The Great Daily Weigh-In

OK, I admit it.

I weigh myself every day.

But I'm not obsessive about it. Really.

I do not weigh on vacation, or when I'm at my weekend house. But when I am home, I weigh every day. I know my ups and downs, weight-wise, and am comfortable with them. In fact, I can usually predict, the night before, about what I'll weigh the next morning.

Here's the truth about maintenance: it does not involve staying at a single weight. It is impossible to keep the same weight day after day after day. Changes in fluid retention, gut content, and numerous other factors make your weight fluctuate from day to day (and in fact, from hour to hour).

I work on maintaining a weight range, rather than a single weight. My range, right now, is 132 - 136. When I go above 136 on any weigh-in day, I spring into action, cutting my intake back a little each day until I'm back to about mid-range.

Weighing is a great maintenance tool. Step on the scale, and it gives you instant feedback about how well you're balancing intake and output. You can take that information and use it to figure out whether you can just keep doin' what you're doin', or if you need to cut your food back a bit for a few days.

Problems occur only when you emotionalize your weigh-in.

When I weigh myself, all I'm doing is seeing how much I weigh. I am not weighing my:

1. happiness
2. self-esteem
3. mood
4. self image
5. worth

. . . or anything else. I'm weighing my body. Period. I want to see how well I'm doing with estimating my food intake and calories burned. If I'm down a bit, fine. If I'm up a bit, fine. The former requires no action. The second may require action for a few days, if I've gone above the top of my weight range.

Here's my thought for the day: the scale and your emotions are not meant to be married to each other. Get them a divorce. Use your weigh-ins, no matter how frequent or infrequent, as a valuable feedback tool. Don't let the scale determine your mood for the day.

You'll find weighing in a lot easier, believe me.

* * * * *

Why the Scale Lies

A Triathlete's Personal Perspective

Comments

[Denise]

I got into big trouble avoiding the scale. Was easy to live in denial and gain lots of weight!

Now, I just weigh myself every single day (ok... I don't take the scale with me on vacation). I've done so for 4+ years now. I weigh after eating Chinese food and salty food and Thanksgiving...

After seeing my weight go up or go down 1400+ times now... it is kind of hard to get all excited about being down .5 lb or to get all bummed out about being up 1.5. (:->)

It is like brushing teeth in the AM, just a habit to maintain my health... no big emotional thing...

[Ellen]

I weigh every morning, and can finally now do so without getting over emotional about what it says. I feel more logical about it now. If I gain, I think more, is it a water retention issue, or did I eat more than I should have yesterday, or even the day before or even two, three days ago. The weight doesn't always show up right away. I can then adjust my eating plan. I really enjoyed this blog, since it hits home with me. I feel the more information I can get, even the use of the scale towards my weight loss journey, is helpful.