I've recently given the batteries in my scale to my husband. I told him specifically NOT to let me have them. I won't go out and buy more (I mean, we have some...right? ) Why did I do this? Because after years of prodding and being told you don't need to be tied to a number, I decided to give it a try.
My recent research on this topic led me to several blogs and articles. Most saying, that you can achieve a better body and more results, all while being MUCH happier IF you stay off the scale. Most recommend getting rid of it all together and while I have had times where I wanted to take a sledge hammer to it...I'm rather fond of my friend the scale. I have to admit, is a love-hate relationship though.
Now that I've given away my power to get on it...lets dive into why and who could benefit.
There have been times in my life that I would weigh myself 5x a day. Depending on the number I would eat or not eat. It was a good "diet' plan I thought. Eventually it became just daily...and then every couple of days. I've rarely gone an entire 7 days without knowing my number. So #1 - you can benefit from NOT weighing yourself if you are a person who weighs daily or is obsessive-compulsive about it, or if your mood is easily affected by the number you see on the scale. Any of these are good reasons to ditch it. Freaking out when the number increases by a mere half pound means YOU need to do this!
What is your goal anyway? Do you just want to look better in your clothes or um...naked? Do you want to improve your health, and perform better in the gym? If so, please keep reading. Oh, and note, this article isn't for anyone who HAS to keep track of their weight for a sport or athletic event!
I used the scale to keep an eye on potential weight gain. This is by far the most common reason for weighing SO often. The scale gives a little insight into how I am over or under eating. To those of you who are like me...why do you expect weight loss to suddenly "appear"? Are you NOT adopting a lifestyle that will prevent this from happening? Have you changed your eating habits so that you can sustain your size, have stress free meals and just enjoy life long term?
The experts agree that you need to adopt a lifestyle eating approach so that you don't need to worry or focus on your body weight. If your current plan has you in a battle with maintaining your weight, then you need to make a slight change in what you are currently doing. I mean, I don't want to be a lifetime dieter. I don't want to think about calories, fat, protein and carbs the rest of my days. One tool that has helped me get out of the calorie counting is the Portion Fix method, where I learned what a portion is, and how many of what I should have.
.
Whatever works for you, you need to find a way of eating, as well as a daily trianing mechanism that works for you. It needs to be simple and doesn't stress you out or cause you to nix your social life...yet...it should allow you to maintain your desired appearance and body weight with ease. I know you'd love for me to give you a straight answer on what's right for you, but honestly it differs for everyone. The Holy grail doesn't exist. I am only here to help you figure it out.
I suppose. I mean it gives you liquid/muscle weight. It doesn't account for fat loss. On the scale its just a number. A pound of butter and the same weight in marshmallows will give you the same number....yet one will be a LOT larger in volume. If you ate out lastnight, or had a ton of buttery popcorn...the scale might be up 3#.....if you only had a couple apples yesterday...you might be down a few #. Its all the same on this machine.
A poll of 100 ladies were asked the following question:
Do any of you weigh yourself daily, or most days per week? Do you find your mood can be easily affected by the number staring back at you?
Over 100 responses were given, here are a couple I found very interesting, because it sounds SOOO much like me:
This statement truly is me! This lady knows that she is in phenomenal shape for her body type but, the scale shows a number that is higher than what she internally believes is appropriate. If she had NEVER stepped on a scale and only went by how she felt and looked, would she be overjoyed with her success, or not? Has the scale lied to her? Probably.
And this one:
Again, this lady was feeling better and seeing results from her efforts, but because the scale number wasn’t in line with her thoughts, she felt like she failed. So, the scale lied to her, too.
Both respondents were happy with their progress until they saw the "number" and because it wasn't what they thought it should be.... they were negatively affected. How often has this happened to you? All the time for me.
Its happened to me several times, and ladies I know have had it happen also. The number in their head is reached and they still find stuff to fix and improve. The cycle goes on and on and on. You gotta let go. Celebrate and live life!
So, it was suggested to me that I let go. Stop trying to find that magic number. Realize that its not a number I am striving for, but a lifestyle, a jean to fit into and happiness more often that doesn't come from a bottle, a food or a scale. Stop setting fat loss goals, weight goals and food goals.
