BecknRdsMama Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 So who here breaks this rule? I can't get past wanting to step on the scale. I lost 60 lbs last year, and have gained 30 of it back since May, mainly from eating crap. So now that I'm eating clean I really like watching those numbers go down. I know losing isn't the goal of the Whole30 but since I GAINED so much this year, it would make me feel better to watch that number get smaller. Am I the only one with this weakness. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan W Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Oh, I think a lot of people have that urge, but really..don't. Pay more attention to how you feel (including how your pants feel) and just stay focused on nourishing yourself with these wonderful foods. Also, make sure you are eating enough. I lost 84 lbs on a calorie and carb restricted diet. It was so hard for me to shake those habits and stop eating little meals all day long and weighing once a day if not twice. I feel healthy, liberated and slim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenni268 Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 I was so obsessed with the scale that my husband had to hide it. Now that I'm past my thirty days I am so glad I gave it up!! Not weighing constantly made me focus on everything else.... And that's what I needed. I focused on what I ate, what I drank, how I felt and how my body was changing. I think it's imperative to put the scale away for a successful 30 days, especially if you're a chronic weigher, like I was. I think it's also important to remember that they say to avoid the scale for a reason. It's not am arbitrary thing they just throw in there. I don't know about you, but my moods were directly related to which way that scale was moving and that is in no way a healthy behavior. I say, get rid of the scale, enjoy your thirty days, and be pleasantly surprised when you do hop on after your distend is over!! Good luck and I hope you have a successful whole 30!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsteen Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Step away from the scale - honestly! Seriously I had to move my scale out the bathroom and put it out of reach. I used to weigh myself every single day. Once I got over the scary feeling, you've no idea how liberating it was to feel I was concentrating on actually nourishing my body instead of depriving it of calories or carbs. It really is a big (and wonderful) part of the Whole 30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snicci Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 I gave my scale to the neighbor during my first Whole30. It's really imperative that you don't give in to that temptation. Think of this: You have a great day where you really (I mean REALLY) enjoy your food and your energy levels feel great and you notice that your acne is clearing up and your joints don't ache like they used to. This is a GREAT day, right?! Then you decide to step on the scale and... GASP! you didn't lose any weight. Or you only lost a pound... Now you think this is the WORST DAY EVER! But is it? NO! It's still was a great day. The scale, for many of us, plays with our minds and emotions. There is SO much more to gain from your Whole30 than weight loss. That's just a really great bonus (usually). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrayS Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Another former scale-addict-turned-scale-liberated person here. Agree with all the above points - don't do it!!! You will feel so much better focusing on how your health is improving, not your weight. Look forward to getting on it at the end of the 30 days. I found that I had gotten in tune with my body enough to guess what it would say before even getting on it. Bookmark this and click it everytime you get the scale-stepping urge: http://whole9life.com/2012/08/new-health-scale/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alana in Canada Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 During my first whole 30, I ignored the advice to stay off the scale--I realised I was dropping about a pound every 36 hours and I was just addicted to watching the numbers go down. Not coincidentally, about Day 23 or 24 I think, you'll also find posts by me on here asking everyone why I was so cold. I'd stopped eating my sweet potatoes (and, yes, winter set in) but I believe I started eating less on purpose (though without realising it) just to keep the crazy scale moving downwards. This time (as of Day 31) I weighed myself and took measurements on Day 31 and I won't again until Day 61. I admit it's been hard--yesterday and today have been really tough. (I'm right in the middle). I am very, very tempted to get on that scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breezygoat Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 It's funny, I came on the forum this evening specifically to see precisely THIS kind of post. I've been weighing almost daily for about 5 months. It's been mostly a positive experience, as I've been steadily losing weight since identifying and avoiding some foods my body doesn't get along with. However, this is one of the obsessive tendencies I'm trying to rid myself of with this program. This is the single hardest thing for me to give up: not the carbs, not the sugar, not the evening adult beverage. The scale. How crazy is