Just wondering if anyone out there is low carbing and not weighing in at all. Just going by how we feel and how are clothes are fitting to gage our success. It's funny I've gotten to the point where I am so heavy that it's just depressing looking at the scale even now that I'm doing something about it and it seems to drive me away. I don't want to do that this time and I've decided to forget about the scale, Get rid of it and never think of it again. Completely crazy maybe but we'll see how it goes!!

Congrats on your decison. It is definitely not crazy, it is very very smart but requires a high level of bravery!

You will hold yourself to a new level of honesty where you judge your results based on more important things - do these pants really fit better? Do i really feel better?

Oh - and maybe rather then do away with the scale entirely you allow yourself to weigh every month or two. It will probably confirm what you already knew (diet working), and can be good encouragement!

Good luck! I admire your bravery!

BRAVO! If only we could all do this. Unfortunately, we are a society that "measures" things. In school we test. Some people don't test well. Does that mean they aren't smart? NO! Some people have a heck-of-a-time making the scale budget. I'm one of them. I guage my success with...feeling good, dropping some inches, and dropping clothing sizes. Wish I could throw the scales out the window! Keep up the good work.

mb99 is on target here. The big question is will you be honest with yourself? I know from my own experience that rationalization and short term memory can overcome good intentions. It is true that weight loss is only one of the benefits of this WOE, but it is the most easily measureable. Good luck.

THere was someone on these boards who was not weighing herself but I haven't heard from her in a long time. I don't even remember her username.

chubbywubb...

That's probably one of the sanest ideas I've seen in regards to weight loss in a long time!
So many people get obsessed with the scale and use that alone to gauge whether or not they are being successful with what they are doing; hopping on it multiple times a day and stressing/panicing when they see a very normal rise in weight from morning to evening.
The truth is, the scale is a number and it can lie to you. It doesn't give you a complete picture of what's going on, either.
I think you're idea of just going by how you feel and how your clothes fit as a means to gauge how you are doing is a good one with one caveat; those methods can also be a bit misleading and give you a false sense of security if they are the only things you are relying on.
My suggestion would be to ditch the scale for the most part and maybe weigh once a month. Once you start working on raising your carb allowance, you may need to weigh a bit more often so you can better gauge the effect the higher carb levels are having on your weight. The rest of the time, take measurements; the tape measure (if you are consistent) doesn't usually lie to you and when it comes down to it..most of us have a goal of being smaller. If we can achieve that without obsessing about what we weigh, it seems to me to be a lot less stressful way of going about it.

My husband and I were talking about my plan for maintenance, and one of the things we discussed was how measuring fit in.

For me, I weigh (and write it down) daily now and need to keep doing that. That said, it took some serious attention on my part to get to where I was able to do that without being judgemental about the scale number. Now it is just one of many pieces of information that add up to tell me if I am doing what I need to succeed. The other pieces of information include measurements (tape measure and body fat), pedometer step counts, carb count, calorie balance measures, heart rate monitor and even altimeter for measuring hiking ascent - and these are going to stay a part of maintenance as well as weight loss.

None of this would work, though, if I gave myself permission to beat myself up for a blip gain on the scale or for an exercise day where I take the easy hike paths instead of vertical ones!

Getting comfortable and routine with measurements is a powerful fool - as powerful a tool as checkbook balancing and knowing what's in your retirement fund is family finances. But without question, there is some work involved in the process of getting comfortable and matter of fact about things. When I went through the process of really taking chare of our family financial plan for the first time, it was very similar to being scale obsessive. That went away, though, as I saw again and again that my behaviours were having the intended effect on my bank account. Same with weight/body health. After a period of time seeing certain behaviors have certain effects of weight, resting heart rate (an athletic 46 - 48! Never imagined I would do something like that!), energy level, clothes size, stamina, etc - I could get more relaxed about things and have more faith in my ability to manage them.

For me, there's no way I can expect to have 40+ years of succesful maintenance without intentionally staying aware of certain measurable things. If I don't look at them, I will eventually gain - no question about it. My body is very efficient at storing fat. I absolutely need to measure without judgement to maintain. I expect there is going to be a period of time where I'll need to learn to have some faith about my ability to keep my weight in a 5 lb range, or to keep exercising for health instead of weight loss, and the toughie - to learn to add more calories and healthy carbs without turing on the carb craving monster again. I'm going to need to learn how to do that as a routine and without stress and obsession which means it could take some work to get to the calm habit point.

I know obsession behaviors are bad. There's two ways to handle them, though - avoid the situations that cause them or learn to handle the situations in a non-obsessive manner. For me, avoiding never made scale fear or checkbook balance fear go away - it just shoved it to the back of my head instead of the front of it. That's why I'm use the other method.

