Scale: friend or foe?

2

Replies

  • jamk1446
    jamk1446 Posts: 5,577 Member
    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.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    I haven't read any of the other responses, but honestly I don't see how it is a motivator to do it more than once a day (and even once a day is technically too many). Just for the heck of it I have weighed myself in the morning and then weighed myself later in the day to see like an 8 pound gain. I fail to see how that would motivate me! You may be different though. Ultimately the numbers fluctuate throughout the day so there is really no accuracy to it. Plus, let's say you weigh in in the morning and then later take a big #2 and then your weight is down...would you log that weight on MFP just to see it go back up again in a few hours?
  • WickedGarden
    WickedGarden Posts: 944 Member
    frenemy

    I have been on P90x for 8 weeks...the scale only told me I lost 5 lbs in the first week, and then nothing since. BUT I've dropped 2 sizes in jeans.
    I know the weight is supposed to come off easier in the coming weeks...but geez! it's so frustrating to not see the number dip just a tad to keep me motivated.

    I'm gonna get all Office Space on it if the numbers don't budge in the next 5 weeks...
  • jennifer52484
    jennifer52484 Posts: 888 Member
    You are best if you weigh yourself at the same time every day. Morning is best. You will get the most consistent weight. Your body weight varies throughout the day. I weigh in every morning when I wake up.
  • smplycomplicated
    smplycomplicated Posts: 484 Member
    My scale is evil. It likes to play with my emotions. I keep it locked in the closet, and bring it out once a month.
  • Michelle_Nicole
    Michelle_Nicole Posts: 95 Member
    I think its useful if you dont go overboard with it. I weigh myself every morning just so I can see if I am staying on track. If i see a gain I just now that I wont take that day off from working out and will probably do a little extra of a workout. For me its motivational, even if it stays the same at least I know that I am not putting weight back on. I think that was how I packed on the weight after losing it the first time, I knew I gained a few but refused to get on the scale to see.
  • rubysphoto
    rubysphoto Posts: 254 Member
    I love my scale, LOL. It measures bmi,bmr etc and measures to the ounce. I am on there through out the day. My lowest is always in the middle of the day. :happy:
  • d_89
    d_89 Posts: 30 Member
    Overuse= foe
    When used properly= friend :)

    I found my self stepping on the scale every time I walked pass it. I found myself being very disappointed. So I had my little sis hide it from me. So now I have no idea where it is :D She's supposed to give me every Sunday for weigh-ins now
  • dme1977
    dme1977 Posts: 537 Member
    I get on in the morning buck naked after Ive had a couple of glugs of cofffee .... :drinker:glug :drinker: glug :drinker:
    ahhhhhhhhh, caffeine ok now thats better :love:
    then I get on and see if there is any change from the day before... :huh:
    I dont have a digital scale though so i dont see the milli pound or ounces that have come off , just the old fashioned kind of scale that shows the pounds on a disc that moves... I like it that way ( for now anyway) so i dont become too obsessed. :happy:
  • Amy_Lee_2012
    Amy_Lee_2012 Posts: 156 Member
    Friend.

    It's a great supporter and motivator- it helps me to keep track of my weight and helps to keep me focused.
    I weigh myself in the morning- naked and after using the bathroom. This is the number I concentrate on. However, I do weigh myself a couple of times more during the day/night, just out of curiosity.
    I record my weight once a week- every Saturday, even if I know I've lost/gained weight before then.
  • TubbsMcGee
    TubbsMcGee Posts: 1,058 Member
    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: 416 Member
    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
    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
    Friend or foe? FRENEMY.
  • babygurl48
    babygurl48 Posts: 1,237 Member
    the scale is a spiteful lying *****. That is all. :D
    too funny!!
  • CannibalisticVegetarian
    CannibalisticVegetarian Posts: 1,255 Member
    Scale = friend with benefits.
  • lilojoke
    lilojoke Posts: 427 Member
    Mine told me I was 300 lbs today... Its in the trash defo a foe! Malfunctions every time!!!
  • EricMurano
    EricMurano Posts: 825 Member
    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
    my scale is my frenemy
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 962 Member
    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
    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
    Friend that will stab you in the back:0) You know it, but keep going back for more!
  • kcoftx
    kcoftx Posts: 765 Member
    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
    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
    I do the same as kcoftx. I love having granular data for the graphs :D
  • jamgrl1
    jamgrl1 Posts: 14 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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: 743 Member
    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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