iloveartichokes Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Does anyone else feel more tempted to get on the scale than to eat bad foods? I'm on Day 5 and I just really want to check on how I'm doing! My last stint with paleo I was weighing myself obsessively..2-3 times a day. I know they say its unhealthy behavior, but it motivates me! Grrr..this is tough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted July 20, 2012 Moderators Share Posted July 20, 2012 Weighing yourself 2-3 times per day is not motivation. It's an obsession. Obsessions feel productive, but they are actually destructive of your health and self-esteem. Hang in there and you will slay the scale dragon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicks Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 The way your clothes fit and your energy levels are a better gauge of how your body is responding than the number on the scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iloveartichokes Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Weighing yourself 2-3 times per day is not motivation. It's an obsession. Obsessions feel productive, but they are actually destructive of your health and self-esteem. Hang in there and you will slay the scale dragon! I am going to trust the program and stay vigilant! Thanks for the encouragement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbitgirl Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Oh I am right there with you. Between the scale in my walkin closet and another in the gym...it's so hard to resist!! Be vigilant and know you are not alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iloveartichokes Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 I had to put my scale out of sight. It helped a little. I don't know why I'm so obsessed with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyn1 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Yes! I also am finding it way more difficult to stay off the scale. I had to hide it way in the back of my closet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayell Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 To prevent the scale temptation I kicked it so far under my bed that I'd have to brave the dust bunnies to get it. The dust bunnies are a great deterrent. Not having the scale available has let me notice other things. I don't know whether I've lost any weight, but I do know that my moods are more even, my jaw line is firmer, I don't have horrible cravings, skin tags seem to be disappearing, age spots on my hands are lighter, some of my clothes fit better and although the heat here has been crazy, I have far fewer hot flashes. These are all subtle signs compared to a number on a scale that could have been missed while focusing on weight. They're also better measurements of improving health. Even if I don't see an immediate weight loss (I wouldn't be surprised, given typical menopause) it won't really bother me too much seeing these changes. The mood stability and low cravings alone are worth eating this way even if I never lost an ounce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derval Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 These are all subtle signs compared to a number on a scale that could have been missed while focusing on weight. They're also better measurements of improving health. ...... The mood stability and low cravings alone are worth eating this way even if I never lost an ounce. Wise words kayell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarfreeLife Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 I haven't scale temptation and I'm not interested in scale numbers, because I know that these numbers say nothing about us, but on the other hand, I watch carefully, how my clothes fit and if there is some change in the mirror, and it influences my mood too, so I understand, what you feel. I hope that it will change during the Whole30 for me and for you too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derval Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 I have my body outline drawn in the mirror and every day I check if I am within or outside the lines. LOL KIDDING!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLC1968 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 I was having a hard time staying off the scale, too. Then I had surgery two days ago and they had to weigh me for anesthesia. I had no way not to look but at least it was in kilos so I couldn't immediately translate. I did do the conversion later on and 21 days into my whole30, I'm about where I would have guessed based on how my clothes fit. No surprises! Don't give in. The scale has no worthwhile information for you at this point in your journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arabella Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 I hid my battery but then reunited it again. I think I need to bring it to work so the temptation is gone all together! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee Lee Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I think I'm just going to keep cross-posting this into all the threads started about weight. It is an arbitrary number that gives absolutely no insight into your health and wellness. Ditch it! Check out pics of my friend Tamara here http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/78-weight-loss-not-happening/page__p__349#entry349 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iloveartichokes Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 I agree that weight is not an indicator of overall health, but in my case it kind of is. I have a lot to lose to be considered a "normal" weight for my height. I think if I was already close to a normal weight I wouldn't be as obsessed with numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I've been true to the plan for 14 days, but for the scale. I can't stay off it, and have weighed every day. I've posted before that "I'm going right now to bury my scale in the garage", but did not do it. I mean it this time, it's GOING. *** I did it. It is in the depths of the garage, somewhere I'd never go willingly in the early morning hours when I'm barefoot/not yet dressed (there are spiders down there!