To Scale or Not To Scale

So..I'm a college student trying to keep on track of losing weight. I've lost roughly 25 pounds thus far and I'm very proud of myself for this. Dieting at college is tough. One thing that makes things harder than when I'm at home is no longer being able to check my weight every morning for either reassurance or warning I'm slipping. I'm seriously considering investing in a personal scale that I can keep under my bed. However...a little voice in my head keeps on saying I should be strong enough to just wait things out...

I was just curious what all of you though about daily weight checks. Is the scales an enemy or friend to you and why?

Best Wishes all! :)


(ps...does anyone have any tips for dealing with a roomate having temptatious food/ bad eating habits around?)

Hi,

Congrats on your achievements so far!

I don't own a scale at home, I only check it at the gym I work out at.  It's not only a good motivator for hitting the gym once a day, but also it ends that addiction of stepping on it 4 times a day, which isn't good because your weight fluctuates throughout the day. 

I also lived on campus and I gained almost 20 pounds, even the 'healthy' choices at the dining room are terrible... as for the roomie, I would probably keep my own snacks instead, like baby carrots or almonds.  Also good, if you like it, is 75% or higher solid chocolate, as long as the first ingredient is NOT sugar! (and only eat one piece a day... keep them in the freezer).  These snacks will keep you away from the chips and it'll likely make you smile when she's not around, knowing that you're doing something better for yourself.

Try these tips and you should have no problem... as for legitimacy, I am a certified personal trainer and trust me, they work!

Have a great day!

I have the same problem here. It occurred to me to go to the sports center/gym, but it would be pretty uncomfortable to "go-->check weight-->leave" while everyone else is watching.

I don't want to buy a scale, but it's been 3 weeks since I checked my weight and I kind of just want to KNOW.

 Luckily I am in a single so I don't have the roommate problem. That can be really hard. =/

I have the same problem here. It occurred to me to go to the sports center/gym, but it would be pretty uncomfortable to "go-->check weight-->leave" while everyone else is watching.

I don't want to buy a scale, but it's been 3 weeks since I checked my weight and I kind of just want to KNOW.

 Luckily I am in a single so I don't have the roommate problem. That can be really hard. =/

I should probably mention the scale at our gym is at the entrance of the boy's locker room..like..so you can see into there..which is SUPER awkward. >.>

I would stick with the scale at the gym actually. My roommate this year actually has one and now I weigh myself everytime I pass it, which is not good because it makes a person really crazy. I'm bad enough about how often I do it at the gym. And so what if you see something in the boy's locker room??? Kiddding. :)

 About roommate's with junk food. That is my roommate from last year! Her mom sent her baked goods and candy WEEKLY and she never touched it. I did! And unfortunately, I have very little advice. Just stay away from her food the best you can. Keep it out of eye sight and on a lower/ upper shelf that is harder to reach. I always yelled at my roommate to stop bringing in the junk but unfortunately, the homemade brownies and fudge kept coming. YUM.

Hey I'm a college student also!  However I still live at home, and commute to school.  I definitely agree with you....dieting in college is extremely hard, especially when you are so busy with studying and what not, and have not time to eat right or even eat at all.  This is my second year, and I've gained 20 lbs so I'm trying to lose that and more.  I have to say for me, the scale is definitely my enemy.  I don't like that it has control over my life sometimes, and it's hard not to check and see.  I've tried going a long time without weighing, but it's hard.   I'm so sorry that you have to worry about temptatious foods with your roomate, but at least it's just one person.  I'm living with 3 other people, and my dad is the worst.  He has the worst sweet tooth ever, and I'm right behind him!    Whenever he brings home dessert, it take all my will power not to get any, and it still doesn't work.  So I definitely understand it, but until I gain some more discipline in that area, I don't think I will have any good advice to help you on that.

I believe in weighing everyday so you can catch any gain before it gets out of hand.

Other ppl feel the opposite and say weekly is enough or you'll be depressed over flucuations.  Find what is better for YOU.

regarding the roomie.  you might as well learn to avoid her snacks as there will always be temptations.

I don't own a scale, and I never weight myself ever, anywhere.  Even at the doctor's office.  I have no idea how much I weigh.

I know how well i'm doing by how my clothes fit, by how I feel, and by the exercise I do.  And I know when i'm eating out of bounds, I don't need a scale to tell me that. 

