I HATE MY SCALE!!!!
I am 1 1/2 weeks post op and all I do is DRINK DRINK DRINK and I walk (not everyday but more then before surgery) and I have started to ride my bike for 10 to 15 min. at least 2 times a week. I get on my scale every day and It goes up and down. I payed $40.00 for this stupid scale and the Doc. office sayed it is at least 8lbs different from mine. I have NO idea what I weigh, or how much I have lost. any one with the same problems,or any help ideas????
Three words, girlfriend - THROW IT OUT. The scale is one of those things that is counter-productive. At this point, I don't even know what I weigh, but I do know that I feel great and I look pretty damn good. A measuring tape is a good gauge of inch loss, which will be greater than pound loss and likely more consistent.
The purpose of the scale is to depress us - lose the scale. The numbers are not the most important thing.
Good luck and God bless.
HERES my deal 2 months back my scale pooped out and died. I loved that scale as it was equal to my surgeons to the pound. VERY important to me at least.
So i went to walmart first scale i bought was returned in fla**** put me up about 8 lbs then the prior one that died. AND every time i got on it i got a different weight....that one was junky. THEN for 28 dollars i got the weigh****chers one in walmart an that weighs perfect, same number no matter how many times i get on it and its the same as my surgeons scale
which for me matters.
I will admit i am a scale addict post op
but i have to be one. ITS years of not looking
that got me to 300 lbs,
GOOD LUCK
LISA
Beth:
First congrats on making the decision to change your life!
Now the honest to goodness truth!
THROW OUT THE SCALE..I am so so serious....This tool is about making HEALTHY LIFESTYLE changes, wt loss is a side-effect really (a bonus), there are so many things that influence wt, some you can control and MANY others you can't! It is common to GAIN wt up to 15-20# sometimes in the hospital (fluid)...I assure you this will work, GIVE IT TIME< I realize patience is not easy, we expect to be thin overnight. This is a long journey, one that you will be on FOREVER! So focus on the tool, using it to make healthy habits (dietary and exercise)...
Weigh NO MORE than 1x week, same time, same clothes (or lack of), same scale. It is not about if yours is 3 or 8# different thatn the surgeons, you will see trends no matter which one u use. TRY not to get caught up in numbers, this scale can not RULE your life, mood etc unless you let it. Instead I feel the mindset of health and wellness is what gets us to gaol and KEEPS US THRE! The scale can reallyhinder and sabotage us inthe long run. IT IS SIMPLY one small measure for success, the way you feel, clothes fit, take measurements, photos monthly to see changes. The body does as it likes even if we want it to do something else!
Understanding and accepting this early on willmake your journey more enjoyable I beleive! Fluids are important, so is protein, and exercise see those as goals for now. I literally had to ship my scale to my moms and ask not to weigh more than 1x week, REALLY it got that bad I am not kidding! But the mental torture of using it daily was not helping me at all. I now weigh monthly, but am aware of my body so much more in clothes, in the mirror etc so I KNOW what my wt is w/i 5# I swear something I never knew before this journey! The scale lies alo****er, hormones etc all influence it...1 1/2 weeks is still hibernation time, body is saying YIKES I am starving I am holding on for dear life to every pound, plateaus will happen on our journey, the way to et through them is to follow the pouch rules, the healthy habits, letting time pass, as no matter what we can only slightly influence our scales.....I WISH YOU WELL! I hope you can listen to these wonderful people, and perhaps consider some other points of view onthe scale!
HUGS iof loving support froma fellow been there and had that struggle wlser!
HERE are a few articles on scales!! (*more than u ever wanted to know!) 
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Ending Scale Obsession
Do you weigh yourself every day? Or worry about even the slightest change in your weight? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you may be obsessing over the scale too much. This practice can be very discouraging if you're trying to maintain healthy habits.
In fact, your weight may change from day to day for many reasons. Shifts in water weight, constipation, and even the food you just ate can cause daily ups and downs that may register on the scale. These shifts can be misleading and worrisome if you don't understand them. For a more accurate measurement of your weight, you should only weigh yourself once each week and on the same scale every time -- different scales may provide different readings. Or, instead, let the tightness of your belt be your guide. If your clothes fit better and you feel better, then you're getting healthier -- even if the bathroom scale doesn't reflect it.
Ultimately, it's up to you to stop scale obsession. Weight loss takes time and you need to be patient. Remember, if you're following a healthy lifestyle plan the extra pounds will come off -- whether you step on the scale a hundred times a day or never at all.
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Scale back on weighing in?
Dieters should think twice about how -- and how often -- they check their weight
Kimberly Hayes Taylor / The Detroit News
January 24, 2006
A fter shedding nearly 100 pounds, Angela McCray has come to one solid conclusion about weighing herself: "The scale is not my friend."
McCray of Grand Blanc has heard all the debates about weighing oneself. It has taken five years, gastric bypass surgery and working out with a personal trainer to lose 91 pounds. She's decided the most frequently she can possibly weigh-in is every Monday morning when she drives to Detroit for a hard workout session with her personal trainer, Eric Thompson.
"I don't want to see the scale, but I know I have to weigh myself if I'm going to reach my goal," says the 38-year-old factory worker. "I don't want to weigh myself too often because I know muscles weigh more than fat. It's just best to weigh once a week."
