[Sorry for the repost - 6 hours yesterday of flight delays and over 100 emails in my inbox and I decided a repost would save me some extra stress]
It's certainly not a condition written about in medical textbooks.
I'm talking about scale addiction. An affliction that causes the sufferer, usually someone in the midst of a weight loss effort, to step on the scale multiple times a day whereupon if the scale does not go down or goes up, they suffer mild to severe mental anguish.
I've met many folks who are scale addicts.
They tell me that rationally they understand that getting on the scale multiple times a day won't make a difference, but that they just can't help themselves.
For those folks I usually offer to babysit their scales in my office or I recommend that they turn them over, take out the batteries or put tape on the solar strip.
The thing is scales are truly frustrating devices because they don't simply measure caloric intake vs. caloric expenditure. They measure clothing, water retention, constipation and time of day differences.
Folks who do weigh frequently will know that weight fluctuates both day by day and within a day.
So for scale addicts out there, here are two things you need to know.
Firstly, there's 3,500 calories in a pound, and while bodies are not mathematical instruments whereby if you do or don't eat 3,500 calories you'll see a pound change on the scale, bodies do obey the laws of thermodynamics and if you step on a scale on a Wednesday and it's 3 pounds heavier than Tuesday, unless you consumed at least 10,500 calories more than you burned, the scale is weighing something other than true weight.
Secondly, your weight doesn't matter. What do I mean by that? To put it simply, what moves the number on the scale is not the act of standing on the scale, it's what you're doing and choosing during the times you're not standing on the scale. It's your lifestyle and your choices that change your weight. You need to determine how you're doing by how you're doing. What have your dietary choices been like? How's your fitness? Are you being thoughtful? Are you organized and consistent?
Scales can be helpful to illustrate trends, but weight fluctuation, both inter and intra day fluctuations are normal.
At the end of the day, it's your life that can change the scale, not the other way around.
My recommendations? During a weight loss effort weigh yourself once a week, stark naked Wednesday morning before breakfast. During a weight maintenance effort weigh yourself daily and get to learn your body's weight fluctuations and more importantly, use the scale to nip any weight regain in the bud.
Break the habit, stop the weighing.
(P.S. Those aren't my feet, just a scary picture from the internet)
Posts
I threw out my scale years ago. I grew up watching my mother hate herself everytime she got on it, and I swore I would not do the same. I use a pair of pants that fit well to use as a scale of whether I need to watch portions more closely!@
ReplyDeleteI'm the opposite, during weight loss - I jump on and off the scale almost daily. It was great to learn why I had a spike - I could look at my diet journal and see I had too much salt the day before, or look at my exercise journal and see I did a major lower body workout. It got me past the stage of throwing everything out the window when I hopped on the scale after a week or two of working out and seeing it move up a fraction.
ReplyDeleteI'm like #2. I need a daily weighing to keep myself accountable. (Not multiple times a day, though.)
ReplyDeleteIf I miss the daily weighing for more than a couple days in a row, I deceive myself into thinking I'm not gaining when I am.
I chart my weight and pay more attention to overall trend and the moving average than day-to-day fluctuations. But I do need to follow that line on the graph because it is a swifter and more sensitive indicator of a backslide into bad habits of snacking and not keeping up with regular exercising than any piece of clothing.
I agree with #2 & #3!
ReplyDeleteI'm weaning myself away from the scale -- I just blogged about it!
ReplyDeleteI can use my blood glucose meter to keep me accountable for eating in a manner that's best for me, and my own sense of whether I'm getting enough activity, sleep and enjoyment.
For far too long I let the number on the scale tell me if I was "good" or "bad," "acceptable" or "unacceptable." I would rather measure the kindness of my actions toward myself and others.
I have concerns with folks who suggest there is a single right way to monitor one's weight loss --such as only weighing weekly. There are many different techniques/tools, and each person has to figure out what works best for them. I actually felt guilty for years because I weigh myself daily as part of my successfully maintaining a 40 lb loss, and finally "confessed" this guilt to a therapist. She told me that it was her view that I shouldn't worry about it, and that many people who have lost weight find this a useful tool. I felt really relieved -- as if I had been exonerated. I therefore don't think that it's all that helpful to take the position that it's per se unhealthy to weigh daily. I do think there's a risk that people may let their moods be too affected by the scale (e.g., feeling down or bad about themselves if it doesn't move down as fast as they'd like), but this downside is offset for many by the monitoring value of the scale. There's really not a "one-size-fits-all" solution, and I hope that you take these different points of view into account.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, particularly the part about "what you're doing and choosing during the times you're not standing on the scale." Very very true!
ReplyDeleteWhat are your thoughts on using weekly body measurements, such as waist, rather than the scales?
Hi Melanie,
ReplyDeleteI actually don't recommend any numbers or measurments for goal setting. Best goal for me is living the healthiest life you can honestly and realistically enjoy.
That said, different strokes for different folks and certainly if you find measurements helpful, go for it.
Really at the end of the day any strategy a person finds motivating can be helpful - though if that strategy also led to negative feelings and emotions like guilt, I'd try to find a new one.
Regards,
Yoni