LIVIN' LARGE: Minimizing yourself and maximizing your life!When you have over 100 pounds to lose it can seem impossible to get started in the right direction.
It's been all over the internet for years. Might as well be here, too...
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We've been told over and over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can't resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can't bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence its readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale.
I'm pretty much a daily weigh person myself. Of course I hate to admit it, but I'm a stats person, and I just like to see the trends. I don't generally let the number affect me (not saying never, but so far only once), it's just one of those daily things I do. I have a blog on another site that I post the weekly differences, but in the end it's the month to month that I'm most interested in.
Every time I stop using the scale my clothes shrink in the dryer.
That's too bad.
Regular measuring isn't that bad, it's just the daily weighing that can be detrimental to some people.
If you get hung up on the scale changes then it can be bad. There are people that get bummed out because they are up .6 lbs on tuesday.
There are people who watch the scale every day and don't let the fluctuations bother them. It doesn't change what they do. It doesn't change their mood. It makes me wonder why they weight themselves every day. What can they tell about the change between two days?
I think many people weigh daily as a reminder to eat right. I'd choose a measuring tape, instead. The tape isn't accurate either; it's dependent on how hard you suck in, how your posture is that day, etc. So charting daily measurements gives you a better way to track the trend in measurements. That's a more useful obsession.
There are people who watch the scale every day and don't let the fluctuations bother them. It doesn't change what they do. It doesn't change their mood. It makes me wonder why they weight themselves every day. What can they tell about the change between two days?
I think many people weigh daily as a reminder to eat right. I'd choose a measuring tape, instead. The tape isn't accurate either; it's dependent on how hard you suck in, how your posture is that day, etc. So charting daily measurements gives you a better way to track the trend in measurements. That's a more useful obsession.
Good point. It's not perhaps entirely true the fluctuations don't bother me, but when they are upwards fluctuations, it does tend to motivate me to work harder. As you say, a reminder to keep on eating correctly. Downwards fluctuations, like today's 223.8 give me hope and that keeps me trundling on the good path. (Mind you... that's GOT to be a fluctuation, I slept 12 hours. So I know it isn't a real loss. Yet.)
I can look back at my records and see progress made, even if I don't feel like I'm seeing it in the immediate "NOW".
The girth measurements drops don't happen as quickly or as obviously... I'll probably be measuring again Tuesday, but I quick checked my waist today... no change. Yet... my wrist measurement HAS changed a tiny bit. The which I already knew, because I've been using the 8th hole on my HRM from the end of the band instead of the 7th lately. So I know stuff is happening inside, but it just doesn't happen fast in girth changes for me. And it always starts at my extremities where I don't look fat, sigh.
Still, if a 1/16" is coming off my wrist, where there is little fat, it's still fat coming off. I'd NEVER be able to see that small difference at my waist or hips, just because I'm so blamed "gooey" there.
Another reason for the daily weigh is to keep an eye on my hydration level. While I try to drink close to a gallon most days, there are times I forget and the hydration part of my scale is a reminder as well.
The only time it gets me down in when I busted my @$$ and nothing shows at the end of the week, at all.
I hear that aggravation, LOL!
But... something DOES show. It's just not on the visible level.
You busted your @$$... and that shows determination and motivation!
Believe me, that's something that is just not there for so many folks. Always remember that in this war on flab... whatever you do towards progress counts, visible or not.
It's good to finally hear someone say what I've been thinking for years! Weighing everyday can only make you crazy. It's so hard not to weigh yourself when you are dieting becasue you wanted to know if its working, but it's really rediculous how much power we give to that number.
I have started focusing more on how my clothes are fitting. There's nothing better than feeling your jeans get looser and looser. I can't tell you how many times I've felt like I'm losing weight and then get on the scale to find the number is the exact same or more! It's so hard to stay motivated as it is, and when you have a finicky scale making you question your progress, you are bound to fail.
But there are still people who will continue to weigh everyday. Stop torturing yourself! It's a difficult habbit to break, but it's worth it. I promise. Freedom at last!
__________________ Give Truth About Abs a try. It's working really good for me.
I'd just like to say that weighing daily does not make me crazy. It's just data points, that's all. I'm fine with it, it's not torture, it's simply a habit. Something I do. Like brushing my teeth. (Flossing, now that's torture... LOL!)
Now, focusing on clothes fit is a good thing, I'm not arguing that it isn't! It's one of many ways people can judge progress forward.
However, everyone is different. Clothes fit is NOT the best way for me right now. If I only used clothing fit for a progress measure, I'd have gone crazy by now and probably dumped the whole fat loss thing as impossible. Yet here I am, thanks to my scale.
Would you like to know just how many pounds and how LONG it actually takes before I really notice much difference in how my 2X stretchy jeans feel? It takes 37 POUNDS lost and over a YEAR AND A HALF'S time before I *START* noticing any real difference. They shrink in the dryer and feel tight when I put them on. I am just starting now to notice that they aren't quite so bad these days. They are not, however, actually loose, or even close yet.
Yes, inches lost might happen faster if my foot doctor would let me weight train my lower body more than once a week, but I can't. It sets off the plantar fasciitis too badly. I have to keep at body weight exercises and even those have me icing a lot even to survive a short session.
Do you really think most people would or could wait a year and a half to see a glimpse of progress without going stark raving NUTS? I think most folks would quit trying long since. Not all of us no, but that would have been too long for me to go with so little evidence of any progress.
Fortunately, I CAN see slow progress on my Omron body fat monitor, I can see progress in strength/endurance/sustained heart rate and I can see progress on my Tanita scale, which I love, not hate! It's very accurate and very consistent.
Where signs of progress comes very slowly for me is in clothing size. Last May 2007, after my foot diagnosis, I got a swimsuit. Size 2X, Junonia Seashell, scoop neck. I am JUST NOW, as of this past week, noticing that it's easier to get my swim suit (STILL the exact same size and model, just a more recent purchase) over my hips. I'm hoping like crazy that the next purchase in a couple months can be a 1X. But it's been a long time coming.
So, your progress measure would torture me! I lose inches first in my extremities, where I need to lose it the very least. I have noticed progress on my WRIST, because of my heart rate monitor. It takes a LOT of time for those little 1/16" measurement drops to show on my hips! You say getting on the scale and seeing the exact same weight bugs you? Well I say, putting on the same jeans and the same swimsuit for over a year and having them feel snug bugs me!
People need to do what works for them... we are all very individual. So please don't paint those of us who weigh daily as some kind of masochists, because we aren't. I like data stuff... always have. I used to track hurricanes, longitude, latitude, point by point when I was a child, carefully listening to each updated radio broadcast.
I've avoided the daily scale issue - I'm to the point where gaining muscle is compensating for fat loss - but I have developed a desire to constantly measure to see if I can get rid of that extra half-inch. It may be a bit compulsive, but I figure it's not hurting anything and I'm staying on track. Anyone else have this transfer from the scale to the tape measure?
When I was lowest and not going lower we kept weighing, but my main measure was the calipers. Just to watch something change. And it was only a couple out of 7 that would change, heh.
Graycyn, I guess the scale isn't everyone's enemy. If it's the best way for a particular person to measure progress, then I totally understand why you want to continue to weigh on a regular basis. I guess it all just depends on the individual, like you said. For me, I'll start to feel a difference in the clothes, and I'll be thinking I've lost about 5 pounds. Then I'll get on the scale and it says I'm down a pound. Losing 1 pound is always good but it can be discouraging when you were already feeling lik eyou had made more progress. But that also proabably has a lot to do with my body shape. The majority of my extra weight is in my hips and thighs, so maybe that has something to with the reason I feel such a big difference in my pants after a a few weeks of diet and exercise. Anyway, keep up te good work! I'm glad that the scale is not a source of frustration for you as it is for me.
__________________ Give Truth About Abs a try. It's working really good for me.
not necessarily. I mean, if you weigh weekly, you only get one sample per 7 days... you may end up weighing on a consistently high day for some reason, thus discouraging. If you weighed daily, you may see a pattern that can allow you to ignore the occasional uptick, even if it happens regularly, because you see the pattern.
