I don't want one, but do I need one?? Scale??

    I used to typically weigh myself at church the day they would have their weight watchers meetings so it would be like once every two weeks or so, which was nice, now... I want to know since I don't go their anymore, should I buy a scale???

Welcome to CC!

Scales are useful for measuring your progress on a regular basis, but they are not necessary.  You can use a measuring tape and measure different parts of your body to see the changes.  The best measure of progress is how you feel and how well your clothes fit.

Sara

Volunteer Moderator

I like having one in the house BUT I only weigh once a week.  It does no good to do it everyday.  You could even do it once ever 2 weeks like you did before.   I just have a cheap one from Wal-mart I keep in the bathroom -nothing fancy.  Always weigh in the morning right after you get up to get a true reading.  Good luck on your weight loss.

It's good to have one just for reference, but sometimes a scale makes you too self-conscious. A couple of years ago, I was exercising all the time trying to lose weight, but I got to a certain point where I wasn't losing any more weight. Instead I was gaining it in muscle, and at first I didn't realize this and I started working out more, but then I started to gain more. So if you feel you have to weigh yourself I reccomend once every two weeks like you did before, but for the rest of the time just go by how your clothes fit its more reliable.

If you are really serious,get a good food scale instead and weigh everything you eat that has calories. Buy a scale with grams -smaller measure and also an international scientific standard so it makes looking things up easier- less conversion to oz or whatever.  It's surprising how many people are actually guessing rather than KNOWING. ( one assumes packed foods and their weights are fairly accurate -like with the microwavable frozen meals)  It is very upsetting to realize how  inaccurate volume measures can be with stuff that "settles" during shipment.  There is enough inaccuracies with deciding what foods listed is actually what you ate without errors YOU make by not weighing EVERYTHING. 

 Good electronic scales run between $20 to $40.  Well worth the price if you are serious about counting calories.  Electronic ones with a Tare(zeroing) function would be the best. You will be using it every day,so get good quality. It is the ONLY way to know you are not guessing. Knowing that cheese will add 300 calories may mean you eat less of it or savour every crumb since another you would rather use the 300 calories of another helping for something else.   I have found by measuring everything one gets to have an idea how much every portion of food will add up and as a result when away from food scales ther is better control. The other nice thing - it DOES allow you treats and favourites - just add its calories into your diet, and compensate with healthier foods (add an extra carrot, chose a bigger pear, have whole grain rather than white bread, etc).  Knowing you can eat that treat as long as you make up for it by eating healthier the next few days will allow better self control over time- after all it is not what you eat THAT day that counts as much as what you eat over time that determines  weight . check out http://www.salterhousewares.com/to get an idea of what top quality kitchen scales can be like. The easier you make it for yourself to count calories, the more you are likely to count accurately rather than guess. the tare function makes for ease- less