scale or no scale?

sarahmarie409 · September 2013

do you think weighing your self every day is helpful or counter-productive? I've heard both arguments...discuss

RedJacks25 · September 2013

Every day? Definitely not. As women, our weight fluctuates so.much every day. It's so discouraging to one day be down 3 pounds and then the next day see that you've gained 4.

I weigh myself once a week.

Maggie0829 · September 2013

I haven't weighed myself in months. I go by how my clothes are feeling on me. When my pants start to feel too snug I try and take note of what I am eating and the amount of exercising I have been doing. Typically my pants are tight because I have fallen off the healthy eating and exercising bandwagon.

Also, if you work out a lot you are putting muscle on so weighing yourself a lot, especially in the beginning, could be discouraging because your weight may increase even though you are most likely losing fat but gaining muscle.

mommapizano · September 2013

The most I would weight myself is once per week and always around the same time (morning for me). More than that gets to be almost an obsession. I also try to go longer because I don't want to be tied to a number, I can usually tell if I'm losing, gaining or maintaining.

I agree with PP that weighing yourself can be discouraging if you are putting on muscle. I have been doing Insanity and have lost very little weight but I've dropped a size! So the scale isn't always meaningful.

tammym1001 · September 2013

I used to weigh myself every day (or more like several times a day). I found that I would be pumped when my weight was down and keep eating healthy and exercising. When my weight was up though I would get discouraged and be like what's the point and eat whatever I want. I try to only weigh myself once a week now, but I had to hide the scale in the closet to try and accomplish this.

full disclosure: I still pull the scale out of the closet occasionally when it isn't my weigh day. Then I feel bad about it. The scale is evil. LOL

MrsRadke · September 2013

I weigh every day right after I wake up, so it's fairly stable day to day. I think it keeps me motivated and grounded. I can't lie to myself, good or bad. It keeps me accountable as well!

Maggie0829 · September 2013

tammym1001 said:

I used to weigh myself every day (or more like several times a day). I found that I would be pumped when my weight was down and keep eating healthy and exercising. When my weight was up though I would get discouraged and be like what's the point and eat whatever I want. I try to only weigh myself once a week now, but I had to hide the scale in the closet to try and accomplish this.

full disclosure: I still pull the scale out of the closet occasionally when it isn't my weigh day. Then I feel bad about it. The scale is evil. LOL

I am the same way. I am also the same way when I decide to buckle down and really follow a training plan for races. If I start off well and stick with it for a week or two I am more apt to continue to stick with it. But if I miss a day or two I think "fuck it", start eating whatever I want and then try to start all over again on Monday. For some reason missing one workout during the week means, to me at least, that the whole week is ruined and that I should just start over next week. The crazy things we think!

freebread03 · September 2013

I weigh myself every day, but I weigh and record on Fridays. This helps me measure progress against a consistent baseline, and also helps me know where I am during the week. But, because I work out and lift a lot, how I feel in my clothes is way more important than an actual weight (I'm a size 4 at 130lbs now but years ago at 130lbs I was a size 6-goes to show that the scale is not everything!)

Aray82 · September 2013

Maggie0829 said:
I haven't weighed myself in months. I go by how my clothes are feeling on me. When my pants start to feel too snug I try and take note of what I am eating and the amount of exercising I have been doing. Typically my pants are tight because I have fallen off the healthy eating and exercising bandwagon.

Also, if you work out a lot you are putting muscle on so weighing yourself a lot, especially in the beginning, could be discouraging because your weight may increase even though you are most likely losing fat but gaining muscle.

Ditto. I go by how clothes fit since I'm lifting and trying to gain muscle. The scale would just mess with my head, especially because I'm fairly new to lifting. Sorry if this is out of the box--I'm on my phone waiting for an oil change!

winelover123 · September 2013

I usually weigh myself every other day, but it's to make sure that I'm not gaining weight if I've taken a few days off exercising. I've learned that unless I do something drastic (not going to happen), my body is happy at the weight it is at. I go more so by the way my clothes fit and how I feel versus what the scale says.

Grabows14 · September 2013

freebread03 said:

I weigh myself every day, but I weigh and record on Fridays. This helps me measure progress against a consistent baseline, and also helps me know where I am during the week. But, because I work out and lift a lot, how I feel in my clothes is way more important than an actual weight (I'm a size 4 at 130lbs now but years ago at 130lbs I was a size 6-goes to show that the scale is not everything!)

This is what I do too.
When my weight doesn't change after I eat like a pig the day before. I feel really good about myself and somehow cheated the scale lol

sarahmarie409 · September 2013

@grabows14 hahaha love those cheat the scale days! I do weigh myself everyday just like someone else has said to keep myself accountable good or bad...but yesterday I had a binge day and ate ice cream and Chinese food and a donut .. which I NEVER do.. and scale says a randomly lost half a pound...I was pumped lol! I know its probably wrong or whatever but still made me happy

justcallmesamson · October 2013

Weighing every day is super counter productive! You can fluctuate as much as 5 pounds due to water weight, alcohol, a big meal, etc. Get out that tape measure! Every Saturday I check my progress by measuring and I'm always amazed to see myself losing and inch here, a half inch there.

Good places to measure:

neck

bust (across boobs)

chest (around chest, under armpits)

upper arm

waist

stomach

thigh

calf

You might not lose an inch on your stomach every week, but maybe you'll lose off your neck or thigh, etc. It is a much better barometer of how you are doing than the scale!!

katieg520 · October 2013

Well, I had an eating disorder in high school and college, so I have learned that for me, weighing myself every day causes an obsession. I start to get competitive with myself and see how low I can get the number. So, as a rule for myself, I only weigh myself every now and then.

msdidonato · October 2013

I weigh every Wednesday morning, and then take measurements once a month around the same date.

I have found that the measurements are starting to mean alot more to me than the scale. BUT, I am one that my weight fluctuates ALOT. I can lift heavy and swell about 8-10 lbs on the scale the next day. So I try to stay off it as much as possible.

HisMrsJ · October 2013

I check my weight now and then on the scale. I think measurements are a better view of how I am doing.

edandy · January 2014

I fluctuate about 8 pounds everyday, I swear. It's very hard to tell progress. Every two weeks I measure my waist, thighs, calves and arms. I also weigh myself but I never pay much attention to that.

xxrynnexx · January 2014

I like to weigh myself in the mornings before eating breakfast, and I like doing it daily. It doesn't bother me to fluctuate a few pounds because it could be water/food/anything but I like to do it just to see where I'm at. Although it doesn't seem to make a difference lately since I haven't been losing.....

kaegurl85 · January 2014

I weigh myself every Saturday.

scale or no scale?

Re: scale or no scale?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards