I want to second what Ruth said -- for those of us who weigh a lot, those numbers really do matter. Have you ever looked at a chair and wondered if it would hold your weight? Most manufacturers design chairs that will hold up to 300 pounds. Yes, body composition does matter, but I need that number on the scale to go down whatever my body composition is -- putting on more muscles is not going to solve my problem.

It is a luxury not to be able to worry about the number on the scale and I don't have that luxury. When I get below 200 pounds, I will stop worrying about the number.

Of course, I measure my success in other ways -- the speed at which I can walk, the ease with which I can climb hills, the way my clothes fit, and how I feel. However, I know that high number on the scale makes it harder for me to walk, harder for me to climb hills, and harder for me to buy clothes that fit. I consider every pound lost a victory and I will continue to think that way until the first digit in my weight is a "1."

Even when I get down below 200, I will continue to track those pounds because I know how easily I can put them on. I avoided weighing myself for most of the last 20 years and look where I ended up. I don't intend to repeat that mistake again.

Yes, there are probably some people on the forum who spend way too much energy worrying about the number on the scale. However, you can't generalize from that and say that none of us should worry about it. I don't worry about the day-to-day fluctuations, but I sure do worry about the long-term trend in my weight.