I Hate Weighing Myself

In the very beginning, I had a love-hate relationship with a scale.

Still kind of do, but I know a lot more now to lessen the intensity of the feeling. And that’s coming from somebody who’s been at this for 12 years.

Well, for this round…I’ve been dieting physically or mentally my entire life if you want to look at it from another perspective… but we’re gonna break it down to this time.

In the very beginning of 2012, I was on my own with figuring everything out. The scale was a really big deal. It told me all sorts of things. Or at least I thought it did.

Week 1-8 of the Weight Loss Journey to Lose 135 lbs.

What I thought the scale was telling me…

How I did with my food the day before
Whether or not, I was good or bad
If an outing with my friends or family was worth it to me
If my weight gain/loss was fat gain/loss or if it was water gain/loss

Any of these feel familiar? I am going to quickly break these down below.

What it actually told me…

How much mass I currently had with gravity applied at that given moment in time ONLY. (Weight = Mass x Gravational acceleration)
And that mass included muscle, fat, bone, organs, tissue, water, food that is still being digested, stored glycogen, etc.

And this doesn’t necessarily take away feelings or frustrations but more below on how to use this better.

How I did with my food the day before

Yes, what you ate the day before is represented in this number on the scale BUT it is always changing. It changes all of the time. You could drink a glass of water and then step back on the scale and see a difference. That is how it changes things.

In order to actually gain pounds of fat, you would have to eat a lot of food.

A lot a lot of food.

1 pound is equivalent to 3500 kcal… a lot of food.

For more understanding about what it all really looks like: Diet, Weight Loss, Fat Loss & Calorie Deficit

Whether or not, I was good or bad

The scale does not determine whether you are good or bad. You do. That is your choice. And the number on the scale does not truly determine this anymore than the clothes that you wear, the color of your eyes or anything else like that. This is purely something that we as people might need to work on mentally.

Maybe we were raised in a situation where our weight was equivalent to whether we were good or bad. But that’s not the truth. The two are unrelated. This is a pre-programmed notion that you can actively replace with your own thoughts.

Also…food is neither good or bad. It is just food. It has calories. The body needs calories to survive. Food doesn’t have morality.

We give things a value.

For more on thought processes like this: “Is this food good or bad?”

If an outing with my friends or family was worth it to me

What the scale says should never determine whether or not a moment of connection and fellowship with your family or friends was worth it. These two things should be completely unrelated.

Also, you can go out and make choices that align with your goals. If you want to continue with your weight loss, choose things that fit with it.

Not everything is black-and-white when it comes to weight loss. You don’t need to only eat at home and only have meal prepped food in order to lose weight.

Mindful Eating Strategies for Dining Out & Weight Loss

If my weight gain/loss was fat gain/loss or if it was water gain/loss

Some modern bathroom scales say that they can measure not only your weight but also the percentage of your weight that comes from fat, muscle, bone, and water. Known as body-fat scales, some also calculate BMI and allow you to upload data to your smartphone or computer to track changes over time.

In Body-Fat Scale Review: Consumer Reports weighs in on the high-tech claims, six digital scales were tested, priced from $40 to $150, for accuracy in measuring weight and body fat. For weight, they used an electronic lab scale as a control and found five of the scales accurate. However, the Qardio QardioBase overestimated weight by 6 to 10 pounds, though the company claims to have corrected this issue.

Accuracy in measuring body fat was poor across all scales, as benchmarked against the Bod Pod, a precise measurement tool. Results varied, with the closest scale still off by up to 21%. Factors such as body shape, wet or dry feet, recent exercise, and artificial joints affected accuracy. For accurate body fat measurement, consider a Bod Pod session.

While smart scales offer useful tracking features, their body fat measurements are not highly accurate. Prioritize accurate weight measurement and consider using additional methods for body fat and BMI tracking.

Getting back to how to use the scale to help

We have already mentioned that the scale tells you how much mass you currently have on your body with gravity applied at that given moment in time ONLY.

Weight = Mass x Gravational acceleration

The body’s mass is made up of bones, muscles, organs, skin, fat tissue, blood, the nervous system, cartilage, the digestive system, endocrine glands, and hair and nails. Bones are minerals and collagen. Muscles are proteins and water. Organs have proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Skin includes collagen and fat. Fat tissue stores lipids. Blood has water, proteins, and cells. The nervous system contains proteins and fats. Cartilage provides support. The digestive system processes nutrients. Endocrine glands produce hormones. Hair and nails are keratin.

Understanding Fluctuations

In the blog post The Scale, Fluctuations & A Goal Weight, I went into a lot of detail when it comes to the scale and fluctuations, but also how we could possibly set a goal weight. This was the list of factors that can influence what the scale tells you.

Weight management/Fat loss
Weighing yourself at different times
Meals high in volume, carbs, and sodium
Ate later than normal
Medications
Menstrual cycle
Bowel movements
Hydration/Dehydration/Retaining water
Stress and poor sleep
Drank alcohol
Gaining muscle
Illness/Inflammation
Exercise impacts fluid balance and glycogen levels.
Temperature and altitude affect fluid levels.

How Often Should You Weigh Yourself?

Weighing once a week can hinder our ability to see that we are making progress. Daily weigh-ins allow us to see through the fluctuations. This is by taking that data and averaging it together. Then comparing that to the previous week’s seven data point’s average.

The risk weighing yourself only once a week is that you won’t see the fluctuations that your body might have throughout the week. You could see yourself at your weekly low weight. The weight that you see during that one week weigh-in might be the same as it was last week and you believe that you’re maintaining weight. Maybe that weight is higher than the previous week and you might believe that you’re gaining weight.

Weighing yourself once a month could potentially be a better option if you do not like to weigh yourself often. The danger with this though is, if you are on a journey for weight loss, you may not have more immediate awareness that you need to make a course correction.

Other progress data & measurements

Checking your progress through other means is one of the most supportive practices that you can do for your overall well-being. This is even more so the case if you have dealt with some of the things that I mentioned above like I have.

I’ve done this multiple different ways over the course of my own weight loss.

Purchasing a piece of clothing in a smaller size and trying it on every week or two to see how it fits
Taking your body’s measurements in multiple areas anywhere from once a week to once a month

This specific list was included in The Scale, Fluctuations & A Goal Weight. This can be a great way to broaden your perspective on how to assess your progress.

How do your clothes feel?
Are you able to do things easier throughout your week?
How is your physical energy (not dictated by mental stress, hormones, or sleep)?
Have you reached any activity-related milestones lately?
Is your mind feeling sharper?
Have you been able to enjoy food both in the house and outside of the house?
How does your skin look and feel?
Do you cope with things better than you would before?
Have you been experiencing less pain?
Are you finding that your mood has improved overall?
Have you felt the connection you wanted from your loved ones lately?
Do you have any medical markers that have gotten better?
Is your budget healthier from the changes in habits?
What about your environment or the company kept? Is it more supportive?

Some other great aspects to look into to figure out whether or not you have made some progress… different Non-Scale Victories (NSVs).