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arabella Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I didn't own a scale for years until I airlines started to decrease luggage weights. Then I got one and used it as a habit. The scale and Whole30 started out as a habit and control thing. Then instant gratification of sticking to the plan. I hit the number I had in my head and shopping in a new size has been very motivating. It's time to give it up and really bring control back into my life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhmomi Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 I weighed on my first Whole30 even though I took my home scale to a friend's house. I kept getting on the one at my gym. I lost 30 lbs last fall and was freaked about gaining any weight. Starting another Whole30 on August 1st. This time the scale is going to my husband's office and I absolutely, positively will avoid the one at the gym. I actually plan to never bring my scale back home. EVER. I am up one size and TWENTY lbs since starting to work with a trainer in February (when I did Whole30 #1). I swear that overall I like my body more now than I did six months ago when I weighed a lot less. Not every lb I added was muscle, there was fat too, but enough muscle has been added to improve many aspects of my shape. I find that although scale fluctuations don't ruin my mood or my day, if I eat poorly and the scale doesn't go up I still feel like I got away with something. If I didn't have the scale, I would tend to eat less following a day when I indulged a bit much. The scale just messes with that process and does me no good. It's scary to give up, but in the long run I think it will benefit me more to get rid of it than it will to keep it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaLee Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 It's scary to give up the scale, I agree. Like many people, I'm afraid if I do, I won't know when I'm getting out of control. But...I've also gone for a long, long time without the scale, not weighing myself unless I'm trying to meet a goal (dumb) or if my clothes get too tight (duh). I am trying to use my energy and my clothes as a gauge instead...plus my strength while working out. I have to admit though, I'm less successful at that than I am at giving up sugar. It's a little difficult because I cannot talk my husband out of weighing himself daily. He has that same fear...if he doesn't weigh himself every day, by the time he does it'll be too late. I'll keep working on it, though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deeda Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I had my husband hide the scales on me... I didn't think that hiding them myself would work! He took them out this morning (my Whole30 ended yesterday) and I think I am going to ask him to keep them hidden and just take them out once a month. I have lost all interest in what the scales say - much happier in that I know my body is getting smaller and that I bought the size I am happy with in a pair of trousers last week... Two of the most enjoyable things for me during the Whole30 ended up being not weighing myself daily and not tracking my food - this surprised me and I don't plan to give up this "freedom".... D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lalalana Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Well crap, I just did it. I caved and got on the scale....and of course I feel let down and disappointed. Why? Because I haven't lost a single pound! Not one! Do I know in my head that the number on the scale is irrelevant? Yes! Is it making me feel much better right at this very second? Nope, not really.... Damn my curiosity! Stay off the scales folks, for your own sanity! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan McFall Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Kind of a-typical for a man, but I really struggle with the scale. I was a wrestler in high school that made a pretty significant cut my senior year and for whatever reason that just instilled a love of that damn scale in me. Additionally, I am an engineer and measurables oriented. But just like the statement there are lies, damn lies, and statistics you really have to consider weight in the appropriate context as ONE metric out of dozens that are indicators of your overall health. The human body is a very complex machine and trying to sum ourselves up in one simple metric is foolish at best and hazardously counterproductive at worst. Weight became popular with folks not because it is accurate, but because it is relatively easy to obtain and then people with no business in the world of nutrition can come up with simple indicators like BMI to tell me how I should be feeling (fun fact, I just tried it and I am pushing obese even though I fit comfortably into 32" waist pants now . . . damn that squatter's butt and lifter's shoulders! ) Now, let's talk about the goal of your Whole30 and if it was "to lose weight" then I believe you came in with the wrong expectations for the program. To me this is not a weight loss program (I mean it doesn't even come with recommendations for a workout routine). Sure, weight loss is a wonderful ancilliary benefit of performing the Whole30, so is flushing our systems of the bad things that we have been eating for last X years/months, but to me the purpose is about resetting our relationship with what, how, and why we eat. Then we analyze how subtle changes in those three areas have a significant impact on how feel and more importantly how we perform. In essence is to set each of us up, nutrionally speaking, to understand that forewarned is forearmed and then allow us to continue on our mission for overall fitness. I know that it is tough right now, but you are taking amazing strides forward in taking control of your health and please don't let one number derail those steps. TL;DR version: - Weight is just one number of many that indicates your health - Weight is a very poor indicator of health with no other context - W30 is not a weight loss program - Stick with the program and then riding your own bike to have amazing results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanye Mercer Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Here are Dallas and Melissa's wise words on the topic. http://whole9life.com/2012/03/5-reasons-to-break-up-with-your-scale/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanye Mercer Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 The human body is a very complex machine and trying to sum ourselves up in one simple metric is foolish at best and hazardously counterproductive at worst. So true, Dan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenBeePaleo Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I have my body outline drawn in the mirror and every day I check if I am within or outside the lines. LOL KIDDING!!! I've checked on this thread a few times because staying off the scale is a real challenge for me - every time I see this post, I laugh. It's so ironic, because that's about how insane I was the first W30 when I was weighing every day and then having tantrums. I think if someone had proposed drawing my outline on the mirror, I would have entertained the idea. Anyway, it makes me giggle and gives perspective every time I see this post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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