Do You Weigh?
photo by foshydog
Contrary to what the title of this post would have you believe, this isn’t a philosophical discussion about whether we actually weigh anything since we’re weightless in space and earth is in space, so… You get the idea. But that’s not what I meant.
I’ll preface my question by telling you about my childhood. Zzzz… No, wait! Don’t fall asleep just yet. I promise this will be a quick jaunt down memory lane and not a meandering road trip.
Growing up, our house was a no-scale zone. I remember my mother telling me at a very young age that Those of Which We Do Not Speak were pure evil and had no place in a home. Aside from my yearly checkup, I never knew how much I weighed. That was fine with me since I was always thin.
When I moved out, it didn’t even cross my mind to buy one of Those of Which We Do Not Speak. I have a pretty good grasp on my weight based off how my clothes fit. And I never really saw a need to fixate on numbers every day. And then.
Then I started working at an office with one of Those of Which We Do Not Speak in the bathroom. And, of course, I had to step on it—just to see, you know? Over the past two years of working in this office, I’ve weighed myself more than my first 25 years combined. Why? Not because I’m trying to lose weight or because I need to monitor the numbers. Because it’s there. It stares at me, begs me to step on just once.
It makes me do crazy things, like weigh myself before breakfast. After lunch. Before I pee … then right after. (Which, strange as it sounds, is fascinating. Did you know you could pee out 5 pounds? Seriously!) It makes me weigh myself during that time of the month. Then it begs me to weigh again when it’s over—just to make sure I’m appropriately lighter.
So you can see, That of Which We Do Not Speak is a powerful thing. Sometimes it makes me wonder what I could have done to get so heavy. Other times it makes me wonder why I’ve dropped so many pounds. Sometimes I hear it calling my name even when I’m not in the bathroom. And other times I think it’s laughing at me, knowing how it has me in its grasp.
I’ve learned two things: One, I will never buy one of Those of Which We Do Not Speak for my house. It’d drive me mad, and it’s unnecessary since I’m not trying to lose weight. And two, if you give in to That of Which We Do Not Speak you’ll most likely feel crummy about your body at least 50 percent of the time. Probably more.
Do you weigh yourself? How do you think it helps or hinders your weight loss or maintenance? Do you ever feel like That of Which We Do Not Speak encourages an obsession?
28 comments
I rarely weigh. That little scale controlled my mood of the day for too many years. BUT, it is a good tool if you can get your head around it…which is easier said than done!
When I do weigh….I weigh in first thing in the morning after using the loo and before I eat a thing. For consistency sake.
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I rarely weigh. I go based on my clothes and how I feel. I think that a scale can definitely make people obessive and it makes me people a “slave to the number.” I think body fat percentage is a MUCH healthier number to monitor.
When I was in high school we had to weigh in once a week (I was on the track team) and we had a weight chart posted n the weight room (where EVERYONE including the ever so popular football boys worked out) and I think it made a lot of people very self conscious. I was very thin but I saw the direct effect it had on some of my teammates and to this day it makes me cringe!
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I don’t weigh myself… I go by how my clothes fit.
I do think the scale can create an unhealthy obsession. I think its important to educate others about that before it gets out of control.
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I never had a scale growing up either, but for some reason they always fascinated me as well. I have one now but probably use it once a month or so. I don’t want it to end up becoming an obsession, even if it is strangely fascinating.
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Yes, I think it encourages an obsession. We never had a scale in my house when I was a kid, either. But I’ve worked at vet clinics for the past seven years or so, and I’ve often weighed myself on it.
Then I got the opportunity to get a free scale to do a product review, so now I have a scale in my house. I weigh myself every morning. It’s pure CURIOSITY- like you, I’m fascinated by the fluctuations in weight! But sometimes it becomes frustrating, so I’ll stop stepping on the scale for a while. Or at least, I won’t THINK about the number after I step on it. I like to see what I weigh, but I try not to put too much stock in it. I think of it more as a rough marker of progress.
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Such an interesting topic, Tracey! I never had a scale in my house growing up either and even during weight loss I went months without stepping on one! But like you, when a scale is present, I find myself drawn to it. It’s so interesting how one day you can be five pounds lighter or heavier based on your bladder, hormones, Chinese food dinners, or profuse sweating. I don’t generally put one iota of self worth into the equation, I just feel like that would be the worst thing I could do to my mind and body- to judge it based upon the daily number. But it can be so enticing
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Tracey Reply:
April 8th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Andrea–Yes! Chinese food is killer. Same with Mexican. All that salt will really swell you up! I find it so interesting you lost all that weight while going months without weighing yourself. You’re even more amazing than I thought.
