Stop treating yourself like a fish! ;)

LiL_MisS_C
LiL_MisS_C Posts: 332 Member
edited October 3 in Motivation and Support
Dear MFPers,


Did we all start to grow gills and a fin?! I mean really! lol. Fish are the ones that belong on the scale..not humans! I think more of us need to go by how snug our pants are instead of focusing on what the scale reads, and then obsessing over it! I have been back on track for 2 weeks now, and I am refusing to weigh myself for a while to prove that the scale isn't the only way to judge my progress. Anyone else with me in banning the scale for a bit? ;D


Crystal
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Replies

  • ignatiusreilly
    ignatiusreilly Posts: 411 Member
    Not sure I agree with this...
  • snookumss
    snookumss Posts: 1,451 Member
    That would be SOOO hard to do!!!
  • snookumss
    snookumss Posts: 1,451 Member
    wait, I didn't weigh myself today!!!!
  • I weigh myself twice a week, not as an obsession but to help me keep on track. Wednesday I weigh myself to see how I'm doing the Saturday is my true weigh in even if I've gained, it's the one I go by.
  • Lotte34
    Lotte34 Posts: 429 Member
    I don't agree
  • MichaelSmith247
    MichaelSmith247 Posts: 2 Member
    The scale unless broke won't lie. Sometimes based on the design or cut of the clothing, it could be decieving . I'd have to disagree with this blog.
  • Tujitsu56
    Tujitsu56 Posts: 392 Member
    I agree with this in a sense because the scale is only 1 of the many tools to assess our health. The thing that a lot of people get frustrated with is starting a new exercise regimine and find that they may have gained weight. The problem here is they probably lost a few inches and are so focused on weight gained that they are distracted from the progress. Fat is not as lean as muscle. I'd only suggest to use a scale loosely as a tool and don't make that your only judge. Use a health measuring democracy if you will:)
  • Articeluvsmemphis
    Articeluvsmemphis Posts: 1,987 Member
    i weigh myself everyday, multiple times with the understanding that it fluctuates all day, etc. I wouldn't want to stop weighing myself because i have so much more weight to loose, it's the best indication that i am on track.
  • asyouseefit
    asyouseefit Posts: 1,265 Member
    Totally agree with this. Scales are for fish! Inches lost are way more important than pounds lost!
  • KcFitCoach
    KcFitCoach Posts: 135 Member
    A super personal thing - agreed that clothes can tell you a lot...but for me I need the scale to tell me that I'm staying on track. Historically, in jags where I ignore the scale I do not hold myself accountable and really put on the pounds (or did not lose if I was in the midst of trying to lose).

    I've been maintaining at or under goal since mid-June and I weigh myself at least every couple of days. I need to do this to know I am on track. When I was losing the weight, I weighed daily...but knowing that hormones, salt, etc. where factors. Weighing daily through the loss journey actually helped me learn a lot about the impact of different foods and my hormones, etc. to better understand my overall true weight. It also helped me as I was getting bodyfat % measured along the way - I could better understand how I was changing my overall composition of lean muscle to fat.
  • Robin1117
    Robin1117 Posts: 1,768 Member
    Hi! I have already lost the weight but agree with you 100%. I didn't weigh myself at all when I first joined MFP and finally 6 months later I wanted to benchmark where I was to see what to do next--it was only then that I bought a scale. And it was only then that I started to obsess!! I never did when I was just using my pants as a guide.

    Anyway, now on maintenance, I threw away all the bigger pants, so if my new ones do not fit anymore (not an option!), then I'll know what I need to do. But may check the scale once a month or so just to make sure my HRM settings are correct.

    Good luck with everything--you'll do great this way!
  • fuhrmeister
    fuhrmeister Posts: 1,796 Member
    I think sucess can be measured by the scale, by measurements, how clothes fit and how you feel. I agree over weighting yourself causes stress. But I'm not willing to go more than a week w/o weighing. I feel it helps to keep me on track. Good luck with your choice i hope you find sucess.
  • Bakins929
    Bakins929 Posts: 895 Member
    I weigh daily to get an accurate calorie burn during workouts, but I can certainly tell more progress in the way my clothes fit, or don't fit. I've had to buy new clothes 3 different times since February! That tells me a whole lot more than a number on a scale.
    I think it's important to know how much you weigh, but not to obsess over it.
  • LiL_MisS_C
    LiL_MisS_C Posts: 332 Member
    Totally agree with this. Scales are for fish! Inches lost are way more important than pounds lost!


    FINALLLLY! Someone whom agrees with my logic! lol.
  • I don't own a scale, and I was weighing myself weekly with my weight club at work, but we finished in Sept and I changed jobs. So I don't weigh but i am thinking of getting a scale so I can weigh on a weekly basis or at least twice a month to keep on track. As for the pants, I have bag full of too bigs ready to go out the door to good will.:happy:
  • voluptuous_veggie
    voluptuous_veggie Posts: 476 Member
    Dear MFPers,


    Did we all start to grow gills and a fin?! I mean really! lol. Fish are the ones that belong on the scale..not humans! I think more of us need to go by how snug our pants are instead of focusing on what the scale reads, and then obsessing over it! I have been back on track for 2 weeks now, and I am refusing to weigh myself for a while to prove that the scale isn't the only way to judge my progress. Anyone else with me in banning the scale for a bit? ;D


    Crystal

    Huh? Fish HAVE scales, but they don't belong on a scale...not sure I'm following...
  • GalaxyDuck
    GalaxyDuck Posts: 406 Member
    I totally agree with you. The scale is not that important, and weight is just a number. I used to think I wanted to "weigh 135 lbs" and that was my goal. When I got here, I wasn't all that happy! I had lost the weight I wanted, but my body composition was off, I was still flabby. I've since GAINED a few lbs of muscle, so I'm closer to 140ish and I plan to keep on gaining. People at my office are still remarking that I'm shrinking! I'm losing body fat and gaining muscle, which makes me weigh more. I'm still getting "smaller" even though my weight is going up!

