
* Keep phone usage to a minimum👍
The scale was very unkind to me after my pass day yesterday. Lol! I went from 57.7kg to 58.4kg over night! In the past this would hve really upset me but with the advice from the UAC peeps i now use the Libra app and I no longer fixate on the daily number and instead just focus on my average weight which is 57.9kg. This has made me so much more relaxed about weighing myself!
As Maddie said Thank u so much @biketheworld for the time and effort u hve put into this. We all really appreciate it, and are learning a great deal! It has been awesome hearing the groups perspective on each of Heathers topics!! Thanks again. Xox8 -
I do agree that this one has helped me. Even with trendweight apps in maintenance I was finding the scale fluctuations were messing with my life, so I ditched it last summer (2020). Or at least the daily stuff. Not everyone will be like that and in losing weight I do think it is important because it helps with your metrics and prepares you to figure out your TDEE. For a while after I ditched it I was quite worried that things would creep up on me but over time I found that it helped with the binge cycle significantly because I could enjoy more sodium type items and not worry about the scale ballooning the next day when I was within my cal range. It has definitely helped me stay off the rollercoaster ride to not weigh daily.
Like others I have regained weight over and over again in the past. But I do not blame it on ditching the scale. That was just a symptom of not caring enough to even weigh any more. Usually the not weighing comes AFTER the gain starts and not when things are going well. So next time you decide to ditch the scale try doing it when things are going well.
For me in maintenance things move a lot more slowly and daily adjustments would drive you to drink. I believe you have to think in terms of weeks and months.7 -
Friday Oct 8
Exercise: YES (30 minute dog walk and 45 minutes Body Attack workout)
Calories under: YES
Tracked all: YES
(1/3 pass days used so far)8 -
When and if you weigh is a very personal choice. What suits one person may be an anathema to another.
I choose to weigh daily because I like to know where I am, and experience has taught me that I’m more I likely to stay on track if I have as much data available as possible. I look for weight trends rather than fixating on the weight for a particular day.
The scale is just one of the tools I employ, and daily weighing has given me an understanding of the daily fluctuations, so that it no longer gives me apoplexy when my weight shoots up. My digital scale gives me a plethora of useful data other than weight.
For me, I feel that not weighing would be the thin end of the wedge, which could undo all my hard won progress.10 -
@TerriRichardson112 - you said it exactly right. The scale is a tool.
I should note that because I listen to her regularly, I know that she never advises throwing away the scale or ignoring what it says. She advocates use of something like the happy scale app because it averages out your weight so you see an overall trend. She has this nugget on her list because she’s seen people time and time again throw away their progress because they are get consumed with the number instead of focusing on other progress. Which is the point of our monthly NSV day.9 -
I used to weight every Friday as sort of a gauge to determine what restaurant we'd go to. If the weight was up then pizza was a definite no and sushi was a better choice. If I was down or steady then options were more open.
However, I started weighing daily at one point when I had a plateau and it did mess with my head at first so I stopped for a month but then started up again when I started my recomp because I wanted the information. At that point it stopped causing frustration. It has helped to identify a pattern of mostly losing Mon-Fri while mostly gaining over the weekend. It also shows that gluten (in the form of pizza or pasta) will nearly always cause a higher gain overnight in spite of staying under my calorie limits. Generally restaurant food will cause a temporary gain most likely due to sodium which I minimize at home but can't control at a restaurant.
I'm on the side of weighing on a schedule that works best for you.8 -
enjoying the discussions @biketheworld great idea to do this series!!!
8 Oct
Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? yes
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? yes
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? yes
Pass days used:05 -
OCT 8
Exercise ✅ [35 min walk]
@TerriRichardson112 I have only been tracking exercise since August as life got too busy and I am in maintenance.
Sorry for my late/lack of replies, I do not seem to be getting notifications reliably at the moment. 6 -
✅ - Exercise 20+ Minutes: 163 minutes, aerobics/walking/circuits/tai chi. I was out shopping with my DYD today 😂
✅ - Calories within budget
✅ - Tracked everything
3️⃣ Pass Days left
@biketheworld <> Yes. I find Happy Scale very motivating.7 -
08/10/2021
Exercise – yes – bike ride and cardio.
Tracked – yes
Calories – yes
Pass days – 1 pass on the 1st
@biketheworld, thankyou for taking the trouble to do these thoughtful threads.
“Let go of the scale and focus on your habits”
Like others have said, I like to weigh every day and use the Libra app. I find it very motivating to see the trend line moving. I got too skinny in the spring (while my son was so sick) and needed to gain a couple of pounds which happened when the Covid restrictions eased and we had some holidays. Then the trend continued up heading out of my maintenance zone. I caught it in time and am now at a good 50 – 51 kg. The trend line is wavering a bit now.
If I stop weighing I tend to gain – I’m a little old lady and my maintenance calories are around 1600 depending on activity/exercise so it’s very easy to gain if I’m not vigilant.
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@TerriRichardson112, Awesome exercise – but what/who is DYD?2
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@donna25trinity, well done on all those goals! Only one goal not met but the UAC goals met!
How do you manage the last one – keep phone usage to a minimum? What do you aim for? Do you use it for games? Reading? Getting the news? Or is it Social media you are trying to cut back on?
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I am getting a lot out of these “nuggets” and everyone’s responses. Thinking and processing these ideas.
Thanks for creating and moderating this themed series for us @biketheworld 💐4 -
lesdarts180 wrote: »@TerriRichardson112, Awesome exercise – but what/who is DYD?