How often dieters should weigh themselves is a question often debated among scientists and weight-loss experts. Some agree weighing weekly is ideal for losing weight. Others argue dieters will lose track of progress if they fail to weigh daily. But daily weighing is not a good practice, others say, because the slow nature of weight loss, plus daily fluctuations in body weight, might make dieters more apt to give up.
Arguments for all sides
A new study has come down on the side of daily weigh-ins. Published in the December issue of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, it reports that dieters who weighed themselves regularly shed more pounds over a 24-month period than people who didn't regularly weigh themselves. Those who weighed themselves daily lost the most.
To the authors, the implications are clear: Dieters should be encouraged to weigh themselves -- and often.
"We talk to people about monitoring calories daily, about monitoring their exercise daily. ... If we're asking them to do those . . . on a daily basis, then why not add this other recommendation?" says Jennifer A. Linde, lead author of that study and an assistant professor at the school of public health at the University of Minnesota.
Yet there's a chicken-egg caveat here that some critics point to, and that even those who believe in the findings acknowledge. Sure, successful dieters may weigh themselves more. But the studies don't tell you what caused what -- just that the two things correlate. It's fun to step on the scales when you're succeeding. When the numbers are nudging upward or stubbornly refusing to change, it doesn't seem like fun and games.
"They're assuming that weighing yourself frequently leads you to lose weight. I think losing weight makes you weigh yourself more frequently, because -- 'I'm losing weight, yes, yes, I'm down another pound,' " says Janet Polivy, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Toronto, who is not a fan of the bathroom scales.
McCray agrees. She says it's the work put into exercise and eating balanced meals that make the difference. Weighing is simply a way of keep track of the progress.
"I'm going to be honest with you," she says. "The scale can make you or break you if you are not mentally ready for it. I just can't get on the scale every day. That's torture to me."
How about every two or three days? After conducting her own weighing experiment, Maureen Mailhot of Waterford Township concluded that frequent weighing can become a bit obsessive. A personal trainer, she weighed three times daily, first thing in the morning, before lunch and after lunch. During the day, she discovered her weight fluctuated by 3 pounds.
Now, the 30-year-old has decided weighing less frequently is wiser, but she still leans toward weighing at least twice a week.
"I realized it's how I feel. It's my body fat and my measurements," says Mailhot, who currently trains at Peak Physique in Troy. "It's not how much I weigh. That's only one number."
Curves fitness centers offer a Six-Week Solution, where clients weigh and measure once each week. After losing about 20 pounds during those first six weeks, weighing once a month is recommended thereafter, according to Kim Boychuk, who owns two Metro Detroit Curves locations.
"You are going to know the way your clothes fit, the way you feel," says Boychuk. "If we can have someone on a regular basis working out, eating healthfully, weighing once a month is going to give them a good indication of how they are doing."
A history of research
The back-and-forth debate is why, to this day, roomfuls of Ph.D.s and M.D.s sit around discussing an issue you'd think 21st-century science might have put to bed by now.
A curious study from the 1960s points to the potential effect of frequent weighing. Eight overweight women in a small, private college were enrolled in a weight-loss plan, part of which consisted of coming in to be weighed four times a day. By study's end, the women had lost an average of 40 pounds each.
The study was small; it lacked important controls. But it was intriguing.
"People in that group lost more weight than any study since then in nearly 40 years," says Dr. Joseph A. Risser, director of clinical research for Lindora Medical Group, which runs the Lean for Life weight-loss program.
The scales couldn't possibly have registered real loss from one weigh-in to the next -- but maybe, Risser muses, something else was going on, such as a reminder of the mission the dieter was on. His own studies of more than 600 clients show that those who were weighed five times weekly lost more weight (24 pounds) than those weighed twice weekly (19 pounds).
The new study by Linde and colleagues tapped statistics from two populations. One was a group of 1,800 obese or overweight adults enrolled in a weight-loss trial. Participants were asked at the study's start and at intervals thereafter how often they weighed themselves.
After one year, monthly, weekly and daily weighers all lost weight on average, but those who weighed themselves daily lost the most -- about 8 pounds. (Those who never weighed themselves gained weight.)
The other data came from 1,226 adults in a weight-gain prevention trial. At 12 months, those who weighed themselves daily had lost about 2 or 3 pounds. Those who weighed themselves less often, or not at all, actually gained weight. In both studies, significant differences also were seen at two years.
People who weighed themselves also did other healthy things such as exercise more, but the self-weighing effect was statistically significant on its own, Linde says.
Another study recently released by the National Weight Control Registry, a large database of people who have lost a considerable amount of weight and are keeping it off, revealed that people who lost an average of 60 pounds and kept it off for an average of five years, did so by weighing frequently. Most of them weighed several times a week to daily, says Karen Miller-Kovach, chief scientific officer for Weigh****chers International.
She defines the thin line between losing, gaining and keeping if off. The difference, she says, is dieters should weigh only once per week. People who want to maintain weight loss should weigh daily.