    Once I realized this, I realized how silly it was to measure everything by a number. You could be 125lbs and skinny fat, and I'll look healthier with my lean muscle and heavier weight :)
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    Yup. I don't even own one. I completely don't see the point.
  • SeasideOasis
    SeasideOasis Posts: 1,057 Member
    The scale unless broke won't lie. Sometimes based on the design or cut of the clothing, it could be decieving . I'd have to disagree with this blog.

    Actually you and everyone else that made this comment is not "correct". You don't have to agree, but you aren't right either.

    If I weigh myself at 158, then chug the equivalent of one pound of water, I am going to "GAIN" 1 pound and weigh 159.

    You "gained" weight, but you do not actually gain weight that you should be tracking.

    Using the scale as a reference point if fine, but measurements and progress pictures are the true key.

    In addition, I haven't hardly lost ANY weights, but my progress pictures are shocking and I'm loosing inches like crazy....
  • GalaxyDuck
    GalaxyDuck Posts: 406 Member
    The scale unless broke won't lie. Sometimes based on the design or cut of the clothing, it could be decieving . I'd have to disagree with this blog.

    Actually you and everyone else that made this comment is not "correct". You don't have to agree, but you aren't right either.

    If I weigh myself at 158, then chug the equivalent of one pound of water, I am going to "GAIN" 1 pound and weigh 159.

    You "gained" weight, but you do not actually gain weight that you should be tracking.

    Using the scale as a reference point if fine, but measurements and progress pictures are the true key.

    In addition, I haven't hardly lost ANY weights, but my progress pictures are shocking and I'm loosing inches like crazy....

    Yes, also this ^^ :-)
  • GalaxyDuck
    GalaxyDuck Posts: 406 Member
    To demonstrate my point, check out the last few progress pics in this post:
    http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

    It does a pretty good job at getting the point across that a lighter weight doesn't always mean a better body.
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    someone opened up a can of crazy on MFP early today,
  • LiL_MisS_C
    LiL_MisS_C Posts: 332 Member
    someone opened up a can of crazy on MFP early today,


    Haha, how so?
  • bbbbb33333
    bbbbb33333 Posts: 1,107 Member
    I partially agree. If you are weighing yourself every day, you are not getting any useful information and driving yourself crazy needlessly. Your body will flutuate based on food eat, water, etc. However, you need something objective to monitor trend long term to see if you are succeeding and to give you positive feedback. I weigh every week or two using the same scale at the same time of day, before lunch.

    The clothes test is not really a fine enough measure to be useful. OK, when I can barely breath in my pants I know I need to start counting calories again, but by then it is much too late. I have already put on 30 lbs. By the same token, it may be 15-20 lbs before I notice my clothes are hanging on me and I have to buy new ones or my pants will be falling off. I will have missed out on all the tiny motivations or tiny warnings along the way that accompany weight change.

    Also, many clothes manufacturers have drasticly different definitions of the same size. I think it is even worse for women (what do these made up women size numbers mean anyway??? Is there any relation to a tape measure???). So one outfit get snug and you push it to the back of the closet and wear one that is more comfortable. You keep lying to yourself to make yourself feel good (everyone does it). You need something objective (i.e., scale) to keep you honest. Just take the number with a grain of salt. Don't go crazy it you actually gain a pound or two when you expected to lose. It will likely show up in the next weigh in (if you really are doing as well as you think you are). Look at long term trends. I know it is hard to do in our quick fix society.
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    someone opened up a can of crazy on MFP early today,


    Haha, how so?

    not that you are crazy. just, threads like this, have a way of getting away from everyone.
  • I'm in ... scales been bouncing up and down for a couple of weeks anyway!
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    The scale is only one of the tools available to measure your progress. 1 pound or a couple of ounces don't really mean a whole lot. 1 pound loss with inches lost or 1 pound gain with inches lost tell a different story. Now, once you get to 10, 20 pounds, that is really meaningful. That isn't just showing fluctuations in your weight.
  • rachel5576
    rachel5576 Posts: 429 Member
    I agree. Even measuring tape can be inaccurate if you are bloated,just ate, or dont put it in the same place everytime. I do the finger test. I push on my stomach and measure that way. If it gets to squishy its time to work harder. hehe Unfortunately...its time to work harder :)
  • BIG_Lew
    BIG_Lew Posts: 513 Member
    Agreed :smile:
  • Lizzy_Sunflower
    Lizzy_Sunflower Posts: 1,510 Member
    There is a lot of scientific research that shows weighing daily will help you keep lost weight off in the long term. It allows you to get a handle on weigh gain earlier, so that 1 lb doesn't turn into 10 before you know what happened.

    The key is to not become obsessive. A perspective shift is essential. We should all look at the scale as one of many tools we use to measure our progress. The number we see when we weigh is not "good" or "bad" it is just a reference point.

    Fluctuations happen, it is important to remember the big picture. Don't get frustrated if you gain an ounce or a lb in a week, just use that number to help you remember to make better choices at your next meal.

    Your highest weight this week is most likely lower than your lowest weight a month ago.

    Most importantly, do what works for You. Everyone is different

    :flowerforyou:
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