Dear Younger Daughter 😂2 -
Exercise: Done.
Tracked: Yes.
Within calorie budget: Yes.
I personally only weigh in once a month but prefer to track by measurements, especially since I started strength training the scale goes up despite fat going down. I think using the scale is fine as long as you use it purely to make sure you're on track and to see what works out and what doesn't. As soon as you put too much emotion on that number on the scale it might be time to ditch it.6 -
Entering a little early today due to my phone being serviced and being out of pocket until perhaps sometime tomorrow. I'm confident today will be fine and I won't be requiring any updates from cravings tonight, now that I know it was a blood sugar response from being knocked out of ketosis (I even know the exact culprit). I know how to get back into ketosis and resist that urge for carbs (I have some bhb capsules to help with ketones), and will be tracking my daily net carbs here again to keep things on track in that regard.
October 8
✅ - Exercise
✅ - Calories
✅ - Tracking
3 of 3 pass days used
✅ - Net Carbs <30g (25g)
Have a great weekend everybody!8 -
Yes X 3! Thanks for the interesting discussions this past week all.5
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✔️✔️✔️ great day!
I know I have said it many times but the fluxes of the scale daily are just a tool to help me be mindful about what I need to do. Like drinking more water if I had more sodium than I should the day before.6 -
I also weigh daily first thing in the morning this keeps me on task during the day it’s also a good tool if I want a special treat to know where I am. Tracked logged walked 2.89 miles for exercise walked twice with the dogs my steps for day and not over yet just shy of 20,0006
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Tracked everything I ate. Kept it under my goal. Worked out 25 minutes in am.5
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9/8
Exersised yes
Caleriesyes
Logged yes5 -
Oct 8:
✅✅✅ Exercise today was 4 miles over 4 separate walks (on breaks while working from home; and in between clients at the chiropractor's office).
Pass Days Used: 1/3 (4Oct)
I too weigh myself everyday and record it in the Libra app to keep track of the trends. I can see myself doing the same once in maintenance - just to always keep my eye on my weight. When I began back on MFP a little over a year ago, I also began taking my measurements every first day of the month and it was exciting to see several inches fall away some months, even if the scale didn't show much of a loss for the month.
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Exercise:
Fartlek run today, 2.1 miles plus my usual collection of planks/wall sits/push ups and PT exercises to round it out. I flaked on the gym for my weight circuit...so I have to go tomorrow and I'll just do upper body.
Tracking:
Calories: What ever the hunger was yesterday it passed. 6 -
I quite like these discussions and reading everyone’s thoughts. I’ve been incorporating a bit here and there.
I weigh daily as a tool:
- I can catch an upward trend sooner and figure out what I’m doing differently
- I prefer to lose slowly to help with skin and resetting my metabolism. I prefer no more than 3-5 pounds a month. If I’m losing too quickly, I increase my calories.
- I switch between maintenance and losing quite a bit and weighing helps me find the sweet spot.
- I used to eat out or get take out at least 4 days a week. Daily weighing is an eye opener. It’s amazing how quickly I gain when eating out even a few times a week. Weighing motivates me to prepare meals at home and if I am out, I am much more aware of what I’m eating.
In my younger years, I would hyper focus on the number on the scale and get upset and discouraged if I didn’t lose a pound or 2 a week. Now I use the scale purely as one of the tools in my toolbox.
Friday, October 8
Tracking: Yes
Calories: under
Exercise: Yes, walk
Pass days to date - 37 -
I only weigh once a week now. I have been given a lot of advice to weigh daily and use a tracking app once I start maintenance, but I am not sure if that will be the best for me or not. I will probably try it to find out because I do like data.
Either way I think the scale is a crucial reality check, and in the past when I stopped weighing regularly it was because I had given up and just didn't want to know.
Although 0/3 on nuggets for me, they have been great for dialogue and I appreciate that many others find them relatable.4 -
✅✅✅
1 mile walk, 3 mile run.
Warning the topic of the scale kind of winds me up so if my tone sounds sharp, it’s not you guys it’s me 😂
I argue with my trainer about this all the time, and I’ll say here what I tell her: until my doctor hands me a piece of paper after each apt with a visit summary that says “great habits” instead of one that says “you’re overweight/obese” my scale remains king. I realize it’s probably not the best mind set but… 🤷🏻♀️ LOL. I step on it daily, if I don’t it gets out of hand fast. I didn’t step on it regularly for a few months and it creeped up like 6lbs I need to lose to get back to where I had originally plateaued. Lol. But seriously, how am I supposed to ignore the scale when it’s the first thing my doctor tells me to do when I walk into any apt and so clearly what they see as the #1 indicator of “health”?
On the other hand… I will also note that the reading on the scale has been a point of frustration for me for ages (I am on the taller side and built like a line backer. Size 11 feet. I am not tiny. Lol.) I was diagnosed with anorexia at 155lbs in high school based on habits and body fat % when the max weight for my height is only 164 and I was no where near “underweight” on the scale. I don’t fit the mold that the BMI scale was designed for and it shows.
So I guess what I’m saying is yes the scale shouldn’t be our main focus, but our medical system - at least in the US - is not designed to recognize that good habits out weigh the number on the scale. (See what I did there? 😂)
My apologize if I seem aggressive in this post, this is a really loaded and sensitive topic for me. Lol.
Anyhoo.
In other news I built a lentils and potato recipe when determining my meal plan for next week, and when MFP imported the ingredients it changed 3 cups of greens/arugula to 3 cups of Reese’s peanut butter cups. MFP knows me 😂🤣7
