Please help me not to weigh every day.

[almondina]

For me, dieting and daily weigh-ins have always been synonymous. I know that Dr. Atkins says not to weigh yourself daily because the daily ups and downs can mess with your head. This is so very true for me. At the same time, when I don't do daily weigh-ins, it's usually a signal that I'm going off plan. I don't want to be a slave to the scale every day. I don't want it to impact my mood, because I have more important things to put my energies towards.

I'm really trying to do things differently this time. For one thing, I'm not rushing the process. In the past I would become really restrictive in an effort to see a lower number the next day. This sounds a little ED'ish and truth be told, I have been prone to ED's in my life. I'm trying to strike a balance.

I really think it's important for me to "decouple" the idea of losing this unwanted weight from daily weigh-ins. So, I've decided that I will weigh in once a week, on Wednesday mornings. But I also feel a tremendous pull towards the scale right at this moment, so I guess I'm trying to journal through it.

Anybody else struggle with this? Care to join me in the "decoupling" process?

[sadie147]

Re: Please help me not to weigh every day.

I put my scale away, in a cupboard, where it's not easy to get at. out of sight out of mind.


If you want to only weigh once a week, why not put your scale somewhere were it's not visible to you, and only pull it out on Wednesdays?

I too had to stop weighing for the same reason that you stated, it became an emoitional thing for me. I actually now just measure and go by how my clothes fit. i haven't weighed in months. I realize this isn't for everyone.

[julirama723]

Re: Please help me not to weigh every day.

Almondina, I know your pain! What's strange is that when I started Atkins, I avoided the scale like the plague and I DREADED getting on the thing. Then months and months later, it suddenly became an addiction. I'd weigh myself daily, sometimes a few times a day. It started to really get to me, so finally I put the scale away for a whole month and just focused on how I felt and how my clothes fit. At this point, I've decided that weighing once a week is what I need to do, so I weigh on Saturday mornings and NO OTHER TIME.

Put your scale away, or have someone hide it for you. The scale is generally not your friend, especially on Atkins, because there are many times we lose inches but not pounds, which is GOOD--this means you're losing FAT and not muscle! So put it somewhere you won't see it or have someone hide it for you.

[almondina]

Re: Please help me not to weigh every day.

Thanks for the support, ladies. I actually managed to not weigh today. I also didn't go off plan (except for a couple of small squares of sugar free chocolate, in honor of Valentine's day, but I consider it a special occasion, so I'm feeling OK about it). I was seriously tempted after I came out of the shower this morning, but I didn't do it and I think I like it better this way.

Hopefully this can be part of a new, healthier pattern for me as I continue with Atkins.

Thanks again. I'll keep you posted.

[purplecat]

Re: Please help me not to weigh every day.

I'd help but I'm a scaleaholic. I tried putting my scale in a hard to reach location but got daily exercise getting it down. I even threw away some scales once but went through withdrawal so bad that I bought some more. If you can figure out how to stop the madness, please let me know.

[goal65]

Re: Please help me not to weigh every day.

i like to weigh myself everyday too but with a scale that is completely inaccurate, its not the smartest thing, even if the scale wasn't inaccurate. I now weigh myself every other day or so but know the scale cannot be accurate because my clothes have been fitting so much better, i feel better and i know its working. i think i might try this once a week weigh-in though.. that sounds appealing.

[Porcelain]

Re: Please help me not to weigh every day.

I had to have my husband hide mine becuase I was just ridiculous one day. Cried for an hour because I had gained a pound even though it was obvious I was smaller. I get it back at the end of this month. I am allowed unsupervised visitation with it for about 15 minutes then new negotions will be entered into.

[Bettestress]

Re: Please help me not to weigh every day.

I look at the weigh-in instructions the same way I do the diet itself, as a rule.
Weighing everyday is like cheating to me.. lol
Maybe put it in the trunk of your car? Or give it to a neighbor and make them swear to only give it to you once a week.

[almondina]

Re: Please help me not to weigh every day.

I like the idea of weighing daily to be a cheat. I didn't weigh yesterday, and I'm hoping that I will stay strong today as well. I have to take it day by day. I read somewhere that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Each time you succeed at your goal, it's like a muscle becomes stronger. Maybe I will try this for 21 days. Anyone else up for it? I think this might be a good way of "decoupling".

OK, so yesterday was day 1. Today is day 2. The idea is to stick to the diet without "cheating" by getting on the scale, except once a week on Wednesdays.

Let's see how it goes...

[Mothercooter]

Re: Please help me not to weigh every day.

I had to take make my mom take my scale to her house. I know I only go over there once every 2 weeks or so, so i figured Id just weight then. I too, am addicted.
What I hated was the fact that I relied on that number to tell me how I felt about my progress. If i hadnt lost or even gained a few oz, I felt miserable and defeated the whole day. I cant keep doing that to myself.

Last time I did atkins I didnt even own a scale for the first 2 or 3 months so I just judged by trying on clothes that were too small and I loved how ever few weeks they got looser and looser. Wayyyy better than a silly number!

I think Ill try that again, Lord knows, I have TONS of clothes that are snug and too small.

[Bettestress]

Re: Please help me not to weigh every day.

Some day, when I know my carb limit, and what foods are safe and non-triggers, I plan on not using the scale at all too.

[Dropzofjupiter29]

Re: Please help me not to weigh every day.

im no help im a scale addict myself :/ i weight every morning when i wake up. But if it goes up i dont get discouraged just makes me wanna go to the gym more lol.

[almondina]

Re: Please help me not to weigh every day.

I managed not to weigh this morning! Woo-hoo!!! Two days under my belt! I must say, this is a much saner way of going about this. I, too, am starting to feel a little looseness around the waist, and it does feel nice!

Mindy, congrats on the new babe!

[quotidianlight]

Re: Please help me not to weigh every day.

I weight daily but use smoothed averages and watch the trend line rather than the weight. I got the directions from hackers diet. If you do a search for it in google I highly recommend it. It smooths your daily up and downs into you actual weight trend and makes it really easy to stop panicing when it goes up a little or realise you are in trouble before you might otherwise spot it.

PS: they started an online version so you don't have to fiddle with the buggy excel worksheets. http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/online/