For many years, Paula lived with a scale obsession that often left her feeling depressed and hopeless after weighing herself.
Then she decided to disconnect from all of the crazy thoughts and behaviors she’d struggled with for so long.
Instead, she began thinking of her scale like an email. Each day, it gives her a little input. But once she steps off, she never gives it any more attention and mentally walks away from the numbers. Here is her story:
At my highest, I weighed 225 pounds. One day, I decided to take a whole new approach to managing my weight. I focused on healthy eating, moderate exercise, and finding new hobbies rather than doing mindless eating.
I would do things like clean out a junk drawer rather than munch on chips in front of the TV. I learned to talk out my feelings rather than bury them under food. It took a couple of years, but I reached my goal weight of 158 pounds. The best part is that I’ve maintained that now for many years.
The scale wasn’t always my friend. But I got sick of feeling dominated by the negative feelings I got whenever I didn’t like the number. So I wrote out a simple plan and told myself it was how I would live the rest of my life.
Now I weigh myself every morning, right after I get up and use the bathroom. I always step on the scale naked so I don’t have to worry about any variation based on my clothes. I also remind myself not to let the scale reading negatively affect my day.
By weighing every day, I have learned to recognize the patterns and fluctuations that come with normal life. I don’t panic if the number goes up.
But if my weight is up three pounds for more than two days in a row, I do a quick review of things such as my water intake, my eating patterns, and how much exercise I’ve been doing. Then I address all three of those things, and within a couple of days, the scale is usually right back down again.
You can reach a similar level of comfort with your weigh-in rituals. As you build a friendship with your scale, stick with a few simple rules and never vary from them. No scale games, remember? Just reliable ways to gather the data.
Seven Guidelines
To consistently get the most accurate picture of your true weight, follow these seven guidelines:
1. Early morning
Jump out of bed, go to the bathroom, then step on the scale. Record your weight, then head to the shower or turn on the coffee pot. Because there are fewer variables affecting it, your morning weight will always be the most accurate as well as the most consistent.
2. Only once
When you get on the scale, make note of the first number it shows. Then write it down or post it to your online program and be done with it. Don’t get on and off the scale several times to see if the reading stays the same.
3. Don’t go back
After you’ve weighed yourself and recorded the number, put the scale away or leave the room. If you store your scale in your bathroom, train yourself to ignore it. You won’t learn anything new by returning to it later in the day. In fact, any other scale readings for that day will give you odd or inaccurate information.
4. Never at night
When you weigh yourself in the evening, you aren’t seeing a true measurement of your weight. Instead, you’re seeing a reflection of your day’s activities and how they affect your body.
Weighing yourself at night can easily become a form of punishment. You might even catch yourself saying, “Let’s see how bad I was today.”
There are a few exceptions to this rule. One is the required weigh-in at group meetings such as Weight Watchers, TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) or similar programs. But always remind yourself the only official weight is the one on your own scale in the morning.
You may also have a challenge with getting a morning weight if you work nights or have an erratic schedule. In this case, pick the time of day that works best for getting on the scale, then aim to stay consistent with that choice.
5. Consider daily weigh-ins
I know you’ve heard lots of advice about how frequently to weigh yourself. But when you have a history of weight struggles, the scale becomes one of your best tools for staying on track.
Research studies have shown that people who weigh themselves every day are more likely to lose weight as well as maintain their success long term. So if it works for you, make getting on the scale a daily routine.
6. Create a personal plan
If weighing yourself every day pushes you into obsessive thinking, set up a plan that fits for you. Instead of daily weigh-ins, consider getting on the scale once a week. Just don’t let this become totally random.
To get the most accurate information, stay consistent by always weighing yourself on the same day of the week.
You may want to avoid using Monday for your weigh-in day. Because weekends usually involve different types of foods or changes in your activity, a Monday scale reading may be less accurate than one later in the week.
I suggest using Wednesday or Thursday for your routine weigh-in because those days are not affected by weekend behaviors.
Choose your weigh-in day based on what matches your needs. For some people, weighing every Sunday works well because it feels like a good start to the new week.
During stretches of time when you decide to stay away from the scale, I recommend you still weigh yourself at least once a month. Pick a specific day such as the first or the fifteenth of each month. Then put a reminder on your calendar to step on the scale that day.
7. Stop avoiding it
As you know, it’s easy to avoid the scale when you suspect you’ve gained weight. But over time, this behavior gets you into more trouble.
Let your scale become a gentle tool, not a hammer that beats you up. By setting up your plan for how and when you will weigh yourself, you can avoid the scale dread that comes when you’ve stayed away from it too long.
Strive to follow these rules consistently, even through holiday seasons, birthdays, and high-stress times. By staying with these guidelines, you’ll avoid nasty scale games as well as the sudden shock of seeing high weight numbers after a long break.
Note: Because my book Friends with the Scale is going out of print next year, I decided to post it one chapter at a time. I’ve skipped some chapters so today is Chapter 11.