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Great topic! To be honest, I do weigh myself every couple of days after a day of typical eating (i.e. not chinese take out dinner). If my weight does fluctuate sometimes I feel it first, but sometimes the scale tells me first! If I am consistantly up a couple pounds, then I can react in due fashion.
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Tracey Reply:
April 8th, 2010 at 9:54 am
Leigh–Glad to see weighing yourself helps you. I think it’s so personal and I know for many people it helps keep them in line and nip weight gain in the bud before it gets out of hand. Thanks for your comment!
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I weigh myself every day…I wish I didn’t but I can’t help it. The scale stares at me just begging me to step on it every morning. And I step on it. And feel bad and very occasionally good!
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I struggle with the question of to weigh or not to weigh. For over a year, I weighed daily and for the last seven weeks, I didn’t get weighed at all. Just today, in fact, I stepped back on the scale to find that I weighed within 1 pound of what I weighed 7 weeks ago. I don’t know what’s better but I wish I did.
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I don’t weigh myself that often. I don’t think it is because I am concerned about my weight because I am not. But I can see how tempting it could be to weigh yourself over and over again if the scale is in a convenient location. We used to have one in our bathroom but it was removed because our house is so small and the bathroom got to cluttered. If we put the scale back in there I might get tempted to weigh myself more often.
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Tracey Reply:
April 8th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Cascia–Thanks for visiting my blog, and thanks for your comment!
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I do weigh everyday and have for years. I don’t feel obsessed, but rather use it as an accountablity partner. If it goes up above my “happy” weight I immediately take steps to remedy the problem – by eating a little less and moving more.
Everyone has their own comfort level with the scale.
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Tracey Reply:
April 8th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Diane–I think it can be great for accountability if you don’t let it control you. You’re so right that everyone’s comfort level is different. I for one would never get the numbers out of my head if I weighed daily. But if it works for you, why not?
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I don’t weigh on a regular basis. I don’t know how much I weigh now. It’s such an easy thing to become fascinated/obsessed with for me.
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Those of Which We Do Not Speak did becoming obsessive when I was losing weight. Never to a point I couldn’t stop or control it, but it is rather tricky to figure out the whole when-to-weigh and what’s truly a “baseline” weight. I do step on the Those of Which We Do Not Speak about once a week, always Monday mornings. If I miss a Monday morning, I just wait til the next week. I think this is a much healthier approach.
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Great post!!! I don’t own a scale either! I think you can always judge by how your denim fits
If you eat healthy and eating when you are hungry then you are on correct track, I think!
Have a great day!
XXOO
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I don’t weigh…I don’t even own a scale – I really don’t care about numbers…unless their the ones in my bank account – and they fluctuate just as bad!!
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I never cared about my weight – even when I was at college and away from our scale hating mom. But then my stomach problems started and I needed to weigh myself to make sure I wasn’t loosing too much. It amazes me how little the number on the scale reflected my size. I lost 15 – 20 pounds before I started to feel better and gain the weight back. My pant size remained the same. I did become obsessed with checking the scale for a little while but eventually stopped. I check it monthly now.
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I don’t know why but I have my scale wrong to say I’m 50 lbs heavier than I am. Is that odd? I know I’ll step on it less often that way (I used to always check; not that I cared, I just had a habit of stepping on every time)
Katherine
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Tracey Reply:
April 8th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Katherine–That’s hysterical! Thanks for the great comment!
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“That of which we do not speak” haha I love that! Your name that is.. it reminds me of “He Who Must Not Be Named” from Harry Potter. Am I the only Harry Potter nerd? Quite possibly.
Anyways, NO I do not weigh myself. Been there, done that, do not want that obsession again. There was a time in my life where what that darn thing said every morning determined if I would have a good or bad day and I never want to return to that place, ever again.
Great post!
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That of which we do not speak – hilarious! All kidding aside, I find that as soon as I start to weight myself, I get fixated on the scale and the number, but as soon as I stop, forget about that of which we do not speak. I guess it’s habit, so I try to avoid it when possible (I’d like to get rid of the device, but it’s a fixture in our apartment).
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Also, Jessica, I’m TOTALLY a Harry Potter nerd, so you are not alone!
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Tracey Reply:
April 9th, 2010 at 8:38 am
Jessica and Jessie–Obviously, I’m a Harry Potter nerd, too.
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I weigh in at Weight Watchers each Saturday. I do own a scale and I have to be careful or I’ll jump on it every morning. I find once a week is a good amount to keep me in check. If I start getting on the scale every day I find it becomes an obsession.
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I got obsessed with the number on the scale so I stopped weighing myself for awhile. I am now back to weighing myself only once a month to check in. That works for me.
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