Scale addicts?

[Rick]

I know that everyone says to put away the scale... but I find this so hard!!!

I always weighed myself before going to work in the mornings, even way before I started this WOE, so when I read all of those posts saying to not even step on it for two weeks, well.... that's the one thing I couldn't do.

Fortunately, for me anyway, I've been lucky and have been losing pretty much every day since day 1, so my addiction has done nothing but make me feel great about doing Atkins. I know that at some point, and it could be tomorrow morning, I'll see it differently when I don't lose anything, but I don't think that will bother me too much because I've already seen so much early success. Maybe after I've gone down another 20 or so lbs I won't be so addicted, who knows? I know that there will be periods where the weight loss will stop, or at least significantly slow down, I've read that in the book, and from so many posts on this forum, and I'm prepared for that, so it won't deter me from my mission to get to goal! I'm going to make that, for sure, as long as I can stick by the rules and be patient.

Anyway, I just wanted to know if anyone else out here has this addiction too.

Rick

[2big4mysize]

Re: Scale addicts?

there is nothing wrong with jumping on the scales a million times a day ( great exercise) as long as you do not allow the number on it to dictate how you feel about your hard work you have been doing with your Atkins nor your selfworth. those are the folk who need to stay off the scales cause when that little metal monster doesn't validate allthe hard work they have done the feel devalued and allow it to dictate their mood for the rest of the day.

happy low carbing

[Momtofour]

Re: Scale addicts?

I weigh every morning. I think not weighing myself everyday in the past, was part of the reason I got to 250 pounds. Weighing every day keeps me in check.

[Elizellen]

Re: Scale addicts?

We see so many posts here from inductees who are ready to give up if they dont lose 10 pounds in one week that we advise them to wait and see their total loss after 14 days instead.
If however you are the kind of person who can treat ups and downs daily as 'interesting' and not feel like quitting or 'tweaking' your menu before the 14 days are up, then get on the scales as often as you like

[Chris]

Re: Scale addicts?

I only "count" my weight on Tuesdays, but I'm an (almost) every morning weigher, too. On those days when the scale goes up, a bit, it makes me strive extra hard to be sure that I stay on plan, and avoid eating anything at all when I'm not really hungry. Sometimes, like this morning, it gives me a bit of a boost when it's already down a pound since my last official weigh day.

I don't obsess over it, I just think it helps remind me of what I'm trying to accomplish and aids in keeping me on track.

[Austlyn]

Re: Scale addicts?

I weigh every morning. I think not weighing myself everyday in the past, was part of the reason I got to 250 pounds. Weighing every day keeps me in check.

Me too Me too I weigh every morning it does not effect my mood though it can give me a little needed nudge from time to time.

[k5commando]

Re: Scale addicts?

I do it every morning as well, it keeps my mind on track. I know that if I'm up a pound or two one day it'll most likely be gone the next but it definately keeps my mind focused.

[kelly94942]

Re: Scale addicts?

Yup, I weigh in every day too! (okay, at *least* once every day ) It's exciting to see the numbers go down, and if they go up I don't freak out. Actually it's really good for me -- it gets me excited about jumping out of bed in the morning. I usually press snooze once or twice before I get out of bed, and lately I have been pressing snooze and then lying there thinking about the fact that I get to weigh soon! This morning I was really hoping I'd be down a pound again (then I'd be at the lowest I've been in ~3 years) but no luck... but that just means game on for tomorrow!

[Lisa M]

Re: Scale addicts?

*raises hand sheepishly* Yep, I'm a reforming-scale-addict....I have until Feb 1st to weigh in, and then it that doesn't work..it's going to be filed in File 13.

hang tough!

[Rick]

Re: Scale addicts?

I had a feeling that I wasn't the only one out here!!! It's actually nice to get up in the morning, look at the scale, and see numbers that just two weeks ago were foreign to me! It's motivating and sets me up for the day, knowing that what I'm doing works. Thanks for your honesty folks!!

[Lisa M]

Re: Scale addicts?

See! never alone

[sombersusie]

Re: Scale addicts?

there were times when kent was losing weight when i wanted to hide the scale. Now I'm the one working on it and i too weigh myself every morning. I try not to let it upset me if i don't go down for a few days, just know that i have to continue doing the right things and eventually it will happen. Also so many variables on what the weight could be...water retention, muscle??

[jsj0305]

Re: Scale addicts?

Wow, Elsie and I were having this conversation today. I get on it everyday, at the same time. I AM A SELF PROCLAMED SCALE WHORE!!! I really can't get enough. I am such a dork that I drink all my water and jump on the scale and see if I gained all the ounces!!!!!
AND I get on it before and after I tinkle sometimes!!!! I love watching the numbers change when I do that.... *I am soooo lame, I know*

I don't know if Elsie will drop in here, but she has a REALLY good reason as to why she does..I'll Pm her and ask her to share it with you guys...I don't like cutting and pasting others' words

[Elsie150]

Re: Scale addicts?