"When it comes to weight regain, several studies show that there is this black magic to 5 pounds," says Miller-Kovach, author of "Family Power: 5 Simple Rules for a Health-Weight Home" ($22.95, John Wiley & Sons Inc.). "People who tend to regain more than 5 pounds tend to regain it all. It's really important to keep within that 5-pound radius. If you are 135 pounds and one day you weigh 136 and the next day 137, if you get to 140, the cow's out of the barn, and you'll probably gain back every pound you lost."
At weekly Weigh****chers meetings, Miller-Kovach says clients are told to weigh themselves only during the meetings.
"We tell them not to jump on their bathroom scales morning, noon and night," she says. "When they become a lifetime member (after they've lost their goal weight), we recommend that they come in once a month, but weigh themselves more frequently at home."
Consistency counts
Whether you're a once a month, once a week or once a day weigher, keep it consistent. And frequency isn't the only factor here; Miller-Kovach says it doesn't matter whether you weigh-in naked, with clothes and shoes on, in the morning or at night.
"Your weight can fluctuate," she says. "If one day you weighing yourself naked in the morning in the bathroom, and a week later, you are weighing yourself in the evening with clothes and shoes on, that can be a 5-pound difference. The main thing is to weigh at the same time in the same way each time."
How to weigh in
Here are some tips from various specialists about the best way to weigh yourself:
· To minimize variation, always weigh at the same time of day, such as in the morning just after having used the bathroom.
· If you are weighing yourself daily, understand that your weight will vary day to day. It's the trend that's important. You may find it useful to make a graph of your weight.
· Put the scales on a flat, uncarpeted surface so the readings don't wobble.
· Use a scale that is consistent, giving the same weight when you step on it, then off it, then back on it again. That's more important than the type of scale you buy. Use the same scale each time.
· Don't get fixated on the scales. Monitor your body change in other ways, such as the fit of your clothes, a tape measure or how you physically feel.
· To the best of your ability, try to gauge how the weighing makes you feel, and if it is reinforcing -- or undermining -- your efforts.
Washington Post
What to watch for
Weight-loss experts agree these five factors can affect your weigh-ins:
· Colon health: Within the folds of the colon can be several pounds of waste, particularly if someone is constipated. Obviously, a bowel movement can affect your weight; some form of colon cleansing such as herbs or hydrotherapy such as an enema or colonic may help eliminate waste as well.
· Hormonal fluctuations: Just before or during a menstrual cycle, a woman is likely to gain up to 5 pounds.
· Water retention: Most adults retain about 5 pounds of water within extra-cellular fluid, the natural fluid surrounding cells. Heavier people may experience even more water retention, especially if they frequently consume processed convenience foods. As much as 8 to 10 pounds of fluid may be retained if a sudden weight gain is experienced, such as during the holidays. Drinking adequate amounts of water and exercise can help reduce water retention.
· Time of day: Since weight fluctuates throughout the day, for an accurate weigh-in, step on the scales at the same time of day.
· Clothing: A pair of shoes can weigh more than 1 pound. To be sure you record your correct weight, decide on if you are going to weigh with or without clothing and keep it consistent.
Kimberly Hayes Taylor
Wire services were used in this report. You can reach Kimberly Hayes Taylor at (313) 222-2058 or [email protected].
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060124/LIFESTYLE02/601240395/1040/rss34&template=printart
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Weighing in on the Scale
http://www.calorieking.com/library/article.php?path=13%2C66&art_id=749&printable=yes&noviews=yes
Pat Fiducia and Anna Delany, September 22nd, 2004
It's no secret that many of us allow our moods to be determined by a number on a scale. If it's the right number - elation. If it's the wrong number - deflation.
Just recently, I was at the gym standing near the scale when a woman went to weigh herself. Before she jumped on the scale she was in a cheerful, upbeat mood, but when she read the number on the scale her mood changed dramatically; she was devastated. And I mean devastated.
But what she hadn't noticed was that her purse handle was leaning on the scale, making the reading about two pounds heavier than it should have been. That two-pound difference almost ruined her day - until someone politely pointed out the trespassing purse handle. When she removed the guilty party from the scale and saw the number dip by two pounds, she was ecstatic. Again, all was well with the world.
Mind over scale
Watching that woman reminded me of all the times I've tried to explain to my weight loss clients (without totally demoralizing them) that daily fluctuations on the scale, whether up or down, should never be taken too seriously.
One client in particular, who had high blood pressure and was on medication, experienced extreme water-weight fluctuations; up six pounds one day, down six pounds the next. Try as I might to tell her that the changes were not a measurement of success or failure, but a result of the medication, she couldn't see it that way. Instead, she remained happy and proud when the numbers went down; and unhappy, frustrated and hopeless when the numbers went up. Her perceptions had little to do with the fact that she making excellent progress changing her eating and exercise habits and losing weight gradually; everything revolved around the scale.
The fact is, the number she put so much stock in was reflecting - among other things - the ebb and flow of water, not just the loss of fat or the increase of lean muscle mass, which are the two indicators of true weight loss.
Water-weight: Here today, gone tomorrow
Sixty to seventy percent of your body is made up of water, so it's not surprising that daily weigh-ins reflec****er-weight fluctuations; water-weight is a major component of what the scale measures, and the numbers can go up or down, depending on whether your body is losing or retaining water.
