Tuesday, July 13, 2010

I'm Taking a Poll

Good morning! I hope you all are having a fabulous day so far. Today I'm conducting a short, unscientific poll.

This morning while my friend and I were on our jog/walk with Leo we had a discussion about the scale and how often one should weigh themselves. My friend goes to Weight Watchers every Monday and told me how last night her group leader emphasized only weighing once a week. I know many of you adhere to this routine and do it because the scale can fluctuate so much from day to day. This definitely happened to me last weekend after my PF Chang's dinner. As many of you mentioned yesterday, I'm sure it was due to the sodium. I just wish I would have thought about that on Sunday instead of eating a bunch of brownies because I was discouraged.

Up until now the scale has never fluctuated too much from day to day. I have not been one to get too frustrated if it was up a little one day and just used it as motivation to do better the next day. Well, that has changed over the last couple of weeks and I am beginning to wonder if I should stop weighing every day. Okay, I'll admit it. I actually weigh myself MORE than once a day. It has become a bit of an obsession.

It makes me a bit nervous not to do it. In the past, I never weighed myself. I can't even tell you how much I weighed in high school. I never considered myself overweight, but I certainly wasn't skinny either. In fact, when I came back from summer break my senior year I had people commenting on how good I looked and asking people (not to my face) if I had lost some weight. I wasn't sure there was a difference. The only thing that had changed was that I had gotten a job at a pizza place and was eating pizza everyday. Lol! I had also cut my long hair off so maybe that was really the difference in what people were seeing.

Anyway, I never weighed myself very regularly and we all know where that got me. It wasn't until I started noticing differences in my clothes and had to start buying bigger sizes that I knew I was gaining weight. Then I stepped on the scale more often and when the 190's turned to the 200's I decided I better do something about it.

So you can see why weighing myself everyday seems to be so important to me. However, I am leaning towards taking a week off from the scale. I will weigh-in tomorrow and then not look at the scale until the next Wednesday. Even writing that plan makes me laugh and have doubts that I can actually do it!

So as you can see, I am not totally committed to the idea. I have until Thursday morning to decide. I am taking a poll of all my fellow bloggers. How often do you weigh? Have you tried more than one method and why do you like your current way of doing it? I would love to hear all your thoughts on the matter. Thanks!

By the way, I'm still loving Leo. I love how he beeps at Michelle and me while we are running to let us know it is almost time to stop. Why do I love those beeps so much!? We are currently working on interval training. Michelle hasn't been running like I have so our intervals are a little spaced out now. We run 1/4 mile, walk 1/2 mile for three miles. Today we shaved a couple of seconds off our previous time.

16 comments:

  1. I don't have a weighing plan. I just do it kind of randomly, when I think about it and am curious. If I reach a point where my clothes start to feel snug usually sends for a scale check in. Should the scale go up and stay up, I'll probably do a weekly weigh in or something along those lines. I'll deal with it if/when I have to! :)

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  2. I weight daily and am okay with that. Sometimes, I'd like to weigh weekly or even be brave enough to only weigh once a month, but it scares me. My daily weighing allows me to keep track of my progress.

    I am really, really close to not being worried about what that scale says. Not only to be sad if it's up, but also to not get so happy when it's down that I "treat" myself to extra food. Make sense?

    Anyway, you could try waiting a week and see how that works for you. I think more than once a day probably isn't so healthy, but I think whether it's daily, weekly or monthly really is up to each persons preference.

    Great job on the intervals. And I was just looking over your weight losses since January and am so proud of your success. I hope to see 175 in the next six months as well. Keep up the good work!!

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  3. I left you an award on my blog! :)

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  4. I WEIGH MYSELF DAILY (OR MORE)but I am coming to the place that the scale isn't dictating my mood anymore as it had for many years. This is freedom for me! Sorry about the capitals...I guesss a child was on here last. lol

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  5. I have a wedding to attend on Labor Day weekend so recently I have been weighing myself every week. I don't want to be the heaviest girl in the bridal party..lol. Most of the time I take measurements once a month.

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  6. It could have been the pizza. My freshman year at college I ate pretty much mostly double cheeseburgers and banana splits and I lost 15 pounds while all my friends ate salad and gained 20. Although all those hills at my school could have had something to do with it.... ;)

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  7. I weigh every day. But only once. I used to let the number dictate my mood. But Cammy really opened my eyes when she said that we can't control the scale we can only control our own actions. She is so wise:)

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  8. Hi Barbara.

    I weigh daily usually. When I'm not it means I have put my head in the sand.

    At the same time I think Cammy does it well.

    I no longer obsess over what the scales say. They don't dictate my life but they do tell me which foods or actions cause fluctuations or are dangerous and to be mostly avoided.

    Scales can be an obsession whether you weigh weekly, monthly, daily. Have you seen the lengths some women go to on WW weigh in days?

    My scales are an essential tool. They record useful data that helps me stay on focus.

    It's not the scales or how often we weigh but how we react to the data.

    For me daily weigh in is healthy because I will make corrections before things get out of hand.

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  9. I weigh myself only once a week. Back in April I felt like I was getting obsessed with what the scale said (I was still only weighing in once a week). I took it all to heart and thought I should've been losing more each week. I decided in May to give up the scale completely. It was so hard. No lie, but I loved every minute of it. The anticipation I had when I finally weighed in was great!

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  10. I have done weigh-ins both ways. I think if you are trying to lose weight once a week is the best way to do it. (I have to have my husband hide the scale so I will stay off of it.) Weighing every day makes it so I maintain.

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  11. I go for months without weighing myself. But when race times get sluggish I get on a tear to lose weight and get on the scale daily, that's where i am now.
    Nice interval work!

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  12. I only weigh once a month because I get obsessed with the numbers and let them dictate my mental well-being otherwise. I also take measurements monthly as well for another method of tracking my progress.

    Good luck with whatever you decide! :)

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  13. The scale messes with my mind so often that I have put it away, in the closet, for weeks at a time. Then I will take it out and weigh myself once a week...then eventually I'll start stepping on it daily...and pretty soon it's banished to the closet again! Try once a week - but you'll probably have to put it away so you won't automatically step on it.

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  14. Once a week at my W W meeting. If I did it daily I would drive myself crazy- I fluctuate so much from day to day! :)

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  15. When I was being so good and exercising and eating healthy and working on my weight loss , I weighed myself every morning before I ate or drank anything. Then I fell of the wagon and didn't weight myself at all for almost a year! Well... I put 25 pounds back on , because I tried to pretend it wasn't that bad. I am now back to every day, because it keeps me on track!
    Kristin

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  16. I just found your blog and I like it! I weigh myself about twice a week. I need to just do it once a week. I sometimes feel that my mood is governed by the number on the scale and that is not fun when I gain weight.

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