Part 2 of the Why Your Last Diet Failed You Book Tour.
Hi Roni!
My question is about maintaining… I have very similar stats to you.. I am 26 years old. I started at 213 lbs over a year ago and now i am at about 141-143, on any given day (you know how that goes) anyway… now that i have moved into maintenance mode- I find it difficult getting out of the weight-loss mindset. I have done well making adjustments like cutting out artificial sweeteners and opting for the higher calorie more natural versions of foods and also eating several smalls meals per day instead of restricting myself like i was before. My point is.. I could wake up every day this week and see 142 on that scale and be "sort of" disappointed that i didn’t lose weight.. even though i don’t want to lose any more weight!! I’m happy at this weight! How can i get my brain to accept that i am doing things the right way and its working! I guess my question is.. Why is it so hard to get into a healthy mind frame around maintaining weight. Thank!
-Casey-
Charlie
Greetings Casey,
First, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ask the obvious question: Why are you still weighing yourself? If you’ve hit your maintenance level and you’re not eating six or seven pizzas a day, then there’s no real need to constantly check your weight. This would be like hiring a contractor to build you a house, and after it’s finished and you’ve moved in, you call him every day single day thereafter to find out if it’s still finished.
You’ve built your house. You’ve moved in. Now’s the time to appreciate it. If you’re sticking to the plan, feeling good about yourself, and can still pull up those skinny jeans, then forget about the number. Check it once a month, tops.
However, if you weigh yourself out of compulsion (like I do) then no frilly words of mine will cure you. At this point, take a piece of masking tape and cover up your scale readout. Using a sharpie, write "NOT TWO THIRTEEN" on it. Then continue to weigh yourself every day.
Roni
Now Charlie, being that you are a compulsive weigher I’m shocked by your response to Casey. You and I (and many other scale addicts) know it’s just not that easy.
Charlie
Not that easy? What do you mean? Just take a piece of tape, grab a marker, and tada! Problem solved! What could be easier?
Roni
If it’s so easy why don’t you do it Mr. I have every weigh in from 1979 graphed in my journal? Anyway, I wrote a little about this in my Scale Habits post. I went through this phase and it’s one of the reason I stopped weighing myself regularly. It didn’t happen over night. There was a time I thought I’d just always jump on the scale after my morening shower. Then slowly but surely as I got more confident my morning weigh in sessions became less and less. Then once I started weight training and gaining muscle I decided the scale would not be my measure of success anymore. I was now going to use my running and workout progress as things to strive for, not a particular number on the scale.
Charlie
I have to agree. While I’m still a scale addict, the number isn’t what I strive for, and it isn’t what defines me. Some days I’m up, some I’m down, and some I’m the same. After twenty years I’m okay with all that.
Roni
I think a good first step is to simply get on the scale a little less. Seeing that number every days just keeps you in the weight loss mentality instead of the maintenance mentality. Shoot for every other day for a week, then only twice a week. I bet you after a about a month you’ll fall out of the habit. And find comfort in knowing you can always go back to weighing yourself daily IF you need some accountability.
That being said, I really do LOVE Charlies advice of putting "NOT 213" on the your scale. I think I might go do that now! lol
Charlie
See? I’m not a total waste of space.
8 Responses to Why Your Last Diet Failed You – Book Tour Part 2
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About Roni
Roni started this blog in '05 to journal her weight loss. 70lbs later, she's committed to living a conscious, healthy life and hopes to inspire others along the way. Read more on the about page.
Not at all, Charlie……I so enjoy your writing! Thank you! And thank you, Roni, for doing these 2 blog posts!
I’m in Maintenance, but I don’t weigh every day at home. I usually only weigh once or maybe twice a week. But because I lost my job the day before I got to WW Lifetime, I made the decision to keep going to WW every week and weighing in….just to keep accountability since my life circumstances were drastically changing all at once. And I’ve done well…staying within the same 2.5 pounds below my goal weight.
And you’re in luck, Bonnie, because there’s still one of these posts to go! And you’re going to love the twist ending. Turns out I was actually dead the entire blog tour, but never knew it!
Oh, the psychological warfare that is many people’s relationship with the scale! I think so many of us are probably closet scale addicts. I used to avoid drinking liquids in the evening in an effort for the scale to be lower in the morning. What a twisted strategy! And it backfires. If you don’t drink enough water, you’ll end up retaining more water weight.
I think the problem with the scale for me is twofold–If I don’t weigh myself, it’s likely because I’ve been “off plan” and I know I’ve gained. But the longer I go without weighing myself, the more I tend to stay off plan.
On the flip, when I’m on plan and doing well, I weigh myself every single morning and beat myself up if it isn’t much of a loss. I’ve literally cried on the way to work thinking, “I can’t believe after that workout last night I was only down .2 this morning.”
I think everyone has struggled with finding a healthy balance for the scale…I’m still working on that one.
I totally agree with what McLauren said! Lately I’ve been “on plan” a lot (& weighing myself everyday), & so pissed that in the last couple weeks, I can’t seem to stop hovering around 150-152. Today was the first time I saw under 150 (149.6) in about a year! I was (& am) elated, but I know that if I see 150 or more in the coming days (totally possible – even with staying “on plan”) it will be hard to not let it get to me….
That stupid scale!!!
I am totally addicted to weighing myself (when I get home from work, before bed, first thing in the morning ect). I used to get so bent out of shape when the number was higher than I wanted it to be or hadn’t moved down. Since becoming obsessed with Spin class and starting to train for a 10K my body is changing for the better even if I am not dropping pounds. Yes I do still weigh myself a few times a day but I now will judge my true weight more with how my clothes are fitting and if I am working out like I should be.
Thanks Roni and Charlie!
One thing about it……. you can be addicted to a lot worse things than weighing!!!
This is great advice. I am a scale addict. I am still trying to lose though but I should cut back on my scale usage to once every couple of days. I like the NOT 213 suggestion.
Hello – of the 3 parts presented, this one hit home for me. I am in process of losing weight and have started training for a 5k this fall. I weigh every day;I’m checking the weight, body fat, muscle mass, etc. Thank you for the words that I now speak to myself – it’s ok to skip the scale today, not 250 and that’s all that matters.