Water retention. Next time you step on the scales and think "Oh no, I've gained three pounds. All my efforts have been for nothing!" take a moment to consider whether it might just be water retention that the scale is picking up on. Several factors can cause water retention.
Excess sodium is one of them. The minimum physiological requirement for sodium is 500 mg per day and most health organizations normally recommend a maximum of 2400 mg. But when you think that just one teaspoon of salt supplies 2358 mg of sodium, it's easy to understand why most Americans consume sometimes twenty times more sodium than their bodies need, causing water retention and adding water-weight.
Not drinking enough water can also cause water retention. Although it sounds back-to-front, you need to drink a sufficient amount of water to flush out the water you're already holding on to! Eight or more 8 oz glasses a day does the trick.
Other common reasons for water retention include menstrual bloating, constipation, and certain diseases such as heart or kidney disease.
Water loss. Generally it's only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of actual fat per week. If you are losing more than that, it's likely that it's water you are shedding, not fat. While you will always lose some water-weight when decreasing calories, extreme dieting will produce extreme water loss, and false weight loss readings.
Excessive calorie restriction, for example, causes the body to use up stores of carbohydrates and to break down protein in the muscles. As both carbohydrates and protein hold water in the cells, a loss of these also results in a net loss of water. As a result, rapid weight loss can often be made up of 75% water loss.
High-protein or low-carb diets also cause too much water loss. A high level of protein, especially from meat and dairy products raises the levels of two toxic by-products, uric acid and urea. To flush these out, the body pumps lots of water through the kidneys and urinary track. Loss of glycogen (a form of stored carbohydrate) on low-carb diets can also cause excess water loss, as can the diuretics people often take on these diets.
You aren't what you eat
An average-sized meal can easily weigh a couple of pounds, which is what you'll seem to have gained if you jump on the scale straight after your meal. That's because the scale registers the weight of the food, not the weight you will have gained from the meal - plus any water-weight gain from excess sodium.
Of course, after the food is digested it will stockpile some extra calories, but keep in mind that it takes 3500 calories more than your body needs to gain one pound of weight. So, if you've eaten a heavy meal and the scale registers a four pound weight gain, for that to be accurate, the meal would have to equal at least 14,000 calories; that's like eating 8-12 whole pizzas, 23 Big Mac's or 56 bowls of pasta and tomato sauce!
Muscle gain vs. fat loss
iThe argument that muscle weighs more than fat is often used to explain weight gain when you increase physical activity. But in truth, the effects of weight training on your overall weight are marginal - about one pound a month is the maximum increase. So don't be fooled into thinking that weight gain is a by-product of exercise. Likely, it is true weight gain or a by-product of water retention.
Using the scale effectively
Although the scale has its flaws, don't throw it out the window just yet! The scale can be an effective long-term indicator of weight loss, especially when used in conjunction with other methods of assessing weight. Follow these tips to help you use your scale effectively:
· Understand the scale's limitations. Stay in touch with what the scale can and can't do. Remember that normal and significant fluctuations can occur through water retention, water loss, glycogen storage, changes in body mass, and the normal ebb and flow of fluids.
· Focus on what you want to accomplish. Losing body fat and increasing lean muscle mass is your primary weight loss goal. Keep in mind that it is impossible to change body fat significantly in a day or two, or even a week, so don't allow your moods to be contingent on the scale.
· Weigh-in once a week or less. The scale should be used to monitor weight trends, not day-to-day weight fluctuations. Weigh in once a week or less and chart your progress over time. It's also best not to weigh yourself for several hours after eating. For more accurate weigh-ins, get weighed first thing in the morning before eating.
· Think outside the scale. Think about how you look and feel, how your clothes fit, your frame of mind, your energy levels. Aren't these things worth listening to more than the scale?
· Monitor other indicators of success such as your blood pressure, your cholesterol levels, and your glucose levels. Measure success by the positive changes you are making. Using skin-folds or body measurements can also provide some more accurate numerical charting of fat losses.
· Don't be discouraged by a number - it's all relative anyway! Think about it this way: If you weigh 150 pounds on Earth, you weigh 136 pounds on Venus, 42 pounds on Mercury, 350 pounds on Jupiter, and a mere 57 pounds on Mars!
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Why The Scale Lies
by Renee Cloe,
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/weight/scale.htm
We've been told over an over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can't resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can't bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence it's readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale.
Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body's water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don't understand what's happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto it's water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water.
Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. A single teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium. Generally, we should only eat between 1,000 and 3,000 mg of sodium a day, so it's easy to go overboard. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn't have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts, 460 mg in the pudding versus 123 mg in the nuts. The more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content. That's why, when it comes to eating, it's wise to stick mainly to the basics: fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, and whole grains. Be sure to read the labels on canned foods, boxed mixes, and frozen dinners.
Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum.
Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and it's packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it's stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates. As the glycogen supply shrinks you will experience a small imperceptible increase in appetite and your body will restore this fuel reserve along with it's associated water. It's normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you're prone to obsessing over the number on the scale.
Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it's wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you've had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different than putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It's the actual weight of everything you've had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you've finished digesting it.
Exercise physiologists tell us that in order to store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than your body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store the above dinner as 5 pounds of fat, it would have to contain a whopping 17,500 calories. This is not likely, in fact it's not humanly possible. So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, it's likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner. Keep in mind that the 3,500 calorie rule works in reverse also. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Generally, it's only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it's physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you're really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle.
