How do you get past the numbers on the scale?

kat31

kat31

Cathlete
Hello all- Just that, how do you get past the numbers on the scale (if you use a scale)? For the past several months I have been in a internal war with myself over that stupid number on the scale. I workout with Cathe 6x a week(6 cardio + 4UB and 2LB)eat 90% clean(40carb/40protein/20fat) 1600 calories, yet that stupid number keeps going up. At the end of the summer I weighed 130lbs, which is good for me and my bone structure any less and I start to look sickly. Yet since then I have gone up to 136lbs but am about 1/2 to 1 inch smaller in measurment. I know that muscle weighs more but have you been here and how do you get past the number game?
 
I don't get on the scale at all. I let my clothes and the mirror tell me what's going on. It took a while but I was tired of letting the scale control my mood. I actually took the advice to give up the scale from people on the Cathe forum. I'm glad I did!
 
I don't use a scale at all anymore, and I suggest that you don't use it either. Throw it out, it is of no use at all. Go by how your clothes fit. If you are saying that you have lost an inch, that is great! Don't worry about what the scale is telling you, it is not an accurate indicator of how strong and healthy you are or what your BMI is. JMHO and it worked for me! Don't be a slave to the scale.

Missy
 
Don't step on it at all. Personally, I haven't since June mostly because I know it will piss me off so why even bother? I am sure I will step on it again someday but not until I feel like it won't piss me off;) .LOL!!!

Shift your focus to felling strong and healthy.
 
I guess the question you should ask yourself is, would you rather be a fit person who weighs more because you have more muscle, or be a fat "thin" person with no muscle who weighs less?

I ask clients who struggle with this to compare a medicine ball with a stability ball. I hand them the 6 pound med ball and ask them to consider the size. I then hand them a huge 2 pound stability and ask them to consider the size. I ask them if they had to choose which would they be, the huge light ball or the small heavier one. This usually helps them visualize why they weigh more even though they look fit.

carolyn
 
My scale just got relagated to the garage - the basement wasn't far enough. Plus, there's no way I'm walking outside naked to get to the garage to weigh! }( Honestly, I can tell by my body and my clothes how much I weigh within a couple pounds. But too many times, seeing a number that's not what I expected just trips up my good intentions.
 
>Yet since then I have gone up
>to 136lbs but am about 1/2 to 1 inch smaller in measurment.

Congratulations! I'd take that as an accomplishment. If the number on the scale really bothers you, put your scale away... somewhere where you can't see it. Out of sight, out of mind.;-)

Pinky
 
I got rid of mine this summer-- in the trash! I was working out really hard and the scale kept inching up, while my clothes size went down. By the time I tossed it, I had gained 7 pounds but gone down one pants size. Scales are simply EVIL.

L
 
I get weighed once a year at the doctor's office. Other than that no scales for me. The numbers game is deceptive and mostly just messes with your mind. I too, like the medicine ball, stability ball analogy. It sounds to me like you are doing well - forget what the scale says and listen to what your clothes say instead!:)
 
Thanks all for the insight, as of 4pm my scale was relocated to the garbage:). Oh and I rather be a medicine ball;-)
 
Good for you! Maybe you better smash it with a hammer just to make sure you don't go back to your old ways;)

Michele
 
Yup. Great job!! I think what we really have to realize is that everybody is so different, and the scale means nothing! I'm 5'5 and weigh 20 pounds over my "ideal weight". (Supposedly should be 125, but am generally between 145 - 150. ). I don't look it at all, and I don't care any more. I know where I feel good, comfortable, healthy, and fit, and that is ALL that matters!!

Sara
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=sblordita&x=0&y=0
 
Sara,

I just have to say that I have the same exact stats as you. People always think I am about 20 pounds lighter, and that believe it or not, ticks me off because I feel like I "should" be about 20 pounds lighter" (or I'll take 10 ;). I usually wear mostly 6s and some 8s. When I watch everything real closely, I can get down to about 139, 138. My weight also keeps going up but it's definitely muscle. Nonetheless, I hop on the scale much too often. You guys are right---maybe scales are evil. This is a great thread!

Katrina
 
I have to say it's nice to know others don't use a scale. I haven't been on one in 20 years. When I go to the doctor I make sure they know that I don't want to know my weight. Even when I was pregnant, I told the doctor it was okay to tell me how many pounds I gained - I was pregnant, but did not want to know the scale numbers.

So much happier this way!!!!!

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
 
What a great thread! I have the same situation. According the charts and my mind I should be at least 20 lbs lighter. I never been that skinny so I know it is somewhat unrealistic. Still I’m trying to lose it. Everybody around me tells me not to lose more because I look fine but the scale doesn’t show me the magic number. I decided to ignore it so many times but it works as magnet. I walk to the bathroom and in the next second I’m standing on the scale. If it’s good I’m so happy. If it is bad I’m depressed. I think my family starts to think I’m crazy because I have this mood swing. Anyway I will follow your advice and put this stupid scale away.
What a relief!

Krisztina


http://www.3fatchicks.com/weight-tracker/img/bar-steps/slider-lion/lb/0/15/8/.png[/img][/url]
 
Krisztina - I guess you'll have to get rid of your ticker, because how will you know when you've lost those pounds? 3FatChicks needs to come up with some tickers that aren't WEIGHT oriented:)
 
Yes, Krisztina! If it's affecting your life so much, please put the scale away. How fit and comfortable you feel should be most important. The other thing is that it's completely normal to fluctuate in weight a bit, day by day and month by month, but some people see those 3 or 5 PMS pounds and become totally depressed. I don't think that's worthwhile use of your energy or at all healthy. Now... I'm not one to preach about moods :D .... so take that with a grain of salt. But I was in a place where I obsessed over scales. It sucked and would make or break my day. I now feel no need whatsoever to know what I weigh, and I'm so much better off for it!

Sara
 
I do not own scales, never weigh myself. I am weighed only at the doctor's office because they require it.

I prtefer to use the "pinch an inch" and the "jeans test". I don't believe in any other method using gadgetry to map my bodily changes. Stand naked in front of a mirror: there they are!! I like empirical, practical, free methods.

Clare
 
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