In the past whenever I have tried to lose weight, I would start out really strong and be super disciplined. Looking for immediate results, I would start weighing myself regularly, often daily. I craved that positive reinforcement you get from seeing the number on the scale go down. It felt good, really good. Inevitably, however, there always came a day when the number on the scale would surprise me. And whether it surprised me by being a higher number or a much lower number, the surprise itself had a negative impact.
In scenario 1, the scale showed no movement or (god forbid) a slight increase: I would get really upset thinking “but I had a good day yesterday, why is my weight up? This diet isn’t working!” I would get super frustrated and demotivated by the scale’s lack of cooperation. After a few of these type of weigh-ins, my diet would be history.
In scenario 2, the scale showed a number significantly less than my last weigh-in: I would think “Woohoo, I’m doing awesome. I can splurge today!” The feeling of deserving a “splurge” due to the number on the scale didn’t help me stay the course either.
What I finally realized was that focusing on the number on the scale wasn’t allowing me to focus on the big picture. Any unexpected variance in weight, and I would either get frustrated and demotivated or get overly happy and slack off.
So this time, instead of focusing on the scale as defining my success, I decided to set new goals: make good food choices, track my food, and get exercise. It’s a good day if I achieve those goals. For the first few weeks of the new plan, I did not weigh myself at all. I wanted to feel good just knowing that I was living healthier. It worked. By focusing on the behavior and not the number on the scale, I’ve made a lot of progress and more importantly, I have not been discouraged by variations in body weight. Now I’m weighing myself once a month and that is enough.
It’s a mindset change that has really helped me and I thought there may be others that could benefit from redefining their weight loss success as well. Step off the scale and focus on the behavior!
This line in your post really made it standout to me personally, "By focusing on the behavior and not the number on the scale" -- I've been exactly where you were, I constantly weighed myself and had both scenarios where I was either upset that the number wasn't going down or splurging cause the number went down and I thought I should treat myself, and in the end never reaching my goal. I also now have ditched the scale and focused on just making better food choices and sticking to regular exercise. I've been doing this for over a year and I've never felt better then I do today. Good job on your progress and good luck in keeping up the good work :)
It seems like common sense now but it really did make a difference! Thanks for the reinforcement!
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STOPHealth and fitness are, in my experience, more about the changes that you make to your lifestyle than the number on the scale. If you put the honest effort in, the results will come.
If you hit a bump in the road, let's say your weight starts to go up or your rate of loss slows down, then you just have to step back and re-evaluate! I feel like this part is what most people are missing. It's easy to get discouraged and just want to quit
I couldn't agree more - focusing on the number can be very damaging in the overall effort because it's so easy to beat yourself up. It's genuinely amazing how much the number can change day-to-day!
Personally, I have worked to do the very same thing - focus on good behaviours and choices. In addition, do your best to calibrate the 'how you feel' number. If you feel good and have energy then the rest is gravy - the number is then irrelevent. Keep at it :)
all you need to do is have strength to do what you would like
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