This brings us to the scale's sneakiest attribute. It doesn't just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose "weight," that doesn't necessarily mean that you've lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you've lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you're just sitting around. That's one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue.
Robin Landis, author of "Body Fueling," compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn't differentiate between the two. It can't tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat. There are several other measuring techniques that can accomplish this, although they vary in convenience, accuracy, and cost. Skin-fold calipers pinch and measure fat folds at various locations on the body, hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing involves exhaling all of the air from your lungs before being lowered into a tank of water, and bioelectrical impedance measures the degree to which your body fat impedes a mild electrical current.
If the thought of being pinched, dunked, or gently zapped just doesn't appeal to you, don't worry. The best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don't be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride. It's a matter of mind over scale.
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Take Care,
Jamie
Lap RNY 10/9/02 Dr. Singh
320/163 5'9'' (lost 45# before surgery)
Plastics 6/9/04 & 11/11/2005 Dr. King
http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/members/profile.php?N=c1132518510
"Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!"
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Ending Scale Obsession
Do you weigh yourself every day? Or worry about even the slightest change in your weight? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you may be obsessing over the scale too much. This practice can be very discouraging if you're trying to maintain healthy habits.
In fact, your weight may change from day to day for many reasons. Shifts in water weight, constipation, and even the food you just ate can cause daily ups and downs that may register on the scale. These shifts can be misleading and worrisome if you don't understand them. For a more accurate measurement of your weight, you should only weigh yourself once each week and on the same scale every time -- different scales may provide different readings. Or, instead, let the tightness of your belt be your guide. If your clothes fit better and you feel better, then you're getting healthier -- even if the bathroom scale doesn't reflect it.
Ultimately, it's up to you to stop scale obsession. Weight loss takes time and you need to be patient. Remember, if you're following a healthy lifestyle plan the extra pounds will come off -- whether you step on the scale a hundred times a day or never at all.
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Scale back on weighing in?
Dieters should think twice about how -- and how often -- they check their weight
Kimberly Hayes Taylor / The Detroit News
January 24, 2006
A fter shedding nearly 100 pounds, Angela McCray has come to one solid conclusion about weighing herself: "The scale is not my friend."
McCray of Grand Blanc has heard all the debates about weighing oneself. It has taken five years, gastric bypass surgery and working out with a personal trainer to lose 91 pounds. She's decided the most frequently she can possibly weigh-in is every Monday morning when she drives to Detroit for a hard workout session with her personal trainer, Eric Thompson.
"I don't want to see the scale, but I know I have to weigh myself if I'm going to reach my goal," says the 38-year-old factory worker. "I don't want to weigh myself too often because I know muscles weigh more than fat. It's just best to weigh once a week."
How often dieters should weigh themselves is a question often debated among scientists and weight-loss experts. Some agree weighing weekly is ideal for losing weight. Others argue dieters will lose track of progress if they fail to weigh daily. But daily weighing is not a good practice, others say, because the slow nature of weight loss, plus daily fluctuations in body weight, might make dieters more apt to give up.
Arguments for all sides
A new study has come down on the side of daily weigh-ins. Published in the December issue of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, it reports that dieters who weighed themselves regularly shed more pounds over a 24-month period than people who didn't regularly weigh themselves. Those who weighed themselves daily lost the most.
To the authors, the implications are clear: Dieters should be encouraged to weigh themselves -- and often.
"We talk to people about monitoring calories daily, about monitoring their exercise daily. ... If we're asking them to do those . . . on a daily basis, then why not add this other recommendation?" says Jennifer A. Linde, lead author of that study and an assistant professor at the school of public health at the University of Minnesota.
Yet there's a chicken-egg caveat here that some critics point to, and that even those who believe in the findings acknowledge. Sure, successful dieters may weigh themselves more. But the studies don't tell you what caused what -- just that the two things correlate. It's fun to step on the scales when you're succeeding. When the numbers are nudging upward or stubbornly refusing to change, it doesn't seem like fun and games.
"They're assuming that weighing yourself frequently leads you to lose weight. I think losing weight makes you weigh yourself more frequently, because -- 'I'm losing weight, yes, yes, I'm down another pound,' " says Janet Polivy, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Toronto, who is not a fan of the bathroom scales.
McCray agrees. She says it's the work put into exercise and eating balanced meals that make the difference. Weighing is simply a way of keep track of the progress.
"I'm going to be honest with you," she says. "The scale can make you or break you if you are not mentally ready for it. I just can't get on the scale every day. That's torture to me."
How about every two or three days? After conducting her own weighing experiment, Maureen Mailhot of Waterford Township concluded that frequent weighing can become a bit obsessive. A personal trainer, she weighed three times daily, first thing in the morning, before lunch and after lunch. During the day, she discovered her weight fluctuated by 3 pounds.
Now, the 30-year-old has decided weighing less frequently is wiser, but she still leans toward weighing at least twice a week.
"I realized it's how I feel. It's my body fat and my measurements," says Mailhot, who currently trains at Peak Physique in Troy. "It's not how much I weigh. That's only one number."