Hello! as per jsj's request here is my quote from this morning.

<<I don't plan on fighting the scale habit. In fact I have incorporated it into my morning routine. Because I know when in the past when I quit trying to eat healthy one of the things I did was avoid the scale...that way I could deny that it was going up....between not stepping on the scale and elastic waist pants I lived in denial all the way up to 237. That WILL NOT happen again!

Now I don't stress about the numbers on the scale until Thursday...which is the only day I weigh naked...sorry for the visual...LOL...it also lets me know how my body reacts to certain food. For instance the low carb bread which caused a 3 pound gain of whatever and took the rest of the week to drop back to the previous weight. Which explained no lose last week. >>

I would like to add that if you are the type of person who freaks out because you have been good all day and the scale did not drop 5 pounds to reward you for all your hard work and self denial that daily weighing in not for you. However...if you are the type that can use it as a TOOL then by all means do it! But also measure yourself...because sometimes the scale does not move and the inches do...weird but true!

Some additional information posted on a yahoo list. (Thanks Pete!)

Daily Weigh-In May Help Dieters Lose

By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD
on Friday, November 18, 2005

Nov. 18, 2005 -- Making friends with your bathroom scale just may
help you lose those extra pounds and keep them off.

While most weight loss programs don't encourage the practice, a new
study suggests that daily weighing may be better for weight loss and
weight control than weekly or less frequent weighing.

People in the study who weighed every day lost more weight or
maintained their weight better than people who did not.

The early findings must be confirmed, but researcher Jennifer A.
Linde, PhD, tells WebMD that daily weighing may serve the same
function as keeping track of daily food intake and exercise.

"People who make lifestyle changes consistent with weight loss use
all kinds of tools to help them," she says. "Daily weighing provides
feedback. It may be one more thing that someone can do to keep them
on track."

Daily Weighers Lost Twice the Weight

Linde and colleagues at the University of Minnesota examined the self-
weighing practices of more than 3,000 people for two years. About
1,800 were either obese or overweight and were enrolled in a weight
loss program. The rest were overweight and enrolled in a program
designed to keep them from continuing to gain.

About 20% of the people in both studies reported never weighing on
their own and 40% said they weighed either weekly or daily, according
to Linde.

In both the weight loss and weight control groups, people who weighed
themselves daily lost more weight than those who weighed less
frequently.

People in the weight gain prevention group who weighed themselves
less than once a day tended to gain rather than lose weight during
the study.

Daily weighers in the weight loss group lost twice as much weight as
weekly weighers -- an average of 12 pounds vs. 6, Linde says. People
who never weighed on their own gained about 4 pounds.

The next step, Linde says, is to test the findings in a larger study
in which people are assigned to different self-weighing schedules.

Daily Weighing Not for Everyone

It is clear, however, that some people shouldn't weigh themselves
every day. Constant weight monitoring is common among people with
eating disorders. And Linde says unpublished research suggests that
daily weighing may not be a good idea for people who are clinically
depressed.

"We would not want to encourage a behavior that is symptom of an
eating disorder," she says. "But for reasonably healthy people who
want to control their weight, stepping on a scale every day might be
one more tool they can use."

Daily weighing is not encouraged at Duke University Medical Center's
Diet and Fitness Center, its director, Howard Eisenson, MD, tells
WebMD. He says the issue of when to weigh remains controversial in
weight loss circles. But he adds that he can see potential advantages
for some people.

"I don't think there is anything in the treatment of obesity that is
absolute," he says. "There are some people who shouldn't get on the
scale once a month, but others may be well served by daily weighing."

Dieters following the Weight Watchers International program weigh in
each week prior to meetings. The program discourages clients from
weighing on their own at home while they are trying to lose weight,
says spokeswoman Karen Miller-Kovach, MS, RD, because daily weight
fluctuations can be discouraging.

Miller-Kovach, who is chief scientific officer for Weight Watchers,
says people tend to obsess about the numbers early on and can end up
elated or discouraged based on what they see on their scale each day.

"During weight loss people are psychologically looking for big
changes," she says. "The bathroom scale is really not going to
reflect what is going on."

But Weight Watchers does encourage members trying to maintain their
weight loss to weigh often on their own so that they can identify
significant changes early.

"The studies show that the best time to take action is as soon as the
weight starts to creep back up," she says.


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SOURCES: Linde, J.A. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, December 2005;
online edition. Jennifer A. Linde, PhD, assistant professor of
epidemiology and community health, University of Minnesota. Howard
Eisenson, MD, director, Duke Diet and Fitness Center, Duke University
Medical Center, Durham, N.C. Karen Miller-Kovach, MS, RD, chief
scientific officer, Weight Watchers International.

[jsj0305]

Re: Scale addicts?

Elsie, YOU ROCK!!!