Obsession with the Scale

[KatieBelle]

How do I conquer my obsession with the scale? I am doing WW online. I know that WW encourages you to weigh in once a week, but I can't help but weigh myself everyday. In fact, I usually weigh myself at night to predict how much I will weigh in the morning! Anyone have any advice? Should I put the scale away and only bring it out once a week? Maybe that way I would not be tempted to weigh myself all the time.

 

[BeamsofLight]

I took the scale from the bathroom and put it under the bed. Out of sight, out of mind seems to be working for me. Mind you, I do admit to dragging it out from under the bed two or three times a week, but at least I'm not doing every day (or several times a day) anymore.

Word of advice, though, if you do store it somewhere, make sure it's flat and not up on one side. My old scale went all weird when I kept it up on one end.

 

[disneysnowflake]

When I first started Low Carb on January 5th of this year I was obsessed with the scale. During induction I lost, but then I stalled. No matter what I tried the scale wouldn't move.

I got all upset and was going to give up. Then, my husband took my scale. He put it in his pickup truck. Since he works so many hours I can't sneak out to get it. He would allow me to have it on Sunday morning.

Pretty soon he moved it. We have a claw foot bathtub. He stuck it under there. I didn't know it.

Weighing once a week with his hiding my scale worked wonders. It made me not obsess with the scale. I kept on with the low carb, and as of last Sunday I've lost 35 pounds.

 

[helenk]

KatieBelle,
I feel your pain, I started dieting just about a year ago, sometimes I weigh myself in the morning and then again at night... and I do it for the exact reason you do, to get an idea of what I will weigh the next morning.
I have tried and tried to put away the scale and I just can not seem to do it for any length of time. It does bother me that I do this, especially now that I am losing so slowly right now.
I like what disneysnowflake's husband did, I think I'll ask my husband to do the same thing.

 

[KimRaye]

18+ weeks of WW online and, I'm still a scale JUNKIE! THERE, I admitted it. I weigh myself every morning and, as you probably know, it does NOT move mountains from day to day but, that's GOOD. I wouldn't want it moving UP ya know! For me at least, it lets me know day-to-day if I'm losing or not. I just could not stand to wait a whole week, of being OP and, having a 0 or small loss. The every day weigh-ins give me some 'notice'.

P.S. I've been known to be obsessive-compulsive.

 

[tiggerlover]

I have been living a healthy life style and losing weight for some time (see below clippies) and I used to worry about being a slave to the scale. I have to say once I gave up obsessing over obsessing over the scale I felt better. I weigh myself everyday, actually every morning at 7am to be exact and I no longer feel guilty about it. For me it is a way to keep myself in check, if I see the scale move up a pound or two I immediately get it under control, which I like. Whether it is a good habit or not, it works for me and I do not feel controlled or guilty, it is just another habit, just like brushing my teeth.

 

[TIGGERSMOM]

I have to admit I too am a scale junkie. I now have it down to a routine. I weigh myself at the same time everyday. If I miss that time I try to avoid the scale until the next day.

 

[Robinrs]

I find it very discouraging to weigh too often. Remember, the body is made to keep you from starving, it WILL stall somewhere along the line and when it does it can cause you to get very upset.

Think of the plan you're on as a constant. Being consistent WILL get you results in the long run and that's what really counts.

I remember being obsessive about the scale in the beginnng also until I read a journal of a fellow low carber on another site. She did a graph of her weight loss. Along the way she had MANY stalls and ups and downs but in the end she lost 80 pounds and kept it off for years. I remember thinking if I had fluctuated like she did it would've just made me quit. I realized right then and there that I'm in it for the long run and I couldn't let the scale rule me.

This WOE has become so much easier since then, for me AND my son.

It's like going through a 12 step program to pull yourself away but believe me, it will be worth it.

 

[catherine]

Thanks Robin that posting that, it's just what I needed to hear right now I am the opposite to you, the scale didn't bother me at all, up until a few weeks ago Up until the beginning of April I lost weight consistently every week I would lose at least 1lb, and then all of a sudden things changed! I now have weeks when I don't lose anything and I've had a couple of weeks where I put weight on. That's when I started weighing myself more than once a week, which is not productive for me. So thanks Robin for reminding me that I am in this for the long haul and if I'm staying OP, exercising, and drinking my water, I'm doing all that I can do. So I'm going to go back to weighing myself once a week!

 

[KatieBelle]

Thanks for all of the advice. I find the scale encouraging when I lose and discouraging when I gain or stay the same. I am going to have my husband hide the scale until my weigh-in on Sunday for the Independence Day Challenge.