Slave to the Scale?

Good morning Black Folks,

I'm still pretty new to BAF.  I've browsed thru the boards but didn't really see any posts that address this issue.  That being said...

Whether you're pre-op (like me) or post-op, do you find that you are a slave to the scale?  Sure, we're all here to make big changes in our lives and shed the weight, but is the number on the scale what's most important?

Back in my FDDs (Failed Diet Days), I measured my success by the numbers on the scale. We all have!  Intellectually I knew/know how wonderfully complex the body is and that it ebbs and flows.  So does our weight, but that ebbing & flowing is about so much more than just what we're eating and burning off.  Yet and still, I found that I dreaded those weigh-in days and had become almost like a prisoner - in my mind.

Now that I'm a little older and a bit wiser, I'd like to think that my mindset has changed.  People ask me wrt my surgery, "How much do you hope to lose?"  Honestly, I don't know and I don't care.  I don't have a goal weight and don't plan to set one.  I just want to be and feel healthy.  I want to do any- and everything my lil' heart desires without being hindered by all of this lusciousness (and it is luscious! ).  I've never been an SB (skinny b*tch), and I definitely do not aspire to be one now.

It's easy for me to say this now, but when I am post-op, I plan to just work the tool and forget the frickin' scale!  The weight will come off in its own time... my job is to work the tool to the best of my ability.

Wow, I've rambled on much longer than I had planned.  Just tell me this... what are your thoughts on the scale?  Do you hate it?  Does it rule your life?  Do you even own one?  (I do not!)  And how do your post-op weigh-ins affect you emotionally?

Thanks for any insight you can provide.

Ok - you're new, so I won't rip too hard when I tear this Band Aid off of self delusion you have..... LOL  *cuts eyes at Laverne cause I know she thinkin Imma talk bad to my angelette too!**

First - if you have been a slave before - you will be again.  Accept it.  And LOVE it - it is what keeps you honest!!!  To not weigh and 'just work the tool' is to disillusion yourself about this process.  *I* personally have weighed just about every single freakin day since WAY before my surgery and I continue to do so.  Bought an upgraded scale that will track and plot my progress. 

why?  Not because I am vain.  Not because I am eating cra*****t following the rules of the tool.  because I USED to be 386lbs and i will NEVER EVER EVER come close to that again!!!!!  If you don't pay attention - you will let weight creep up on you - if you don't monitor while you are in your honeymoon phase - you will easily lose sight of how bad habits creeping back into your life are slowing your progress down. 

why in the hell would you give up on the very tool that will help you fully utilize the tool you are about to be given?  If you bought a car - would you remove the fuel gauge and just drive till you felt the car slowing down?  Or just get gas when you 'felt' like you needed it?  Then don't even THINK about not having a weight gauge in your life!!!!

Don't misunderstand me.  I never said I wouldn't weigh.  I'll weigh at my follow-up appointments.  And I have so many doctors (and hence, doctor's appointments) that I'll be getting weighed at least monthly, whether I want to or not.  My point is that I refuse to measure my success by the numbers on the scale.  I've never been the type to weigh daily... and I will not start now. 

ACCOUNTABILITY...I weigh everyday and probably will for the rest of my life!

This is kinda funny...my G-baby (18 months) watches EVERYTHING I do and he's quick to learn. Well I get up every morning and weigh myself. I keep my scale in the kitchen...now every time G-baby comes in the kitchen he hops up on the scale and GRINS at me of course then I'm required to clap and say YEAH! My daughter saw him doing it about a week ago (damn girl has never had a weight problem....thankfully...HEFFA) and she says "Oh great now BOTH of yall are addicted to the scale"  To which I reply....WHATEVA shut up and go eat a sandmich or somethin

I was once married to my scale...(Weighed in at least twice a day the first year after surgery)...but now???  Gurl...I haven't weighed myself in over 3 years.  (Now my doctor does weigh me on my follow-ups.  I saw him last month...and I was somewhat shocked that I had lost 6 pounds since the year before.  He told me, "Whatever you're doing keep it up".)  But...not weighing isn't for er'body!!!

That's exactly what I'm talking about!  Thank you for this... I'm encouraged by your success. 

Unfortunately I am a slave to the scale also..I did get measured when I went to see the nutritionist..I beleive that three things mean something 1. measurements 2. your weight (somewhat) and most important 3. how you feel. You may have to put your scale away and concentrate on others things. The scale is not the only way to measure your weight.

All good points.  And I agree... but I don't own a scale, so I can't put it away. 

Hey Wootie,

I was a slave and then I was free and my azz gained 21 pounds in about 6 months with my new found freedom.  So guess what,  I am back to being a slave to the scales!  For me, weighing often keeps me in check.

And isn't that what it's all about: finding out what works best for you?  I'm glad you feel like regular weighing helps you.