I bought a scale in college so I would be able to see the freshman 15 creeping on instead of waking up one day and realizing I'd gotten fat.  Personally, I'm of the weigh-yourself-daily camp, because that way you get used to your weight fluctuations and you can see your weight creeping up and do something about it.  If, however, you're obsessive about your weight and will weigh yourself every time you think about it and will move the scale around the room until you find the patch of floor that gives you a slightly lower reading, don't get a scale.

Also, I don't know about your school, but ours had doctors' scales in the bathrooms in some of the academic buildings, which I thought was pretty cool. 

Original Post by ohio45:

I believe in weighing everyday so you can catch any gain before it gets out of hand.

 

Exactly. Plus people who keep weight off statistically are much more likely to weigh themselves every day.

 

Just checking your weight every day doesn't mean you are going to crazy, you have control over how your weight makes you feel. If I don't have my weight change at all I accept it and move on thinking of how to change it. I don't let it ruin my day or anything. Just use it as a tool... I have lost over 93 lbs and I weigh myself probably 3 times a day. Works for some, not for others but I think it's a valuable tool if you want to stop gaining at 5 lbs before you notice it at 25lbs heavier ya know?

Man, this is sad just reading this. 

I have started this dieting thing because I was so overweight, and my parents were scared that I would have a heartattack and all these health complications. I even started getting sores on my feet. I started doing eating healthy and going to the gym for the past 2 months and dropped 20 pounds. I have now been tempted to get on the scale everytime I see one. I want to be below 200 pounds and I want to check to see if I have gone down any. Though, I decided not to get a scale and use the one that the gym has.

Original Post by eastside:

Man, this is sad just reading this. 

Because......?

Congrats on the weight loss so far I've also lost 25lbs so far!

Your scale question I used to weigh myself every day and about 3 times everday (am, after dinner, before going to bed) sounds crazy right?

After a while I got so upset at the numbers (water weight, scale malfunctioning etc.) I decided to throw the dang thing out and just weigh in at the gym three times a week and every now and then at my boyfriend's house.

But I decided today not to weigh in anymore until November 7 and then on December 19 which is the end of my big weight loss goal for this year.

archer I echo what you said about we have control about how we feel about the scale's information and for some it works with daily weigh ins and for some it doesn't.

It's sad because of how obsessive people are about what their weight is.  I think weighing yourself every day, let alone 3 times per day, is just crazy.  I mean realistically, unless you have some sort of massive binge, the most any real change will be is, what, like 0.50 lbs?  You can shift your feet around slightly and make it jump up 2-3 lbs.  On most scales, you won't visibly even be able to see a real 0.50 lb difference.  And I think everyone here already knows this, but they are so obsessed with checking their weight they do it anyway. 

I'm not saying the people here are sad, it's more of a society thing, as I don't think this is unusual behavior.  It's just sad that it has come to this.

Generally if you're going to weight yourself, you want to be consistent.  Do it around the same time each day with the same  clothes or lack thereof on.  If you do it at the gym, then you probably wear the same outfit or a close enough outfit.  If you do it at home, then most of us who weigh daily seem to prefer in the morning right after getting up and using the bathroom but before showering.  I prefer the morning since your body has had time to process whatever you at the night before.  I've been housesitting for the last week and haven't weighed myself on my scale which really hasn't bothered me as much as I thought it would.

i weigh every day...to see the weight stay the same or go up even a pound or half a pound motivates me each day to make sure i don't get too lax. similarly, a weight loss really motivates me. I need constant reinforcement. it works for me. i don't think that i am obsessed at all.

Original Post by willowanimaeris:

I should probably mention the scale at our gym is at the entrance of the boy's locker room..like..so you can see into there..which is SUPER awkward. >.>

Since when is peeking into the boy's locker room awkward? I don't have a problem with that. Let's change places! ROFL

On a more serious note: Doesn't one of your frends own a scale that you can use sometimes?

Jolanda

Hey, I'm a college student too. I didn't have a scale at school and would always have to wait until I went home to weigh myself - which was only once every few weeks. This fall, I slacked off on my diet and gained about 10lbs :-(

Last week, I went out and bought myself a scale. I know if I told my mom I did that she wouldn't approve, sometimes she thinks I am too crazy with my dieting, but I know it's something I had to do. Now I have to hold myself accountable, and since buying the scale I've been able to stick to my diet & workout routine MUCH better. I like to see those numbers go down, it's enough of a daily reward to keep me from eating something I shouldn't.