Yes, some can drive themselves crazy if they obsess about the scale. That's gonna be true regardless... and then I'd suggest using only monthly, or some other large time frame that means fluctuation won't matter. But for someone who understands that the daily numbers aren't important individually but in aggregate, it's helpful whereas a less often weighing wouldn't be.
not necessarily. I mean, if you weigh weekly, you only get one sample per 7 days... you may end up weighing on a consistently high day for some reason, thus discouraging. If you weighed daily, you may see a pattern that can allow you to ignore the occasional uptick, even if it happens regularly, because you see the pattern.
Ya, thats the main issue.
If I take a program i was doing the other year, I would do a large deadlift session every second week. On my saturday weighin, every second week I would go up in weight and every middle one I would go down.
When I weigh daily, I see why. After a good deadlift session, I hold a ton of water.
Personally, I just weigh nearly every day, and track my weight with an average of the last 7days (trend line on Excel). Smooths out the day to day garbage, to let me know the trends.
Similar concept to a BIA recommendation from Jason Norcross (? memory is fading) at tmag years ago.
not necessarily. I mean, if you weigh weekly, you only get one sample per 7 days... you may end up weighing on a consistently high day for some reason, thus discouraging. If you weighed daily, you may see a pattern that can allow you to ignore the occasional uptick, even if it happens regularly, because you see the pattern.
In theory, if you weight one a week, same day, same time, and it's the consistently high day, that high day will still drop over time (trying to lose weight). My high will be relative to my "true" body weight.
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Originally Posted by cycomiko
Ya, thats the main issue.
If I take a program i was doing the other year, I would do a large deadlift session every second week. On my saturday weighin, every second week I would go up in weight and every middle one I would go down.
When I weigh daily, I see why. After a good deadlift session, I hold a ton of water.
Personally, I just weigh nearly every day, and track my weight with an average of the last 7days (trend line on Excel). Smooths out the day to day garbage, to let me know the trends.
Similar concept to a BIA recommendation from Jason Norcross (? memory is fading) at tmag years ago.
This is more of a topic for "Why the Scale Lies to People Who Are on Advanced Diets and Lifting Plans."
Everyone gets exercise related swelling, water retention, "free meal" bloating, etc., but this generally isn't much of an issue for someone who's doing a pretty normal diet.
For instance, when my heavy lifting day was deadlifting 225lbs, and I ate about the same amount of carbs on each day, the fluctuations were pretty minor. There was some, but I weighed myself every friday morning for years (monday-thursday were very stable dieting days for me). Sometimes, I weighed other days out of curiosity, but I counted on that Friday weigh-in to tell me if I was progressing.
I've used Kelly Baggett's No Bull plan (which uses a lot of UD2.0 concepts) and tracked my weight on two days per cycle/week (the last day of the "cut" and then the last day of the "bulk"). 5-7lbs difference from cut to bulk weigh-ins. So, I certainly saw the trends.
Most people with 20-n lbs to lose should probably just be eating 500-1000 calories below maintenance and not sweating the details.
I find that if I look at the scale, and it says I've lost..I feel good...too good...so good in fact that later on, I'll have that extra piece of chicken! On the reverse, If I haven't lost...or gained I will be so upset that I might kill my week with one stupid move meal!
So, I recently had the hubby hide the scale...otherwise I'd be on it every day torturing myself! I know when I've gained...the jeans never lie...and I know when I've lost...for the same reason.
I decided to set a goal for the end of the summer...and only to weigh myself once or twice a month to see if I'm progressing. For me, this way works better...otherwise I'm glued to the scale and then it dictates my daily mood like a mood ring!!!
I love daily weighing. If it is low, I don't treat myself, I attribute it to maybe needing to rehydrate. If it is high, I am more motivated to fit in a workout. I have a healthy attitude about my weight though and would tend to gain over the long run if I didn't have a reminder.
Regarding clothes - I know they shrink because mine shrunk in length. I know I didn't get shorter by 1 or 2 inches!
I weigh daily too, but I'm the other way around. When it's low I'm more motivated to keep on track. When it's high, I say 'f-it' and eat the cake since my efforts aren't helping anyway
I guess I'm motivated more by progress.
I'm also learning I don't necessarily weigh the least first thing in the morning.
Why The Scale Lies
Give Truth About Abs a try. It's working really good for me.
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