Simple. Powerful. Complete.
Do you want to feel awesome and maintain that with minimal stress? or do you want to be stressed while maintaining a number? Train for the look you want, do your best, forget the rest. Stop thinking about the scale. Numbers shouldn't define you.
As I said, I've decided to try to stay off the scale for a while. It may be just a month or 2 or it may go into 4. I'm just going to do what I've done for years. Train hard, eat smart and take pictures and use my tape measure and the mirror for guidance.
I will continue to train daily, and get in cardio and weights. I'm not crazy, I just really love to move (I always have). It keeps the crazies out.
My goal - to experience the workout and enjoy the process. Maybe I will be able to focus on form and performance, and lifting heavy weights more often. Perhaps a new PR will come out of it. I don't know. I want my clothes to continue to fit and I want to feel happy more.
After a couple months, I will step back on the scale and take my measurements.
I will start to pay attention to several other indicators which are maybe more accurate and don’t fluctuate nearly as much on a daily basis as my bodyweight.
The first four I've been told will be the most important ones to track:
This isn't necessary but, some people do like to track a number.... so in that case, keep a couple measurements such as your waits, hips, arms and thighs.
Put the scale away for 30 days, minimum.
Use the “new scales” above, particularly the first four that are listed. I strongly believe that I will be pleasantly surprised with the results and the new mindset that comes along with the challenge.
My recent research on this topic led me to several blogs and articles. Most saying, that you can achieve a better body and more results, all while being MUCH happier IF you stay off the scale. Most recommend getting rid of it all together and while I have had times where I wanted to take a sledge hammer to it...I'm rather fond of my friend the scale. I have to admit, is a love-hate relationship though.
Now that I've given away my power to get on it...lets dive into why and who could benefit.
There have been times in my life that I would weigh myself 5x a day. Depending on the number I would eat or not eat. It was a good "diet' plan I thought. Eventually it became just daily...and then every couple of days. I've rarely gone an entire 7 days without knowing my number. So #1 - you can benefit from NOT weighing yourself if you are a person who weighs daily or is obsessive-compulsive about it, or if your mood is easily affected by the number you see on the scale. Any of these are good reasons to ditch it. Freaking out when the number increases by a mere half pound means YOU need to do this!
What is your goal anyway? Do you just want to look better in your clothes or um...naked? Do you want to improve your health, and perform better in the gym? If so, please keep reading. Oh, and note, this article isn't for anyone who HAS to keep track of their weight for a sport or athletic event!
Why weight yourself at all?
I used the scale to keep an eye on potential weight gain. This is by far the most common reason for weighing SO often. The scale gives a little insight into how I am over or under eating. To those of you who are like me...why do you expect weight loss to suddenly "appear"? Are you NOT adopting a lifestyle that will prevent this from happening? Have you changed your eating habits so that you can sustain your size, have stress free meals and just enjoy life long term?
The experts agree that you need to adopt a lifestyle eating approach so that you don't need to worry or focus on your body weight. If your current plan has you in a battle with maintaining your weight, then you need to make a slight change in what you are currently doing. I mean, I don't want to be a lifetime dieter. I don't want to think about calories, fat, protein and carbs the rest of my days. One tool that has helped me get out of the calorie counting is the Portion Fix method, where I learned what a portion is, and how many of what I should have.
.
Whatever works for you, you need to find a way of eating, as well as a daily trianing mechanism that works for you. It needs to be simple and doesn't stress you out or cause you to nix your social life...yet...it should allow you to maintain your desired appearance and body weight with ease. I know you'd love for me to give you a straight answer on what's right for you, but honestly it differs for everyone. The Holy grail doesn't exist. I am only here to help you figure it out.
Does the Scale Lie?
I suppose. I mean it gives you liquid/muscle weight. It doesn't account for fat loss. On the scale its just a number. A pound of butter and the same weight in marshmallows will give you the same number....yet one will be a LOT larger in volume. If you ate out lastnight, or had a ton of buttery popcorn...the scale might be up 3#.....if you only had a couple apples yesterday...you might be down a few #. Its all the same on this machine.
