Scale: friend or foe?

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13

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  • TubbsMcGee
    TubbsMcGee Posts: 1,058 Member
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    Friend!
    I used to be the person that would weigh myself every couple of hours, too. I found that placing it under a desk helped (out of sight, out of mind, right?)

    I'm even lame enough to have named my scale. I call him Gus. It helps when I don't like what I see (DAMN YOU, GUS! I HATE YOU!) or when I'm happy with the number (High five, Gus!)

    I've gotten less lame though, and only weigh in once a week now. I think my dog was getting upset with me yelling at the ground all the time.
  • Dilfster
    Dilfster Posts: 434
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    scales that just measure weight can be a foe if you are obsessed & need to see improvent. Scales that measure body fat/body weight will show you exactly why your pounds aren't changing (for instance, you are gaining muscle while losing fat) That is VERY helpful to know.
  • momof8munchkins
    momof8munchkins Posts: 1,167 Member
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    Foe. I am no longer defining my worth by a number on the scale.

    I call the scale my gateway drug. I used to weigh myself upwards of 10 times a day when I was younger. In the morning, dressed, undressed, before eating, after eating, before drinking, after peeing, on and on. It was obsessive and it lead to destructive eating behaviors to see the right number on the scale.

    I decided last fall to give up the scale completely. I have no clue what I weigh but I know what I see in the mirror and how my clothes fit. It was hard to do but it's in the list of Top 5 Best Things I have done for my mental health.
    yep! FOE!!! I had a love/hate relationship with my scale or rather a hope/disappointment relationship.. now I only weigh when I feel I've lost because my clothes are bigger or I look feel or smaller.
  • LesliePierceRN
    LesliePierceRN Posts: 860 Member
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    Friend or foe? FRENEMY.
  • babygurl48
    babygurl48 Posts: 1,236 Member
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    the scale is a spiteful lying *****. That is all. :D
    too funny!!
  • CannibalisticVegetarian
    CannibalisticVegetarian Posts: 1,255 Member
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    Scale = friend with benefits.
  • lilojoke
    lilojoke Posts: 427 Member
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    Mine told me I was 300 lbs today... Its in the trash defo a foe! Malfunctions every time!!!
  • EricMurano
    EricMurano Posts: 825 Member
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    Once a day is as granular as you want to be. Even once a day is a little obsessive. I weigh myself once a day and while I'm used to it sometimes I do get a little crazy when the weight's not going down.

    I find that if I don't weigh my self everyday I don't feel accountable for letting myself go.
  • Anthonydaman
    Anthonydaman Posts: 854 Member
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    my scale is my frenemy
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 808 Member
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    scales that just measure weight can be a foe if you are obsessed & need to see improvent. Scales that measure body fat/body weight will show you exactly why your pounds aren't changing (for instance, you are gaining muscle while losing fat) That is VERY helpful to know.


    If i had one of these, I would be interested in having a scale. Since I don't, well, I don't. I haven't owned a scale in about four years. I weigh in now once a week at my competition and the rest of the time I don't care. I'm focusing on measurements - I'm only down about 7 lb but as of Sunday I'm down nine inches overall. And that matters a whole lot more to me. :)
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
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    It's frustrating, but only because I don't use one accurate scale on a regular basis. The one I have at home fluctuates way too much within a couple hours to be accurate. And the one at the gym is lighter than the one at the doctors...I don't even know. And its easy for me to fall into the numbers trap and want to cut back more than I know I can maintain.

    Lately I've been weighing myself at the gym about once a month.
  • tcmay72
    tcmay72 Posts: 82 Member
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    Friend that will stab you in the back:0) You know it, but keep going back for more!
  • kcoftx
    kcoftx Posts: 765 Member
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    Friend. I weigh myself everyday and have for years so I pretty much know my body's fluctuations. Add MFP's graph and I just find it fun! I got all thes zig zags and it looks wild but if you look closer, you will see a downward trend and even patterns! As long as my pattern over time is consistently showing me what I want to know, I'm a happy camper. I find the data interesting. I would feel wierd weighing only once a week. It doesn't give me nearly the fun data to look at and my downward valley is on a different day each time. Sometimes it can even take two weeks to hit that valley. If you look closer, you will see that the peaks are getting lower too (not lower in comparison to the valley but definitely lower than the starting weight). This is because there is a natural fluctuation within an average range. It naturally goes up and down all the time. The valleys tell me I'm losing, not the actual scale on every given day.
  • kcoftx
    kcoftx Posts: 765 Member
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    P.S. Since I'm a daily grapher, you will see my ticker goIng up and down all the time. I'm good with that. I know I'm operating at a 9lb. loss right now even though today it says 7.
  • EricMurano
    EricMurano Posts: 825 Member
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    I do the same as kcoftx. I love having granular data for the graphs :D
  • jamgrl1
    jamgrl1 Posts: 14 Member
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    Friend:

    I have to say I do the same and a I slipped up and stopped eating right and when I stepped on that scale and saw that I reached and passed my max weight I jumped right back on the weight loss train. I figure as long as I'm not obsessing it's not unhealthy. Do what works for you...not anyone else!!!!!!
  • kdcj17
    kdcj17 Posts: 73 Member
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    Friend, to me. I gained 10+ pounds after I decided to throw my last one away, I think TO ME it's a good reality check to where I'm at with my goal, or maintenance.
  • Hoakiebs
    Hoakiebs Posts: 430 Member
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    Friend, mostly. I do it every morning before breakfast. I want to know my weekly trends ( weekdays vs weekends and whatnot). It makes it feel like Xmas every morning.
  • Warmbloodwear
    Warmbloodwear Posts: 387 Member
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    right now I call it something that starts with an f ends with a king followed by POS..Not friend or foe:laugh:
  • JenAiMarres
    JenAiMarres Posts: 767 Member
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    Foe...as I gain muscle I keep gaining weight and it messes with my head..just got a body fat monitor tonight! Excited to use that instead!!!!!!

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