scale addiction....

[missyt]

Yes...I admit it...I have a scale addiction. Over this past year...I was working on losing....so I always watched the scale...now that I just want to maintain...I freak over every ounce thay goes up. I know your body flucuates....but should I try to only weigh once a week, go by measurements, advise please..... and thank you!!!

 

[missyt]

Oh...btw....I think these new workouts...are causing water retension????

 

[melagras]

I don't dare get on a scale.

On the water retention issue, I've done one workout so far (Low Impact HiiT) and I'm noticing it in my glutes and quads.

 

[Jenniferlove]

Sorry I'm not a lot of help but I've heard some say that weekly is good and others have said that monthly is good.
Personally I'm bad about weighing in at all and go about 2 months before stepping on the scale.
I figure if my clothes aren't getting tight then I'm okay, and if they are getting loose in the right places then I'm doing something right

 

[jengollf]

Yes...I admit it...I have a scale addiction. Over this past year...I was working on losing....so I always watched the scale...now that I just want to maintain...I freak over every ounce thay goes up. I know your body flucuates....but should I try to only weigh once a week, go by measurements, advise please..... and thank you!!!

I'm like you--I have scale addicition. I weigh myself every morning. But I also lost 35 pounds 10+ years ago and I personally feel that weighing myself every day (+working out every day) has helped me keep the weight off for more than a decade. But I also don't freak out. Since I've been weighing myself daily for so long, I am aware of how the scale fluctuates and why, and I also know how to do damage control immediately if it is creeping up more than I am comfortable with.

 

[mrsprincess07]

Yes...I admit it...I have a scale addiction. Over this past year...I was working on losing....so I always watched the scale...now that I just want to maintain...I freak over every ounce thay goes up. I know your body flucuates....but should I try to only weigh once a week, go by measurements, advise please..... and thank you!!!

This happened to me with the birth of my baby. I was constantly hopping on it to see how much I had lost and eventually the weight loss slowed then stopped. As of yesterday I took the batteries out of the scale and put the scale in the back of a closet in the basement- not an easy place to dig it out when the urge hits.

I would go by how your clothing feels. I did this for years and I for the longest time I couldn't tell anyone what I weighed simply bc I didn't know. I two sets of sizes one for summer bc I'm crazy active and my hunger levels go way down due to the heat and my "normal- everyday" size that I wore for 9 months a year when the weather wasn't as nice and my appetite went back to normal. For me, that worked. Some people would go insane to not fit into the same size 12 months a year, others need to see a set number each day. But I recommend clothing. It doesn't lie (ok so the number on the jeans does for marketing) but how they fit tells you more than what some machine does.

 

[lioness]

I think everyone is different. Some people like the accountability of weighing every day. If you choose to do that, then you need to come to terms with the day to day fluctuations of your weight.

When I lost my weight, I only weighed myself once a week. As for now, I don't even own a scale. I can tell if I'm gaining by the way I feel and how my clothes fit. My mom has my old scale so every so often I'll go over there and weigh myself. I usually weigh myself 4 times a year at most.

I get more pleasure from how I look or how loose my clothes are than numbers on a scale but that's just me. I am not a numbers person.

 

[mini-natty]

Missy,

I know how you feel. I was just like you before I had my daughter. I would weigh-in daily, and the number would dictate my mood for the day. I was a "prisoner" to my scale (or so that's how I saw myself as) AND HATED IT! I was always trying to adhere to this "magical number" that would somehow make me happier and fulfill my life.

I don't do that anymore. I go by how my clothes fit and how I look in the mirror (usually naked ). If my clothes are getting a bit snug then that's ok, I don't beat myself out about it. That usually means I need to adjust my calorie consumption and physical activity level. I'm in control. I got this .

I now weigh myself a few times/year just out of curiosity. I FEEL SO HAPPY AND LIBERATED . Plus, your average scale won't tell you how much muscle mass you have -- weight training with Cathe w/o's has given me some nice muscles .

As the others mentioned, you have to do what's best for YOU.

All the best Missy!

Natasha

 

[wonderwoman]

CONGRATULATIONS! Mrsprincess07 on the birth of your baby girl. Enjoy every minute of it because it sure does go fast. I have 3 beautiful girls and love them all so much. Wouldn't have it any other way although there are days that they drive me INSANE but that's what they are suppose to do

 

[mspina]

Yes...I admit it...I have a scale addiction. Over this past year...I was working on losing....so I always watched the scale...now that I just want to maintain...I freak over every ounce thay goes up. I know your body flucuates....but should I try to only weigh once a week, go by measurements, advise please..... and thank you!!!

I can "gain" 4-5# the day after a really hard workout. Of course, it's not real permanent weight I've gained, it's all fluid retention. When I'm training hard I weigh every day to gauge how well I'm recovering and to see if I need an early recovery week (combined with other metrics like resting HR, how I feel generally, etc.).