Different things will work for different folks, of course.

Lynda

I totally agree with Lynda. I got to over 350 pounds while not weighing for years. I'll never make that mistake again! However, I don't obsess about every little swing on the scale. I know that my weight normally fluctuates two to three pounds, so if I see a two-pounds upswing one morning, I chalk it up to normal fluctuation. On the other hand, if I see an upswing of more than three pounds I know that something is seriously wrong and it clues me in to immediately sit down and assess what I have been doing differently. While I weigh every day, what I focus on is my average weight -- not the daily ups and downs.

You said that one reason you want to avoid the scale is that you are depressed about how much you weigh. For myself, confronting that number on a regular basis is important to keeping me motivated. I have lost so much weight that I get compliments on a daily basis about how good I look. I think it would be easy for me to get complacent about where I am now if I didn't have to confront the number on the scale each morning that tells me I am still fat.

I realize that the opinion Lynda and I stated is unpopular in a lot of areas of this forum. However, we have both been successful in losing a lot of weight, indicating that it does work for us. At the same time, we are all different. You need to figure out what works for you.

I don't own a scale so I don't weigh myself at home. I do vist my GP every 4 or 5 weeks and we do a weigh in so I get some feedback, otherwise I know I'm doing well by the way my clothes fit (or not, as the case has been).

I couldnt agree more with Lynda and Liz

Right now, I ´m coming back from a weird, unknown and confortable place to stay regarding weight loss. After months of having it like a priority in my life, I have been experienced a kind of detachment about it. Suddenly, I didn´t feel fat anymore and a cheat was not longer a cheat. I didn´t go completely off of plan but I ate a piece of chocolate cake here, a pecan pie there, 2 or 3 spoons of ice cream, some whole grains...and even bread. The interesting thing is that I didn´t live it like cheats just like special ocasions...and the amazing part of it is that I have been able for the first time in my life to mantain my weight naturally.
HOWEVER, I weighted myself every single day... The difference was that I was not expecting a new low and I didnt get crazy about 2 or 3 pounds up. After a month of this kind of "maintenance mode", last friday I saw 140 again in my scale...that was enough to leave that confortable place and be aware again (I´m 136 this morning) and it even motivated me to make an extra effort to drop those last elusive pounds...BTW, I hadnt feel ithe extra pounds in my cloth...

As Liz, I got to 170 (in my petite 5,1) while not weighting and as she, I will never ever make that mistake again.

"As Liz, I got to 170 (in my petite 5,1) while not weighting and as she, I will never ever make that mistake again."

I, too, agree w/ Liz and Isiar - not owning a scale got me up to 165 a few yrs back (and I worked in a doctor's office w/ 2 scales available to me at any time!)

When my size 14's started getting snug - and then I saw a few pics of myself - I hopped on the scale at the office and did not like what it told me! Unfortunately, it was a couple more yrs b4 I started lcing. Since then, I now own a scale and use it every day - my friend challenged me to NOT weight myself every day for a week and I GAINED 4 lbs! So, for me, it helps me to stay on track. I also go by how my clothes fit, too - but understand those daily fluctuations - and the monthly ones, too!

Some day, I hope to wean myself down to only once or twice a week - probably once I reach my goal. But until then, this works for me and makes me comfortable - everyone is different

I too am on the side of weighing regularly. As with Lynda and Liz, it's a tool for measurement, not one to beat myself up with. Unlike some others I have heard from, being up a bit on a particular day does not ruin my day. I figure I have many more days in my life and if I am going to obsess about one tiny fluctuation that could be attached to any number of factors, I will have the most moody personality around!

This is a way of life for me. Period. And I want to be sure it is working. Like Liz, I get compliments literally every day because of my weight loss but I still have more to go and cannot afford to stop being vigilant and using all the tools that I have available to me to help achieve this goal.

Good luck and all the best to you!

The first time I tried this I was all for no weighing. No weighing me! No weighing food! No weighing anything! Be free!

As you can see, I joined the forum in July of 2002. All of my weight loss has been in the last 3 months, most of it in the last two weeks.

I have a habit of not facing my problems. I do it with my checking account too--if I know it's low, I figure if I don't look, I won't worry. Same with my weight. Same with a lot of things.

I don't let myself freak out if my weight goes up and down. I weigh myself in the morning and record that weight. Sure, I can jump on the scale all I want all day, but usually my weight swings up a pound or two during the day and swings back down in the evening.

I do a lot of weight training, because I was once a pretty buff girl and would like to be that again. If my clothing starts getting loose while the scale stays the same, then I'll know that I'm making progress. But I need to make myself accountable for everything I do. I've tried not doing it, and it just didnt't work.

Which reminds me. I should check my checking account. *sighs* Not nearly as fun as the scale lately.