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    Is having a scale beneficial

    Posts: 4 Member
    in Debate Club
    Here's the big question
    Is it key to have a scale in your home or destructive to your health journey ?

    Is having a scale beneficial 71 votes

    Yes
    67% 48 votes
    NO
    11% 8 votes
    Maybe
    21% 15 votes

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    Replies

    • Posts: 10,465 Member
      Neither. Personally I go by how my cloths fit and how I look in the mirror. I do have a scale and do weight myself periodically, put it is in no way a fundamental tool for weight loss for me, for others it will, so there you go. :)
    • Posts: 1,515 Member
      It is helpful for me because I seem to have fun house mirrors in my bathroom. :lol: I spent a few years thinking I wasn't as big as I was and since I lost the weight I keep thinking I'm bigger.
    • Posts: 41 Member
      Honestly, depending on your goal it maybe helpful.

      If your goal is to lose weight then the answer is obvious. But, of you want to replace the fat with some muscle in a body recomposition effort then you may be better off using a measuring tape and having a good look in the mirror.
    • Posts: 2,235 Member
      Food scale? Absolutely, without a doubt. Scale for a person's weight? Depends on the person.
    • Posts: 8,359 Member
      That all depends on the individual. I find it beneficial, but numbers going up and down or staying the same for periods of time doesn't particularly bother me. The scale is only one way I measure progress, and now that I am down to the last 20 pounds to lose, it is a less important one than whether my clothing is getting looser, how I am looking in the mirror, or for me the most important is how well I am adhering to my eating goals. If a person get de-motivated by the weight the scale gives them, having one at home might not be the best. You decide for you.
    • Posts: 4,359 Member
      I truly know that if i weighed myself everyday... i would have never regained my losses over the years. Yet, I can't take the emotinal ups and downs while i'm losing. I use clothes as a way to determine if I'm losing. After i reach my goal.. i will weigh myself weekly .. so i know when to cap the madness.
    • Posts: 65 Member
      I think it depends on where you're at in reaching your goals. Lots of weight to lose it could be more motivating cause the lbs may drop easier at first. Little weight to lose it could, for some, be more stressful and discouraging.

      Then too it depends on the person's personality and tendencies.

      I only like the scale when l, first, can feel that I may have lost some, then to see the number has actually dropped keeps me going for awhile. :)
    • Posts: 8,646 Member
      I have an impedance scale that I step on every day. Data is data.

    • Posts: 1,455 Member
      Some people are afraid of the bathroom scale, I don't envy those people, if they want to lose or maintain weight. I guess one solution is to get a bathroom scale without a display. Yes, these scales exist. Hopefully they use it daily and can chat with a bot which tells them in a vague way how they're doing.

      I have been using measuring tape for a long time, maybe 2 years. Multiple measurements, daily. Do people get scared of measuring themselves?
    • Posts: 9,382 Member
      edited January 2024
      threewins wrote: »
      Some people are afraid of the bathroom scale, I don't envy those people, if they want to lose or maintain weight. I guess one solution is to get a bathroom scale without a display. Yes, these scales exist. Hopefully they use it daily and can chat with a bot which tells them in a vague way how they're doing.

      I have been using measuring tape for a long time, maybe 2 years. Multiple measurements, daily. Do people get scared of measuring themselves?

      No, not scared. But also not obsessed.

      I only weighed in weekly - I could probably do that without having my own scale (the original question) - use one at work or at somebody else's house for example

      Multiple measurements every day, either with a tape or a scale, seems OTT to me.
    • Posts: 1,981 Member
      Absolutely.

      However, you cannot let daily weigh-ins affect your life the way I see it with some people here. "All I had different yesterday was this one little snack and I'm two pounds heavier today, how long will it take to burn all this fat off? I'm so distraught, I don't think I can do this."

      I weigh weekly, and I'm well aware that the snapshot is not necessarily representative due to water weight etc.
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    • Posts: 9 Member
      I lost my excess weight before the pandemic. Went to gym regularly and got into pretty good shape and felt healthy. However I did become obsessed with counting calories and macros and also weighing myself daily, sometimes more than once a day. I almost felt like I was developing an eating disorder.
      Then during the stress and inactivity of the pandemic I gained the weight back plus extra weight.
      I am now logging my food, watching calories and macros again, but I gave away my scale. I won't let myself become that obsessed again. I can tell as my clothes get looser that I'm making progress. I just don't want to make myself crazy over this. Slowly and surely I will arrive where I want to be.
    • Posts: 65 Member
      edited January 2024
      If it causes you stress or triggers some sort of anxiety it's not worth it in my opinion. I'd find another way, like fitting into a pair of smaller jeans as a way to monitor weight and for motivation.
    • Posts: 35,484 Member
      paperpudding wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      No, not scared. But also not obsessed.

      I only weighed in weekly - I could probably do that without having my own scale (the original question) - use one at work or at somebody else's house for example

      Multiple measurements every day, either with a tape or a scale, seems OTT to me.

      Multiple weigh-ins per day isn't necessarily excessive. The "why" matters, as does the psychological state a person brings to the act.

      If I want to check hot-weather workout hydration strategies, I'm going to weigh before and after the exercise. It's a useful thing to do occasionally if a person regularly does intense, sweaty workouts. Those weigh-ins will be in addition to my regular morning weigh-in that goes into my weight trending app.

      Nothing about that is anxiety-provoking, obsessive, or stressful. It's just the collection of useful data, for me. For some other people, it could be obsessive, anxiety-provoking, or stressful - that's the psychological state a person brings to it at the time.

      I'm not saying other people need to weigh on any particular frequency. I do think other people ought to keep an open mind about what I do, and why, too - thus by implication keep an open mind about what might be the best approach for some 3rd party.
    • Posts: 1 Member
      For me it is very helpful. I understand I might fluctuate 2-3 pounds from salt and water, etc but it provides me with accountability. If my daily trend starts going up I know I need to make changes. If my lowest lows get lower I get excited. It motivates me to keep trying.
    • Posts: 882 Member
      Yes, I like the data, and find it interesting. I often swim for an hour. I drink water before I swim. Then, I weigh myself after my swim. I usually weigh a pound less than before. I lose a pound or more while swimming . It’s so strange! I figure I become somewhat dehydrated while swimming. I try to drink a lot of water after my swim to rehydrate.
    • Posts: 117 Member
      A food scale is a yes, for ensuring consistency and accuracy.

      Body weight scales are a maybe, depends on what type of person you are, if you’re inclined to become obsessive or quickly dissuaded by the number going the opposite way to what you want then no.
    • Posts: 9,382 Member
      If I want to check hot-weather workout hydration strategies, I'm going to weigh before and after the exercise. It's a useful thing to do occasionally if a person regularly does intense, sweaty workouts. Those weigh-ins will be in addition to my regular morning weigh-in that goes into my weight trending app.


      Sure. Occasionally being the key word.

      Or even for a short period of time to ascertain something specific - like difference between morning and evening weight, I dont know.

      But not doing so multiple times per day long term on an ongoing basis.
    • Posts: 3 Member
      How are you meant to get objective metrics about your progress without weighing yourself? How you look or feel doesn't indicate your weight. I use this scale which automatically records my weight to my phone as well as 12 other categories which have been a useful indicator of my progress.
    • Posts: 1,816 Member
      edited February 2024
      I weigh myself once a day. It’s like brushing my teeth.. I just hop on in the morning and see where my weight is at. It always fluctuates.. but I want to make sure it’s never on an upward trend.

      Food scales in my kitchen help me with calories per portion sizes.

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