A poll of 100 ladies were asked the following question:
Do any of you weigh yourself daily, or most days per week? Do you find your mood can be easily affected by the number staring back at you?
Over 100 responses were given, here are a couple I found very interesting, because it sounds SOOO much like me:
I’ve never been in better shape before but the scale keeps telling me otherwise! So frustrating but I’m learning to ignore it! But why is that?!?
This statement truly is me! This lady knows that she is in phenomenal shape for her body type but, the scale shows a number that is higher than what she internally believes is appropriate. If she had NEVER stepped on a scale and only went by how she felt and looked, would she be overjoyed with her success, or not? Has the scale lied to her? Probably.
And this one:
I recently started weight training and got a set of BIA scales to track my progress. After 2 weeks of training hard and eating right I felt great and my boyfriend was convinced I had slimmed down. I’d got carried away with the scales though and was measuring 2-3 times a day. After 2 weeks I compared with my starting weight and there was no difference, I was devastated and actually had to lie down. The scales really made me question my commitment to this kind of fitness despite FEELING stronger and healthier.
Again, this lady was feeling better and seeing results from her efforts, but because the scale number wasn’t in line with her thoughts, she felt like she failed. So, the scale lied to her, too.
What's important here???
Both respondents were happy with their progress until they saw the "number" and because it wasn't what they thought it should be.... they were negatively affected. How often has this happened to you? All the time for me.
Do I have an ideal weight?
Maybe... perhaps like me, you chose a number that you enjoyed in high school, or pre-pregnancy.... however you chose it, its a number that you put in your head and you think that you need to reach it. Once you reach it ... will you be happier? win the lottery? become a superstar? Prob's not. Most people won't even notice.Its happened to me several times, and ladies I know have had it happen also. The number in their head is reached and they still find stuff to fix and improve. The cycle goes on and on and on. You gotta let go. Celebrate and live life!
So, it was suggested to me that I let go. Stop trying to find that magic number. Realize that its not a number I am striving for, but a lifestyle, a jean to fit into and happiness more often that doesn't come from a bottle, a food or a scale. Stop setting fat loss goals, weight goals and food goals.
Train for a LOOK and not a NUMBER on the scale.
Simple. Powerful. Complete.
Do you want to feel awesome and maintain that with minimal stress? or do you want to be stressed while maintaining a number? Train for the look you want, do your best, forget the rest. Stop thinking about the scale. Numbers shouldn't define you.
My Experience
As I said, I've decided to try to stay off the scale for a while. It may be just a month or 2 or it may go into 4. I'm just going to do what I've done for years. Train hard, eat smart and take pictures and use my tape measure and the mirror for guidance.
I will continue to train daily, and get in cardio and weights. I'm not crazy, I just really love to move (I always have). It keeps the crazies out.
My goal - to experience the workout and enjoy the process. Maybe I will be able to focus on form and performance, and lifting heavy weights more often. Perhaps a new PR will come out of it. I don't know. I want my clothes to continue to fit and I want to feel happy more.
After a couple months, I will step back on the scale and take my measurements.
Here’s the New “Scale”
I will start to pay attention to several other indicators which are maybe more accurate and don’t fluctuate nearly as much on a daily basis as my bodyweight.
The first four I've been told will be the most important ones to track:
The new “scale”:
- How do I look in the Mirror
- How do my clothes fit
- Am I following simple nutrition habits that are stress free
- How do I feel? Strong and healthy? Awesome? Are daily tasks easier? How is my energy level? Did I perform well in the gym/training or with other activities?
- What are my actions? Am I eating properly? Training regularly? Are my actions in line with my goals?
- How is my self-confidence? How do I feel about my Body Image? This is what matters! Its one ...ONE... of the many benefits to strength training!
This isn't necessary but, some people do like to track a number.... so in that case, keep a couple measurements such as your waits, hips, arms and thighs.
My Challenge
Put the scale away for 30 days, minimum.
Use the “new scales” above, particularly the first four that are listed. I strongly believe that I will be pleasantly surprised with the results and the new mindset that comes along with the challenge.
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