Power of the numbers on the scale

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I really wonder why.............. so many people, (very smart people) seem to go blind when it comes to the actual composition of a pound of FAT. I see people posting things about how much they ate the day before and how they felt so much better when they stepped on the scale the next day, only to see it was all ok because they either didn't gain a pound or in fact lost a pound or a fraction of one. Why is it people cannot realize that a pound of fat cannot manufacture over a few hours, or disolve over a few hours. The only thing you are seeing on the scale after a few hours is going to be liquid, or solids stuck in your body from food you have recently eatten and not eliminated. And it is those same deceptive numbers people see on the scale that makes us go on food binges, thinking "oh well, I am not losing anyways,I might as well go ahead and eat what I want". Think about a pound of fatty bacon and try to imagine how hard it is for our bodys to turn that massive greasy blob into something our bodies can burn up. If it were so easy to make that blob of fat burn out of our bodys, we would probabley be smelling like bacon frying on the stove.......... releasing all that greese. What we did or did not eat on Thanksgiving is not going to be reflected on our scales today, or even a few days from now. It's all going to get avgeraged out over the next few weeks and then, we will see some real numbers. We give the numbers on the scale way too much power. They can make us feel terrific, or bum us out. Maybe we should be snapping pictures of ourselves, each week and then lining up those pictures, to see the changes. They might be subtle, but wouldn't it be interesting to after a few weeks. I have seen pictures of litters of puppies, kittens, birds, and rabbits, that were taken every day as they grew and as small as the changes were each day, they made such drastic changes from week to week. We could make a flip book of our shrinking selves.

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  • getsveltEagain
    getsveltEagain Posts: 1,063 Member
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    I agree completely!!! :bigsmile:

    I like tracking my measurements for this VERY reason! That is more of the story than the number on the scale. I will admit that I like the number on the scale, but if it goes up I don't stress (unless it is more than 5 pounds between my weekly weighins). I wish more people were able to truely believe that saying "you didn't gain it over night, you won't lose it over night". Your preformance, that is what I'll call the calories in vs. out, over the week is what really determines the overall outcome :wink:
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
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    Amen, LethaSue! The tyranny of the scale can very well make our frontal cortexes melt into goo. We KNOW that when we are gaining weight, the pounds creep up on the scale, so why would we think it would go any faster than a creep on the way down?
  • nm_runner
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    Good morning!
    I've always read that you should weigh in weekly, not daily. I have always ignored that advice..... ;-) By weighing myself daily, I know how much my weight fluctuates. That makes me wonder about having an UP day on my weekly weigh-in day, that masks any weight loss. I'd be bummed out for an entire week! When that happens daily, I'm only fighting the bummed out syndrome for 24 hours, not an entire week. Measurements on me are affected the same way.
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
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    So true, nm_runner! My always slim teenage son has bad role models on both sides of the family. He doesn't weigh himself, but wears jeans that fit in the waist. When they start getting tight, he cuts back on his eating. Years ago, I read that slim French do the same thing--buying fitted high quality clothes that register any gain instantly. Taking measurements is a wonderful way to track progress. Your points are well taken!