Curves fitness centers offer a Six-Week Solution, where clients weigh and measure once each week. After losing about 20 pounds during those first six weeks, weighing once a month is recommended thereafter, according to Kim Boychuk, who owns two Metro Detroit Curves locations.
"You are going to know the way your clothes fit, the way you feel," says Boychuk. "If we can have someone on a regular basis working out, eating healthfully, weighing once a month is going to give them a good indication of how they are doing."
A history of research
The back-and-forth debate is why, to this day, roomfuls of Ph.D.s and M.D.s sit around discussing an issue you'd think 21st-century science might have put to bed by now.
A curious study from the 1960s points to the potential effect of frequent weighing. Eight overweight women in a small, private college were enrolled in a weight-loss plan, part of which consisted of coming in to be weighed four times a day. By study's end, the women had lost an average of 40 pounds each.
The study was small; it lacked important controls. But it was intriguing.
"People in that group lost more weight than any study since then in nearly 40 years," says Dr. Joseph A. Risser, director of clinical research for Lindora Medical Group, which runs the Lean for Life weight-loss program.
The scales couldn't possibly have registered real loss from one weigh-in to the next -- but maybe, Risser muses, something else was going on, such as a reminder of the mission the dieter was on. His own studies of more than 600 clients show that those who were weighed five times weekly lost more weight (24 pounds) than those weighed twice weekly (19 pounds).
The new study by Linde and colleagues tapped statistics from two populations. One was a group of 1,800 obese or overweight adults enrolled in a weight-loss trial. Participants were asked at the study's start and at intervals thereafter how often they weighed themselves.
After one year, monthly, weekly and daily weighers all lost weight on average, but those who weighed themselves daily lost the most -- about 8 pounds. (Those who never weighed themselves gained weight.)
The other data came from 1,226 adults in a weight-gain prevention trial. At 12 months, those who weighed themselves daily had lost about 2 or 3 pounds. Those who weighed themselves less often, or not at all, actually gained weight. In both studies, significant differences also were seen at two years.
People who weighed themselves also did other healthy things such as exercise more, but the self-weighing effect was statistically significant on its own, Linde says.
Another study recently released by the National Weight Control Registry, a large database of people who have lost a considerable amount of weight and are keeping it off, revealed that people who lost an average of 60 pounds and kept it off for an average of five years, did so by weighing frequently. Most of them weighed several times a week to daily, says Karen Miller-Kovach, chief scientific officer for Weigh****chers International.
She defines the thin line between losing, gaining and keeping if off. The difference, she says, is dieters should weigh only once per week. People who want to maintain weight loss should weigh daily.
"When it comes to weight regain, several studies show that there is this black magic to 5 pounds," says Miller-Kovach, author of "Family Power: 5 Simple Rules for a Health-Weight Home" ($22.95, John Wiley & Sons Inc.). "People who tend to regain more than 5 pounds tend to regain it all. It's really important to keep within that 5-pound radius. If you are 135 pounds and one day you weigh 136 and the next day 137, if you get to 140, the cow's out of the barn, and you'll probably gain back every pound you lost."
At weekly Weigh****chers meetings, Miller-Kovach says clients are told to weigh themselves only during the meetings.
"We tell them not to jump on their bathroom scales morning, noon and night," she says. "When they become a lifetime member (after they've lost their goal weight), we recommend that they come in once a month, but weigh themselves more frequently at home."
Consistency counts
Whether you're a once a month, once a week or once a day weigher, keep it consistent. And frequency isn't the only factor here; Miller-Kovach says it doesn't matter whether you weigh-in naked, with clothes and shoes on, in the morning or at night.
"Your weight can fluctuate," she says. "If one day you weighing yourself naked in the morning in the bathroom, and a week later, you are weighing yourself in the evening with clothes and shoes on, that can be a 5-pound difference. The main thing is to weigh at the same time in the same way each time."
How to weigh in
Here are some tips from various specialists about the best way to weigh yourself:
· To minimize variation, always weigh at the same time of day, such as in the morning just after having used the bathroom.
· If you are weighing yourself daily, understand that your weight will vary day to day. It's the trend that's important. You may find it useful to make a graph of your weight.
· Put the scales on a flat, uncarpeted surface so the readings don't wobble.
· Use a scale that is consistent, giving the same weight when you step on it, then off it, then back on it again. That's more important than the type of scale you buy. Use the same scale each time.
· Don't get fixated on the scales. Monitor your body change in other ways, such as the fit of your clothes, a tape measure or how you physically feel.
· To the best of your ability, try to gauge how the weighing makes you feel, and if it is reinforcing -- or undermining -- your efforts.
Washington Post
What to watch for
Weight-loss experts agree these five factors can affect your weigh-ins:
· Colon health: Within the folds of the colon can be several pounds of waste, particularly if someone is constipated. Obviously, a bowel movement can affect your weight; some form of colon cleansing such as herbs or hydrotherapy such as an enema or colonic may help eliminate waste as well.
· Hormonal fluctuations: Just before or during a menstrual cycle, a woman is likely to gain up to 5 pounds.
· Water retention: Most adults retain about 5 pounds of water within extra-cellular fluid, the natural fluid surrounding cells. Heavier people may experience even more water retention, especially if they frequently consume processed convenience foods. As much as 8 to 10 pounds of fluid may be retained if a sudden weight gain is experienced, such as during the holidays. Drinking adequate amounts of water and exercise can help reduce water retention.