that? The scale calls my name each morning with a whisper even more sultry than a Boston Cream donut! I shall avoid the siren call! You too, BecknRdsMama! Thanks for posting this concern, and thanks to all who replied. It's nice to know I have company in the looney bin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenni268 Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Breezygoat.... The loony bin is pretty much my only hang out these days. I could always use the company. Especially since I'm past my whole 30 and my hubby had to hide the scale on me again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee Lee Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 It's a work in progress, guys. You'll get there! I still hop on the scale every couple of weeks to notice trends (i'm also in a weight class sport, so my weight DOES matter at least a little bit), but it doesn't control me or my emotions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelley417 Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 I am liberated from the scale and it feels fantastic. During the first 15 days of my first whole 30 I could not break the scale addiction. When I started over On Day 15 ( due to inadvertently eating non- compliant soup) i put the scale downstairs and I am the happiest with my body as I have ever been. That weigh in every morning informed my entire day. And since I was having such a hard time losing any weight I was always mad at myself. No way to start the day. Now I know that the pants in my closet that I used to wear fit me again and I feel great and I look great and that's all that matters to me. Post Whole 30 I got on the scale and I had already guessed my weight. Down 7 lbs. I still have 5 to go. I am continuing to be compliant. And the scale is gone for good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfj140 Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I have to confess, I'm a total scale-o-holic. It's my North Star. It keeps me on track when I might stray because I absolutely relish the knowledge of where I am, how I'm doing, what I've accomplished. Below a certain number, I'm a size 10 pants, above it I'm a 12. I exercise well (multiple types of DVDs at home plus spinning once a week) and always have, but it was going low-carb/high-protein and then finally paleo (last spring) that finally pushed me into a delightfully lower decade than I'd been able to get back to before (150s into the 140s, basically) I'm a big believer in the whole foods healthy eating lifestyle. But I want 5 more lbs. gone -- hence the 140 in my logon -- like my Xmas present to myself, which is why I'm doing Whole30 between Thanksgiving and Xmas. So tell me, gang -- if I love the scale and feel that it centers and focuses my health eating focus, why would someone like me hide it away, give it up? Every other time in my life that I've tried that, simply stopped weighing myself for weeks, I gained weight. Not a lot, just a few pounds. But I always got things back under control once I was welcoming the knowledge of The Number every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 \if I love the scale and feel that it centers and focuses my health eating focus, why would someone like me hide it away, give it up? Every other time in my life that I've tried that, simply stopped weighing myself for weeks, I gained weight. Not a lot, just a few pounds. But I always got things back under control once I was welcoming the knowledge of The Number every day. There are SO MANY reasons to avoid the scale during your whole 30 (and not only because it is "not allowed"). Weight loss is not linear, and lots of different things can make the number go up or down: what you ate right before weighing (food in your intestines actually still weighs something), how hydrated you are, your hormonal cycle, fat loss and muscle gains. Lots of people will respond to a slightly higher number by (consciously or unconsciously) ignoring their hunger cues and trying to restrict food intake. Restricting then leads to binging or if not that, just a generally grumpy person and unbalanced relationship to food. The whole30 is about learning to hear real hunger cues. The scale messes with that. Trust the program and give it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsteen Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I have to confess, I'm a total scale-o-holic. It's my North Star. It keeps me on track when I might stray because I absolutely relish the knowledge of where I am, how I'm doing, what I've accomplished. Below a certain number, I'm a size 10 pants, above it I'm a 12. I hear ya. I know exactly how you feel. For years I weighed myself every single day. I actually fretted on holiday because I didn't have a scale with me. However, I now firmly believe (thanks to W30) this is not the healthiest way to behave. You say it "keeps me on track". Think about that for a moment, what it keeps you doing is trying to force your body to react in a certain way, and if it doesn't, if it doesn't lose weight or if it gains weight, what will you do? My guess is your first thought is to deprive your body, whether of calories or fat or carbs, you deprive it of something to try to make it behave the way you want. Now W30 is all about nourishing your body, not depriving it. You learn to listen to your body, not your cravings or your mind and you give your body exactly what it needs to be as