Okay, I realize this is just a small thing to some of you, but I also know that some other "scale addicts" will be able to relate to this accomplishment. I DIDN'T GET ON THE SCALES THIS MORNING!!!

I'm trying so hard to listen to my body and not listen to the scale monster! Who the heck does he think he is anyway?? My clothes fit well, I feel great, and I have to tell myself that his opinion doesn't matter! He's a beast, I tell you! I can feel absolutely great about how things are going, then he can bring me down in a matter of seconds. I despise him!

Okay, I'm done now. Carry on.

Anyone else out there beating the scale monster?

I admire your courage. I'm still a slave to the scale. how / why did you decide to beat the scale monster ?

Good for you, I still weigh in daily, and it determines my mood for the day

i, too, weigh everyday, and i think it is quite dangerous. for a long time, it always went down, but lately, it just kind of sits there....i know this is to be expected since i am closer to where i want to be...but it is hard to keep in a positive mood when the scale isn't cooperating! i justify weighing every day because i think it keeps me honest daily...i think if i went to once a week, i would think that i could take it easy for a day or two, then make it up later in the week....a recipe for disaster for me!

Niudog,
I decided to give it a try after reading so many posts that discourage daily scale reading, but my decision actually happened yesterday after reading this great article originally posted by ISITAR….


OUT OUT DAMN SCALE

By Sonya Tilley, CarbSmart Contributor


Here we go again...

How the hell does your body hold onto weight and still manage to get smaller while you are on your chosen low carb diet?!? You know the scenario: You are on Induction for two weeks, and you haven't cheated even once. You notice that your clothes fit better, that you are stepping a little livelier, and as far as you're concerned, all's right with the world.

But then you step on that evil construction of the Devil himself, the bathroom scale, and you instantly feel betrayed. The stupid thing insists that you have done nothing! Sometimes, it even states you have done less than nothing; it accuses you of cheating because it tells that you haven't lost any weight! Well, there area couple of simple explanations to help you get through this trying time.

First of all, if it is at all possible for you to do so, throw that insipid Monster Scale in the trash. Or at least put it up somewhere that it is really, REALLY inconvenient to get to so that you won't be tempted to ask it's opinion every single day of your life. Face it. If you are feeling better and your clothes are looser, do you really need the scale to tell you that you're on the right track? No! You don't! Why do you think you do it, then? I'll tell you why. The low fat diet demons have a tenacious hold on your brain. That's right, you've been brainwashed. All your life they have told you through doctors, dietitians, newspaper and magazine articles, surgeon generals and the like, that you give up X calories per day and you will lose a pound of fat. They even go on to tell you how much fat you should lose each week. In the process, they've made you dependent on the Monster Scale to gauge your progress!

What a big lie!

Even on the diets that "they" advocate, the Monster Scale does not often cooperate. You go back to the Diet Demons and demand to know why the scale does not reflect the torture you have put yourself through for a month. They immediately start backpedaling on the "give up X calories and lose a pound of fat" story, and start talking to you about water retention and muscle buildup. Sometimes, they even blame it on you with questions like, "Are you sure you counted the calories in everything you ate?" (This is delivered with a knowing little smile that makes you want to rip their knowing little face off.) Being the type that is given to blaming things on yourself, anyway, you cooperate with an answer like, "Well….." They pounce on this with "Ahhhh, well.." Then, they launch into one of their scoldings/lash/encouragement speeches.

So, get off their bandwagon, already!

Then, there's the competitive spirit. You hear about what other people have done on your chosen diet. Yes, Brian went on Atkins a year ago and lost over a hundred pounds. Yes, a hundred pounds in a year is over eight pounds a month, or 2 pounds a week, or .0119 pounds per hour….but, "Hello? You ain't Brian!" And, did Brian ever say that he lost .0119 pounds per hour? No! He said a hundred pounds in a year. This only proves he got on the scale twice; a year ago, and yesterday. Take a hint from Brian. Stay off the scale!

The second solution is to understand what is going on in your body in light of the current state of human affairs. Today, all a person has to have to eat every day is money and transportation to a grocery store or, better yet, a nice restaurant. However, your body's survival instincts have not matured in a million years. Your body still thinks you are a hunter-gatherer. Yes, in spite of a million years of evolution, your body still thinks you are going to have to go out and kill a mammoth to eat. The survival instincts with which you are going to have to come to terms are read-only memory. You can't overwrite them. Deal with it.