· Time of day: Since weight fluctuates throughout the day, for an accurate weigh-in, step on the scales at the same time of day.
· Clothing: A pair of shoes can weigh more than 1 pound. To be sure you record your correct weight, decide on if you are going to weigh with or without clothing and keep it consistent.
Kimberly Hayes Taylor
Wire services were used in this report. You can reach Kimberly Hayes Taylor at (313) 222-2058 or [email protected].
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060124/LIFESTYLE02/601240395/1040/rss34&template=printart
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Weighing in on the Scale
http://www.calorieking.com/library/article.php?path=13%2C66&art_id=749&printable=yes&noviews=yes
Pat Fiducia and Anna Delany, September 22nd, 2004
It's no secret that many of us allow our moods to be determined by a number on a scale. If it's the right number - elation. If it's the wrong number - deflation.
Just recently, I was at the gym standing near the scale when a woman went to weigh herself. Before she jumped on the scale she was in a cheerful, upbeat mood, but when she read the number on the scale her mood changed dramatically; she was devastated. And I mean devastated.
But what she hadn't noticed was that her purse handle was leaning on the scale, making the reading about two pounds heavier than it should have been. That two-pound difference almost ruined her day - until someone politely pointed out the trespassing purse handle. When she removed the guilty party from the scale and saw the number dip by two pounds, she was ecstatic. Again, all was well with the world.
Mind over scale
Watching that woman reminded me of all the times I've tried to explain to my weight loss clients (without totally demoralizing them) that daily fluctuations on the scale, whether up or down, should never be taken too seriously.
One client in particular, who had high blood pressure and was on medication, experienced extreme water-weight fluctuations; up six pounds one day, down six pounds the next. Try as I might to tell her that the changes were not a measurement of success or failure, but a result of the medication, she couldn't see it that way. Instead, she remained happy and proud when the numbers went down; and unhappy, frustrated and hopeless when the numbers went up. Her perceptions had little to do with the fact that she making excellent progress changing her eating and exercise habits and losing weight gradually; everything revolved around the scale.
The fact is, the number she put so much stock in was reflecting - among other things - the ebb and flow of water, not just the loss of fat or the increase of lean muscle mass, which are the two indicators of true weight loss.
Water-weight: Here today, gone tomorrow
Sixty to seventy percent of your body is made up of water, so it's not surprising that daily weigh-ins reflec****er-weight fluctuations; water-weight is a major component of what the scale measures, and the numbers can go up or down, depending on whether your body is losing or retaining water.
Water retention. Next time you step on the scales and think "Oh no, I've gained three pounds. All my efforts have been for nothing!" take a moment to consider whether it might just be water retention that the scale is picking up on. Several factors can cause water retention.
Excess sodium is one of them. The minimum physiological requirement for sodium is 500 mg per day and most health organizations normally recommend a maximum of 2400 mg. But when you think that just one teaspoon of salt supplies 2358 mg of sodium, it's easy to understand why most Americans consume sometimes twenty times more sodium than their bodies need, causing water retention and adding water-weight.
Not drinking enough water can also cause water retention. Although it sounds back-to-front, you need to drink a sufficient amount of water to flush out the water you're already holding on to! Eight or more 8 oz glasses a day does the trick.
Other common reasons for water retention include menstrual bloating, constipation, and certain diseases such as heart or kidney disease.
Water loss. Generally it's only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of actual fat per week. If you are losing more than that, it's likely that it's water you are shedding, not fat. While you will always lose some water-weight when decreasing calories, extreme dieting will produce extreme water loss, and false weight loss readings.
Excessive calorie restriction, for example, causes the body to use up stores of carbohydrates and to break down protein in the muscles. As both carbohydrates and protein hold water in the cells, a loss of these also results in a net loss of water. As a result, rapid weight loss can often be made up of 75% water loss.
High-protein or low-carb diets also cause too much water loss. A high level of protein, especially from meat and dairy products raises the levels of two toxic by-products, uric acid and urea. To flush these out, the body pumps lots of water through the kidneys and urinary track. Loss of glycogen (a form of stored carbohydrate) on low-carb diets can also cause excess water loss, as can the diuretics people often take on these diets.
You aren't what you eat
An average-sized meal can easily weigh a couple of pounds, which is what you'll seem to have gained if you jump on the scale straight after your meal. That's because the scale registers the weight of the food, not the weight you will have gained from the meal - plus any water-weight gain from excess sodium.
Of course, after the food is digested it will stockpile some extra calories, but keep in mind that it takes 3500 calories more than your body needs to gain one pound of weight. So, if you've eaten a heavy meal and the scale registers a four pound weight gain, for that to be accurate, the meal would have to equal at least 14,000 calories; that's like eating 8-12 whole pizzas, 23 Big Mac's or 56 bowls of pasta and tomato sauce!
Muscle gain vs. fat loss
iThe argument that muscle weighs more than fat is often used to explain weight gain when you increase physical activity. But in truth, the effects of weight training on your overall weight are marginal - about one pound a month is the maximum increase. So don't be fooled into thinking that weight gain is a by-product of exercise. Likely, it is true weight gain or a by-product of water retention.
