A reason to weigh daily!!

    Hey all.  I read lots of diet books (reading 3 of them concurrently now!)  One I like is "The Complete Beck Diet for Life"  Very good cognitive therapy techniques in there.  Anyhow in one chapter the author says she want her clients/readers to weigh daily.....for LIFE!  Her reasons are as follows......."A University of Minnesota study of more than 3000 dieters.determined that only the dieters who weighed themselves DAILY  were able to lose weight and keep it off over a year's time"  "Dieters who weighed less frequently (or not at all)  tended to gain weight"  " and a Brown University of 314 dieters determined that people who weighed DAILY were better able to follow their diets,  felt less depressed,  and were  less likely to binge-eat."  "A separate study of 209  MAINTAINERS found that those who weighed DAILY  were 82% less likely to regain their weight, compared to  those who weighed only weekly!" 
     Some food for thought. I weigh daily most of the time (my surgeon's "offer we can't refuse" kind of a deal!)  I have always looked at the scale as a "tool" or "weapon" to have in my arsenal in this "battle of the bulge!"  I know some people don't weigh daily and are very successful.   " If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"   I know there are many ways to skin a cat.   So if you're lookin' for a new way..... you might try it.  Who knows it might become a habit!   I made friends W/ my scale......after all I used to  tortured him by standing on him at 500lbs!!  (shoulda heard the creaks and groans as I stepped on and off of it!)   Poor widdle scale. 

You know, I used to hate being weighed which is something that went all the way back to my fat childhood. Before wls for several years I allowed my doctor to weigh me but closed my eyes and told them not to tell me. it was just too discouraging. Since wls i have made friends with my scale (my husband got a fancy syn-tech scale like a lot of doctors have - he is a sucker for electronics) and I weigh nearly every day. The statistics you mention are interesting and it stands to reason that if you are paying attention to weight you are bound to have it more in mind as you make food choices throughout the day. So I weigh pretty much every day and usually write it down in my food journal and based upon your report, i am thinking this should be a habit for life. Always like to hear statistics and studies. guess i should get that book too.

And do you know they make scales that announce your weight out loud! Now that would have been my worst nightmare a year and a half ago.

Thanks for posting this. And glad your scale now has it easy!    Diane

I knew there was a reason I weigh every day. I know that it helps me to keep on top of it all and not let anything slide by me. Even though I gained weight over Christmas, I saw it every singe day and know exactly what caused it.

Yeah!  If my scale talked...... he would have yelled GET THE F***  OFF OF ME....... FAT ASS!!

LOL Jimbo you are so funny. I am sure mine would have thought the same except i never weighed at home at my higher weight. That talking scale was featured in one of those "Living Large" catalogs that sells stuff for fat people like lawn chairs that are extra sturdy. guess the talking scale is needed for those of us who could not see over our bellies to read numbers on the floor. Gotta admit I had that issue. Not to mention issues with glasses. One nice thing on the syntech scale is the digital readout is a separate unit so it can be mounted on tthe wall. we haven't gone so far as to do that. but it sure beats the heck out of having some electronic voice yelling " you weigh 247 lbs, what the H-- have you been eating!".  My mother, not known for tact and well known for selecting crappy christmas gifts - gave my husband a pig that you put on the refrigerator and it had a motion sensor so it made oinking noises when you got near. what a piece of  garbage. maybe I will post a new thread on what is the worst weight related gift you ever got.  diane

 
Hey Jimbo,

Thanks for the info. I think you should read all the books and just send me the Cliff Notes Version !!!

Initially I was mixed on how often to weigh myself and soon it became clear that this was a daily battle in every other aspect of "my" efforts. Each day I need to be as "clean" as I can and the scale is my tool to measure my progress. Yes, things like water retention, and bodily evacuation all make the scale do funny things.... but for the most part you learn to read the trends.

The Scale:

Before surgery I knew I needed a good scale....As much as I had a life long "hate" for any scale that would give me the bad news.... I knew I needed a good one.....not one of those Wonky Home Bathroom Scales of the past. The kind that gives you a different number every time and is 5-10 off the one at the doctors office.

In my profession I try to have the best tools possible to make my work that much better. I have meters and measuring devices that cost in the multi thousands of dollars, I could surely justify more than the $29.00 home bathroom special.
I researched and ended up with a Health O Meter 349 Medical scale. Less than $200 on Amazon. This scale is dead nuts on to my surgeons scale and my cardiologist scale. Not saying you can't get a good scale for less.... I'm just saying spend what you have to for a "tool" (like Jimbo says) that your gonna use forever.
My scale is my friend and partner in this effort..... I love my scale! (did I really say that?) I have seen it read almost every number from 338 to 151 It has been with me every pound of the way and I'm counting on it to help me stay in my "range".

frisco

I'm a daily weigher.  That's one of the good things that Kaiser taught in our orientation.  They said weighing daily is for life.  I like that denial can't set in.  I also weigh on Monday night's at Weigh****chers.  I like that added level of accountability.  Knowing that I have to weigh on Monday night keeps my pudgy little hands out of the popcorn bag at the movies on Sunday.

I've been a daily weigher for years, but before WLS it was my negative magnet.  I used it to punish myself and keep the cycle of "you're too fat, I hate you" going.  Now it's a number on the scale (my Tanita weighs in the same as the Kaiser scale) that tells me more about how my journey is going.  I have to admit that I'll be way more in love with it when it tells me I'm 149.

Hey Lee........do the people at WW know you had surgery?    If they do .......how were you "received' by them?  I thought about joining for "accountability",   but not sure if  it would go over too well!

 Jim,  I haven't told them at my meeting.    I work with a WW leader and she told me that there was no reason that I needed to tell them if I didn't want to.  She said that sometimes people tell her that they had WLS, but not always.

For me, it's as much a struggle to shed a pound as it is for everyone else. I don't follow the points because I go by the calories/carbs/protein that I put into myfitnesspal daily.  When I get to goal I may give the points more of a try.  I occasionally put my food into the points and I'm always under the points that I'm given for the week.

I just like to go for that accountability of weighing in.  I figure in the long term, I'm the kinda girl that needs that.  I've been in denial too many times in my life and don't ever want to go there again.