That said, let me tell you what happens when you lose a pound of fat. Your body has been saving this fat for that long hunting expedition you're going to have to go on to track, kill, dress and retrieve that huge animal. It keeps the fat in little pillows distributed throughout your body. When you start losing fat, it doesn't trust you to continue whatever insane path you have chosen that is causing the fat to dissipate. So, when the fat comes out of the pillow, it injects water as a "place holder." Sometimes that water actually replaces the weight of the fat it lost. Sometimes it replaces the volume.

Water weighs more than fat just like lead sinkers weigh more than feathers. If you stuff a pillow with a pound of feathers, you'll have a nice big pillow. If you stuff a pillow with a pound of lead sinkers, you'll have a nice (but rather hard and uncomfortable), small pillow. Now, let's say your body removes a pound of fat and replaces the weight with a pound of water. Your weight will stay the same, but you will be smaller. But, if your body decides to replace the lost fat by volume, that is a quite different story. Remember the great big feather pillow as compared to the tiny lead sinker pillow? Well, now think of a gallon of feathers and a gallon of lead sinkers. Try to pick up the gallon of feathers. Piece of (you'll pardon the expression) cake. Now, try to pick up the gallon of lead sinkers. Sucker's heavy, ain't it? So, you will be smaller, but you will have gained weight.

Eventually, your body makes the executive decision that you are not going to replace the fat you lost, and it lets go of the water. In the words of Danny Skaist: "When your body accepts the fact that they are no longer needed, the water will be expelled and the cells closed. This is known as the "whoosh."

What makes your body decide to replace by weight or replace by volume? I dunno. But I do know that it does not seem consistent to the casual observer. What makes your body decide that you are seriously not going to replace the fat you lost? I dunno. But now you know why it's so important to drink your water, huh? Loss of fat is inextricably related to water intake. It's more than a little foolish to go on a diet that facilitates the removal of fat and then refuse to give your body the tools it needs to do so.

Bottom Line: Stop getting on the scale and drink your water. If you stick to your plan and wait for the "whoosh," (…..article broke off here, but I think we get the gist).

I was getting on the scale every morning, just to “keep myself in check”. I’d get on it right after the first morning tinkle, then I’d get on it after my shower, hair drying, etc. Sometimes it would be down a pound and a half…sometimes it would be up a pound and a half or two. Sometimes I’d weigh myself when I got home from work at night when I knew I’d had a really good Atkins day. Sometimes I would be at the same weight I was that morning….that was good! But when I got back on in the morning and would be up a couple of pounds, it just got to be infuriating!

So, I said OUT, D*MN SCALE! But my battle isn’t won yet. I’m hoping I have the same fortitude tomorrow morning!

i weigh "officially" once a week. that is what determins wether or not i change my stats. but for curiosity i get on a couple of other times during the week. i try not to let it discourange me when it goes up, and i also try not to get too excited when it goes down. i have found that i go up and down ALOT!! it also helps me not to be to upset when my sat. weigh in is up...

btw, sjkling, congrats on being so close to goal!! great job!!

I have also giving up my daily weigh ins. it is a slow torture. I will weigh once a week and listen to my body and it is letting me know what i should eat or not eat. I still have some fine tuning but as long as all my choices are low carb too much cannot go wrong? Right?
angie

Scale??????????? What scale?
LOL

I'm still weighing all the time, everyday, whenever I get a chance, I hop on the scale. I know bad girl! It does help me though, and keeps me honest as well. I wish I had the control to only weigh once a week.

Oh my gosh!!! That article was hysterical! Thanks for posting it!!

I, too, have run away from the Scale Monster. Unfortunately, it keeps registering my weight about 15 pounds higher than at the Dr. office. When I kept stepping on it, it would go UP in weight from the week before, despite the physical visual changes that are happening to my body. So, on account of that, it is officially "broken." Makes it a lot easier not to get on it if it's "broken," and that it's on a high shelf away from me!!

I went to a once a month weigh-in sometime last fall. I found myself getting back into my old "diet" mentality: "It's 4 weeks to weigh-in so I can eat this and make up for it later on." Not a good plan. So now it is back to weekly accountability. I know the stupid thing (scale) isn't particularly accurate but I guess I'm still a long way from being totally free of it.