I'm scared...really scared...

aqm22
aqm22 Posts: 153 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm scared to step on that scale...

I started a diet routine about a 3 weeks. I started using MFP to mainly track my food not too long after that. Then, I got a gym membership to encourage me to workout more (I hate wasting money). I've been going there faithfully for week now. Last week, on my first day at the gym, I weighed myself and found that I lost 3lbs. That meant I lost 3lbs by dieting alone. So, in theory, now that I added a lot of cardio workout and some strength workouts...I should be losing eight...in theory.

I want to see how much I weight, but I'm scared as hell. I'm afraid that that scale is going to go up and I'll end up starving myself and working out to death....

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    It's not uncommon to see the scale go up after we start a new workout routine because the body floods sore muscles with excess water to help them heal. Keep this in mind when you step on the scale this week and try to keep the positives in mind. How do you feel?
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    What ^ said. Also, don't weigh, if you know it's going to freak you out. Just do your thing and see how your pants fit in a few weeks.
  • verptwerp
    verptwerp Posts: 3,659 Member
    from my experience only .......

    I lost weight when I changed my eating habits 3 years ago .....

    didn't lose any weight when I joined the gym 1 year ago ....... but did lose some pants sizes & a shirt size .....

    now I'm here on MFP calorie-counting ...... and losing weight again !

    We are all different ...... best of luck finding out what works for you :drinker:
  • aqm22
    aqm22 Posts: 153 Member
    What ^ said. Also, don't weigh, if you know it's going to freak you out. Just do your thing and see how your pants fit in a few weeks.

    Thanks, but I wanna know. I'm a bit scale obsessed. It took a lot of willpower to not weigh myself everyday.

    @dianne and @verp Thanks
  • cattyphyllis
    cattyphyllis Posts: 4
    Plus remember, it's only a number, doesn't truly represent YOU!
  • jealous_loser
    jealous_loser Posts: 395
    Maybe start measuring yourself instead? That way you will hopefully see something drop if not the scale?
  • jessthib09
    jessthib09 Posts: 32 Member
    when people look at you they don't see a number they see inches. That is what someone told me when I was going through the same thing. Measure yourself and track your loss that way. It is the most encouraging. Some people don't even use a scale anymore. Keep pushing and doing what your doing.. you will see results! :)
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Lots of people struggle with the scale obsession, but unless you want to drive yourself mad over the course of your weight-loss, you really need to accept that sometimes the scale will go up, even if you've done everything "right". It goes up and down with natural water fluctuations, and if you've just started exercising, or increased your exercise, there's a good chance that you will be retaining water. But, water is not fat. So, if when you weigh yourself, you have put on weight, it doesn't mean you've put on fat, and there's really no need to starve yourself afterwards. I don't know why but that number on the scale has a real emotional power over so many of us. You've just got to let it go though. Logically, if you've been eating at a calorie deficit, which I presume you have, then you haven't put on any pounds of fat.

    Editing to add: a loss of 8 lbs in one week is really not a realistic expectation, so please don't be disappointed when that doesn't happen.
  • PittShkr
    PittShkr Posts: 1,000 Member
    Start measuring yourself and throw away the scale....



    .*brains*
  • fabafter5
    fabafter5 Posts: 200 Member
    I'm posting this from experience... Step away from the scale! The scale is a tool in weightloss but when too much emnphasis is placed on it it can derail you. I used to weigh daily until I realized that my mood for the entire day was determined by the number that I saw on the scale in the morning.

    If I was eating right and exercising and got on the scale and was up .4, 2lbs whatever I would say the H*** with it and eat crap. This would turn into a binge and the cycle continued month after month.

    Now I weigh every 2-3 weeks. I am putting in the work at the gym and running and am eating right. Eventually I will get where I want to be. I really challenge you to try and not weigh yourself as much. Maybe get on the scale and then for a month straight try to be as consistent as you can and then face the scale again.

    I know it is hard not to weigh but since I have have stopped weighing in so much my motivation has not decreased do to minor fluctuations on the scale.
  • brandi1425
    brandi1425 Posts: 8
    I would also check and see if your gym offer a service to measure your body fat %. I am also scale obsessed, so about once a month I will check my body fat %. Even if I have not lost anything I will find that my body fat has gone down! Helps keep me motivated that at least I am losing my jiggle!
  • BeingWiser
    BeingWiser Posts: 65
    LOL....we all go through this! There is no way working out is going to hurt you in the "war on weight"! Your body image is your goal not a number on the scale. Keep making small changes to reach your goal ..they will add up!
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    What ^ said. Also, don't weigh, if you know it's going to freak you out. Just do your thing and see how your pants fit in a few weeks.

    Thanks, but I wanna know. I'm a bit scale obsessed. It took a lot of willpower to not weigh myself everyday.

    @dianne and @verp Thanks

    Wanting to know and using that number as your report card are two different things. Your scale is showing you a whole lot of other stuff besides fat loss. It's like saying I want to weigh my frig each morning to see if I drank enough milk yesterday. Milk's not the only thing in there that changes.
  • aqm22
    aqm22 Posts: 153 Member
    Editing to add: a loss of 8 lbs in one week is really not a realistic expectation, so please don't be disappointed when that doesn't happen.

    lol, I wasn't hoping for eight lbs. It was a typo. it was suppose to say "weight"
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    . That meant I lost 3lbs by dieting alone. So, in theory, now that I added a lot of cardio workout and some strength workouts...I should be losing eight...in theory.

    I want to see how much I weight, but I'm scared as hell. I'm afraid that that scale is going to go up and I'll end up starving myself and working out to death....
    What the others said about the scale - measure and take pictures.... And keep in mind that strengh training will make your muscles hold on to water for a bit - so don't panic if the scale even shows a gain - it's not fat.....
  • aqm22
    aqm22 Posts: 153 Member
    Thanks everyone. =)

    I understand what you're all saying and I appreciate it. I do measure myself also. However, it's only been a week so the numbers aren't changing yet. Hopefully soon. =)

    Still, that scale...it's a complicated relationship. I know the numbers don't mean much but I can't help wanting to know.

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