healthy as it can. It's really scary at first, trusting that your body might actually know what's best for it when you've spent years, as I had, dictating to it what it could or couldn't have based on the scale numbers. But you know what, it works. Concentrating on nourishing my body, giving it what it needs and not weighing to *just see how I'm doing* resulted in me losing 10 pounds in the first 30 days and another 5 in the second. However I honestly believe it would be impossible to weigh yourself during it and not want to *tweak* what you're eating in response to the scale. W30 is so simple, food is compliant or it's not, you're following the meal template or you're not. That's all you have to concentrate on for 30 days. You don't need the scales, honestly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfj140 Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Thanks, those are great responses and well worth thinking about. Maybe I'll try a few days away from the daily weigh-in (baby steps!) :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournegirl Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I want to be able to eat what I really need..... If I weigh and the scales are lighter than I expected, I know I will eat more because 'I can'. If they are heavier I know I will be upset, try to eat less and feel deprived emotionally and be deprived physically. I need to learn how to eat without the scales telling me (wrongly) how. When I started I found it really hard to eat so much, fat especially. But after a few days when I started to feel the fat disappearing from my body it became really easy, like wow, if I follow the template and listen to my body I can eat when I need to and still lose weight! So liberating. I have days when I can't see/feel visible fat loss changes and really want to see a number on the scales for 'motivation' but I know it will derail me... So I am trusting the program instead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelley417 Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I want to be able to eat what I really need..... If I weigh and the scales are lighter than I expected, I know I will eat more because 'I can'. If they are heavier I know I will be upset, try to eat less and feel deprived emotionally and be deprived physically. I need to learn how to eat without the scales telling me (wrongly) how. When I started I found it really hard to eat so much, fat especially. But after a few days when I started to feel the fat disappearing from my body it became really easy, like wow, if I follow the template and listen to my body I can eat when I need to and still lose weight! So liberating. I have days when I can't see/feel visible fat loss changes and really want to see a number on the scales for 'motivation' but I know it will derail me... So I am trusting the program instead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelley417 Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Jumbo---- Wow. Thanks for that post. It reinforces my results and reminds me to trust the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournegirl Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 You've done well Shelley to stop mid way! I am really glad I haven't peeked as I had a really horrible day22-24 with cravings and eating too much and if I had seen the scales go up I would have thrown in the towel no doubt! But day25-26 are back in balance . Not sure if I needed the extra food, had a big surge of my dormant dragons or got stuffed up by too much coffee...either way staying compliant is the only way to get those answers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldwilso Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Wow!! I just finished my first whole30 and actually started reading through these blog posts b/c I had seen my scale numbers nudge up over the last few days and wanted some advice on what to cut out to get those pesky pounds back off. I'm so glad I read this thread. I'm putting my scale away as soon as I get home from work!! I completely broke the rule and weighed myself every day of my whole30 . I've been a weight watcher for several years and finally reached my goal weight this summer but never really developed a great relationship with food. Reading these posts help me realize that I'll never get that healthy relationship if I'm still chained to the scale. Thanks again for your inspiring words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenderbender Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I feel the big problem lies in the unhealthy things we do " at all costs" to get that number down on the scale... Come on we've all done it.... Ok don't drink any water until after I weigh in, drink a " slim tea" so I'll poop before my weigh in,lets skip dinner so ill be lighter tomorrow for my weigh in, I'll do 3 hrs of cardio today so I'm lighter on the weigh in... THEN.... the depression that sets in of you gained an ounce!!!! " we'll I ate so clean and still gained....where is that ice cream!!!" Ok not everyone goes to that Extream, but I'm sure if you have an emotional attachment with food/ diet/ exercise... This applies a little bit I was VERY guilty..... And now I'm free... The only time I weigh is at my doctors insistence and I don't even care what the number is... I feel great.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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