If you are working out with any intensity at all, or are changing programs, you simply can't freak out over a few pounds, or you will drive yourself insane. The other issue is that you may "blame" the workout for bulking you up and quit to go back to a routine that is no longer challenging you (which means in the long run, you aren't changing your physique at all, so if that is a goal, you are sabotaging yourself).

My advice? If it's driving you crazy, toss the scale and go by how your clothes fit and how you feel, BUT, take into account that the first few weeks after a new program you may be retaining fluid so be patient even with that as your guide. If you know you aren't overeating, don't stress about it and just wait.

 

[Fit_mommy]

I am a "weigher". Perhaps because I was raised by a "weigher" (my mom)? LOL IDK...just guessing!

Anyway it helps to keep me on top of my diet more then anything. I love to exercise so that's not an issue but I also love to eat and love to eat the bad as well as the good so I need a constant reminder to behave and the scale is it.

When I am losing (like now), I will tend to weigh daily. When I am maintaining I will sometimes back off but if I back off too much then I start to gain again!

What can I say, it keeps me on my toes but I DON'T freak out about the day to day fluctuations either!

Do what works for you!

 

[L Sass]

I think lioness's advice is very on target. If you choose to weigh everyday then you simply have to come to terms with the number being just a number and nothing more. Certainly nothing that can make or break your mood or in any way define your self-worth. I was once very upset by the number on the scale being up like 3 lbs and a gym instructor waived me off and said "oh, that's just a poop." I laughed hysterically, but she had a point.

Having said that, my trainer suggests weighing daily AND writing it down in one of those little pocket calendars that you keep by the scale. She firmly believes that when you do that, acknowledging silly little daily fluctuations, you will be more in charge of your weight. You can look back every month and realize your body patterns, like that when you ovulate or are PMSing that you routinely go up X number of pounds, and then it levels out, etc. She also made note that during allergy season, when she takes Benadryl for example, her weight always goes up by 2-3 pounds, though her eating and exercise remain the same. When she goes off of it, the weight drops again. It totally keeps her at a steady weight. BUT that if one month you are up a solid say 4 pounds and then the following another 4, you know what I mean, it doesn't get out of hand. It's also helpful to have that little accountability record so that you can realize over the year(s) how your food and movement choices impact your weight. Good luck. It've never easy huh?

 

[deineira]

Hi Missy,
As someone who has also lost a decent amount of weight, I can also relate to the preoccupation with the scale. Over the last five years or so I've lost about 40 pounds, most of it in the first year, the last five or so have come off slowly here and there. Last year was the year I resigned to not let the scale rule my life. Like Natasha mentioned, I weighed in constantly and my weight was affecting my mood. I would not say it was ruining my life, but it was definitely a big negative influence for me. If that number crept up, I was devastated. If it crept down, I was elated. But, I'm not sure how meaningful the number really was in regards to my size, strength, fitness level or health...and I decided those factors were the ones I really needed to focus on. I stay on track now by taking very honest looks at my body in a mirror on a regular basis. Preferably naked. The mirror does not lie. The scale is very fickle. Our weight varies depending on whether we are retaining water, and how much of our body mass is composed of muscle, whether we have eaten already or had a lot of water/fluids. It's too hard to predict what is exactly represented by that number.

It is possible to weigh more and be smaller than you were at a higher weight if your body composition is changing from fat to muscle. For that simple but undeniable reason the scale is not the best thing to use as a guide. I judge by my clothes, and the mirror. I feel so much better now that I'm not on the scale constantly, and I've not gotten any bigger since I stopped weighing myself. I've continued to get more fit and develop more muscle because I'm working hard and changing up my workouts.

I have found that logging my food is a better plan for keeping me honest than following the scale.
Eva

 

[Candiceena]

Just wanted to share too that I am a daily weigher while trying to lose. Sometimes I forget to weigh myself (I only weigh in the AM) and other times, if I have had a particularly heavy meal the night before, I do not weigh.

Weighing tends to keep me in check. I like to see the numbers getting lower on the scale. I know that they fluctuate. I had a 5# difference when it was that time of the month. I guess almost-daily weighing keeps me accountable. And seeing lower numbers keeps me pumped up to continue my good behavior.

I love having a scale. There have been times when I haven't had one (lost in a move, etc) and I usually tend to gain a little. Clothes fitting does help me know how I'm doing but I prefer a solid, concrete number.

 

[Amie]

Yes...I admit it...I have a scale addiction. Over this past year...I was working on losing....so I always watched the scale...now that I just want to maintain...I freak over every ounce thay goes up. I know your body flucuates....but should I try to only weigh once a week, go by measurements, advise please..... and thank you!!!

THROW THE SCALE AWAY. I was a slave to the scale for what should have been the best years of my life. If the number was up, I was depressed all day. I wish I could go back in time and shake myself. Please don't obsess over a number.

 

[gettingfitmom]

I do not own a scale, never have. Was told by my OB/GYN that I have maintained my weight to w/in 3 pounds for the last 4 years!