Should I buy a scale?

I don't own one. I do want to get in better shape - lose some clothes sizes and I'm trying to track my intake and exercise on here. But I haven't bought a scale and I worry owning one might make me too focused on a specific number (for good or ill).

Any thoughts?

I think that if you are comfortable not owning one, you shouldn't own one. They are horribly addictive and not a good measurement of progress. A tape measure is more accurate and cheaper too.

personally, i have to have a scale.  not having one for 15 years helped me delude myself into thinking i was okay while i gained 40 pounds.

it's a 50/50 thing..

if you can gage your weight loss without using a scale, by all means do this--I find that when I do this I'm a bit "happier." I developed a sort of addiction with the scale and I started to find that the number that came up was more important in determining my happiness than how I was actually feeling... this also led to anorexia for me sooo, I'd say, stay away if you can :)

Original Post by pgeorgian:

personally, i have to have a scale. not having one for 15 years helped me delude myself into thinking i was okay while i gained 40 pounds.

I am absolutely with you!  I didn't own a scale for years, and I always used to be able to eat whatever I wanted...  well, the metabolism changed but the eating habits didn't.  I knew I had gained some weight, but I had no idea until I stepped on a scale at my parents' house...  holy crap I gained 30 pounds!  I think I would have been a little more motivated to eat less burn more sooner if I'd seen the number staring me in the face.

I weigh myself every day and maybe that's excessive, but it helps me when I get the urge to stress eat, and reminds me to eat the healthy lunch I packed instead of getting fast food with the girls.

 

Original Post by pgeorgian:

personally, i have to have a scale. not having one for 15 years helped me delude myself into thinking i was okay while i gained 40 pounds.

That's almost exactly what happened to me.  I know I would have realized sooner what was going on if I'd had a scale.  Just don't get too obsessed with daily ups and downs, that's where you get into trouble.  Also don't worry too much about all the "ideal weights" you find out there.  Use your weight as a guideline but it's not the only thing to take into account when determining where you're at.