Scale

gwal said:
God, Steve, I do agree with you, and I've wanted to throw the scale out the window so many times.

I have been following a great schedule recently with 5 meals per day, 3 days of HIIT, 3 days of weight lifting, 2 days of pilates each week. The scale has only budged 6 lbs, but I definitely have looser clothing. I know the difference is that I am actively losing fat, and retaining muscle.

Here's my only argument. Life insurance companies look at the numbers on the little scale they bring to your house, and then they crunch those supposed meaningless numbers into a formula to determine the cost of a policy...if I want to get a good policy, I need to see the scale numbers go down!

Jen
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Haha, you don't have to tell me about the insurance costs. Look at me. I am borderline overweight in terms of their standards. That is utterly ridiculous. But I refuse to let their flawed concepts rule my own standards of health and physique.

But I do see where you are coming from.
 
Wow, I love this thread. It's great that you could make us think about what the importance of the scale really is. I love the motivation the scale gives me, and I have been averaging the days so I don't get upset when it fluctuates. I REALLY love the tape measure when it moves! And, the percentage is hard to gauge since it is part of my scale. Do you know any inexpensive easy ways to accurately gauge the BF%?

Thanks for putting something that we all need to hear out there! Great thread!
 
What does the scale mean to me?

Well I agree with M2M, I know what weight I was at my highest, lowest, when I started college, when I started University.

Perhaps we look back nostalgicly and think, that was such a fun time, and I weighed less.... Then somewhere in our minds the weighing less and the way we felt at that time become interlinked.

Maybe its something ingrained in us from an early age, the doctor might weigh us and look up on a chart and say, "hmmm, you could do with losing half a stone". (I speak from experience)

They didnt say "hmmm, you should get more exercise" or "hmmm, too many sweets for you!" They say "hmmm, the number on the scale is too high".

Although I must say that recently I have been taking measurements of my back, waist and hips to judge my progress and watching the number on the tape get smaller rocks just as much :D

I also judge my progress by how my smaller clothes look on me.

So the number on the scale is important to me, but its not the be all and end all!
 
very interesting subject, I am obsessed by the scale, at 230 lbs and being female, this is not a very good number, you want the number to go down so you can still fit into airplane seats, not break chairs, etc. and at 230 there is that chance...I guess watching the scale go down means less embarassment....
 
are we allowed to bump here?

i read this and though im new here, i thought id do my first bump... sorry if im not allowed

bump!
 
I actually do want to weigh less, not just look better, so the numbers on the scale matter to me. I want to be carried around, climb on people's shoulders, and koala cling onto people's backs. :D At my current weight... that's not exactly easy for everybody. But at 99lbs? It'll be much, much easier. Plus, being in the double digits sounds so badass to me :lol:

Inches are more important to me then lbs though, for sure. It's funny though--when I lose pounds, I don't lose inches, and when I lose inches, I don't lose pounds. So, by measuring both, I always get to be happy with a loss, haha.
 
Strangely enough, I just have a fascination with the scale.... It isn't about the number, it's about the ritual of climbing onto it and watching the dial swing. Yeah, when the number is down I get a little excited, and when it is up I feel a little bummed. But I measure myself by how I look in the mirror, what my measurements are (but I am having problems with the getting the tape measure in the same spot every time, so I don't find that accurate) and how my clothes fit. But stepping on the scale is my little ritual in the morning to remember that I am on a journey to get in shape and slim down healthily. And it reminds me that when I 'treat' myself, I am not achieving my goals. So I guess, I just use it as a ritualistic reminder of what I am trying to achieve.
 
So any rise is disheartening? And if so, what does that do to you long term? How does that impact your behavior and emotional well being in the longer term?

Don't get me wrong, the trend, assuming you're overweight, should be downward.

But the acute fluctuations are what most are giving too much power to and they're leading to poor relationships with their bodies and this lifestyle.

The scale isn't able to differentiate fat gain from muscle, water, glycogen, bowel matter, etc... yet, all of these variables are in constant flux and have the potential to raise the number on the scale in the short term.
 
I see the point you are making, Steve. I generally don't let the number get to me. But it is fun to see if there is any correlation between my bad eating days and the number. Mostly it is just the reminder that I am on a quest to not be as chubby as I am that gets me onto the scale. Although, any tips on how to get the tape on the same spot everytime, short of permanent marker on my skin, would be appreciated.
 
jweeks22 said:
I see the point you are making, Steve. I generally don't let the number get to me. But it is fun to see if there is any correlation between my bad eating days and the number. Mostly it is just the reminder that I am on a quest to not be as chubby as I am that gets me onto the scale.
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And that's fair. I'm certainly not trying to get people to throw their scales away. Maybe temporarily for some until they can break their addiction, as that's what it seems to be for some.

Establishing a mindset and awareness where you're using it to track the long term trends rather than the short term fluctuations that are meaningless is the primary goal.

If the trend isn't heading in a direction you plan, well then there's certainly reason for emotional attachment and possible frustration. But even then it should be understood that you didn't' fail. Rather you identified that some things need "tweaking" as this is a process of touching and feeling your way.

Although, any tips on how to get the tape on the same spot everytime, short of permanent marker on my skin, would be appreciated.
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I wouldn't worry about it to that degree. Unless you're relatively lean trying to get leaner, getting the tape measure in about the same spot each time will be accurate enough to monitor trends. No metric is specific enough unless you have access to some high tech equipment on a consistent basis.
 
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