Using the scale effectively
Although the scale has its flaws, don't throw it out the window just yet! The scale can be an effective long-term indicator of weight loss, especially when used in conjunction with other methods of assessing weight. Follow these tips to help you use your scale effectively:
· Understand the scale's limitations. Stay in touch with what the scale can and can't do. Remember that normal and significant fluctuations can occur through water retention, water loss, glycogen storage, changes in body mass, and the normal ebb and flow of fluids.
· Focus on what you want to accomplish. Losing body fat and increasing lean muscle mass is your primary weight loss goal. Keep in mind that it is impossible to change body fat significantly in a day or two, or even a week, so don't allow your moods to be contingent on the scale.
· Weigh-in once a week or less. The scale should be used to monitor weight trends, not day-to-day weight fluctuations. Weigh in once a week or less and chart your progress over time. It's also best not to weigh yourself for several hours after eating. For more accurate weigh-ins, get weighed first thing in the morning before eating.
· Think outside the scale. Think about how you look and feel, how your clothes fit, your frame of mind, your energy levels. Aren't these things worth listening to more than the scale?
· Monitor other indicators of success such as your blood pressure, your cholesterol levels, and your glucose levels. Measure success by the positive changes you are making. Using skin-folds or body measurements can also provide some more accurate numerical charting of fat losses.
· Don't be discouraged by a number - it's all relative anyway! Think about it this way: If you weigh 150 pounds on Earth, you weigh 136 pounds on Venus, 42 pounds on Mercury, 350 pounds on Jupiter, and a mere 57 pounds on Mars!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why The Scale Lies
by Renee Cloe,
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/weight/scale.htm
We've been told over an over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can't resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can't bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence it's readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale.
Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body's water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don't understand what's happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto it's water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water.
Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. A single teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium. Generally, we should only eat between 1,000 and 3,000 mg of sodium a day, so it's easy to go overboard. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn't have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts, 460 mg in the pudding versus 123 mg in the nuts. The more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content. That's why, when it comes to eating, it's wise to stick mainly to the basics: fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, and whole grains. Be sure to read the labels on canned foods, boxed mixes, and frozen dinners.
Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum.
Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and it's packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it's stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates. As the glycogen supply shrinks you will experience a small imperceptible increase in appetite and your body will restore this fuel reserve along with it's associated water. It's normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you're prone to obsessing over the number on the scale.
Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it's wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you've had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different than putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It's the actual weight of everything you've had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you've finished digesting it.
Exercise physiologists tell us that in order to store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than your body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store the above dinner as 5 pounds of fat, it would have to contain a whopping 17,500 calories. This is not likely, in fact it's not humanly possible. So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, it's likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner. Keep in mind that the 3,500 calorie rule works in reverse also. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Generally, it's only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it's physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you're really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle.
This brings us to the scale's sneakiest attribute. It doesn't just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose "weight," that doesn't necessarily mean that you've lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you've lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you're just sitting around. That's one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue.
Robin Landis, author of "Body Fueling," compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn't differentiate between the two. It can't tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat. There are several other measuring techniques that can accomplish this, although they vary in convenience, accuracy, and cost. Skin-fold calipers pinch and measure fat folds at various locations on the body, hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing involves exhaling all of the air from your lungs before being lowered into a tank of water, and bioelectrical impedance measures the degree to which your body fat impedes a mild electrical current.
If the thought of being pinched, dunked, or gently zapped just doesn't appeal to you, don't worry. The best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don't be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride. It's a matter of mind over scale.
~~~~~~~~~~
Take Care,
Jamie
Lap RNY 10/9/02 Dr. Singh
320/163 5'9'' (lost 45# before surgery)
Plastics 6/9/04 & 11/11/2005 Dr. King
http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/members/profile.php?N=c1132518510
"Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!" 
Hi,
and welcome to the losing side! I don't have a LONG message--just this--don't make yourself too crazy--you will lose--slow or fast--you will lose--so don't sweat it--in a few weeks your clothes will hang off you, and you will have to get a smaller size--try to exercise and drink your water, take your vitamins and EAT your protein! Look forward to the official weigh in at your surgeon! That's the weigh in that counts! (for me at least!) YOU WILL DO FINE !! JUST TAKE IT EASY!!
Be Blessed!
Marian S.C.
242.4/179.2/goal125-130???
Hi there,
Another Dr Choi patient! First one I have seen on the forums...
Pre-op I just went by their scale because I had a junky one. Then my mom bought me a nice one from Target, a Taylor scale. Their scale was pretty accurate to mine, I believe. I was dumb and wore a heavy sweatshirt on my first post op appointment and it put me 4 pounds over mine, but also had to take into consideration the weighing time was different. I go on the 7th for my first fill and another weigh-in. I think their scale is pretty accurate. I like it.
Kristine
Kristine,
It is great to here from another Dr Choi patient also.
I just need to put it away all together. My shirts feel better and every one tells me they can see it in my face.
I always hated Dr choi's scale because it is SO off mine.
Thank you ALL for your input. I will stay off it ,and if I do step on it will onlybe one time a week.I go for my 1st post op appt. on March 3rd.
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