BlueEyedGirl Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 For the past year or so, I have been completly obssesed with my weight. I have one of those electronic scales and keep weighing myself 5 times a day (or more). My whole mood depends on how much I weigh. I freak out if I gain as little as 300 grams. I also adjust how much I eat (and even drink water) accordingly. I feel like this is ruining my life. I have decided to just stop doing this few days ago. However since then I'm sure I have gained weight. I have just spent and hour trying on all my jeans and they seem to fit the same *sigh*. The point is, I'm still obssesed. To make matters worse, I'm not being completly paranoid. Few years ago, I didn't own a scale and ended up putting on 10kgs in one year. I'm scared that this will happen again. I obviously have tendency to gain weight easily. Any advice on how to not gain weight but to stop it ruling my every thought? How often should I weigh myself? Link to post Share on other sites
Lizzie60 Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 join the 'obsessed-with-their-weight' club LOL I am obsessed too but not as much as you are... In the last 2 years I've found it was very easy to put on weight...this is all new to me cause I never had this problem, in fact when I was younger, I had the opposite problem I was way too skinny, but I know now that my age is the big factor. I constantly have to watch what I'm eating... I have a sweet tooth... I love junk food.. arrrggghhh.. I constantly look in the mirror to see if my body has changed... I am really obsessed with getting a belly or losing my waist... women my age tend to gain weight around the middle... I know it's not easy... I know exactly how you feel..and I also know that no matter what advice you'll get, it won't solve your problem... I am there too. I don't really have any advice for you ... I wish I could help but I'm in the same boat. Link to post Share on other sites
underpants Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 I do not own a scale. I do have a friend that does weigh herself constantly and goes on ad nauseam about her weight and various sizes she can or cannot wear. It really is kind of a compulsion for her. I do have one of those flexable tape measures. I like to use this to check in on myself. Also there are scales at my gym so if I weigh myself I can do it there. I say ditch the scale, join a gym and get a tape measure. Less opportunity for something that causes unnecessary stress is one less thing. Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites
Kamille Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Congratulations on getting rid of the scale. It is step one. I used to weight myself twice a day and let it impact my mood. Now I weight myself once a week, at the gym. I was overweight as a teenager and used to feel like I didn't have control over my weight too. The scale is only a way for you to feel like you have control over your body. It is possible to free yourself and feel condifent that you know how to stay fit and healthy. Eat healthy (meaning make sure you get as much nutrients in a meal as possible), stay fit and mostly, learn to enjoy how good your body makes you feel. I focus on this when exercising, after a really healthy meal, when waking up in the morning and of course, through sexual experiences. Yoga has also helped me rekindle the friendship with my body. Again, good job on getting rid of the scale. It is normal for you to feel a bit of anxiety right now since you are changing one of your patterns of behavior. It's totally worth it though! Link to post Share on other sites
directx Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 I think it depends on your personality. I weight myself Monday through Friday, same time of day. I chart this on a board at work. For me, its like an experiment - seeing how much it fluxuates when I do such and such, eat such and such. It helps me because if I see my high weight of the week is at Friday, i can compare it to last friday. If I got last friday beat, then I know I am doing well. I need to keep my weight in my head so I always see the consequences of my eating as best I can. But thats just me Link to post Share on other sites
Trialbyfire Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 I weigh myself maybe once every six months or if my clothing feels a little more tight or loose. More out of curiosity than anything else. If you find you're obsessed with something like this, pack your scale away. Gauge by how you feel. If you consistently exercise in a reasonable fashion and eat healthy, your weight will be stable. It doesn't mean that you can't indulge once in awhile if you get a craving. Just don't gorge on junk. Link to post Share on other sites
nittygritty Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 I have recorded my weight daily on a calender for years. I only weigh once a day, every morning before I get in the shower. It keeps me from ever getting too far over my desired weight because it does bug me when I see that I have gained a pound. Link to post Share on other sites
norajane Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Are you this guy's girlfriend? http://www.loveshack.org/forums/t128106/ Please don't allow yourself to become so obsessed you lose all pleasure in your body and in life. 5 times a day is excessive. There is no good reason to weigh yourself that often, especially as it doesn't really reflect anything except water weight at the moment. underpants is right - a tape measure is a better indicator of whether you are really getting fat or not...just as trying on your jeans gives you a sense of whether you are getting fat. If you need control, to feel like you are in control, learn about nutrition, learn about exercise, and start taking classes that are more likely to make you feel good about your body and what it can do - like yoga, like belly dancing, like kick boxing. Don't rely just on the scale - it doesn't measure muscle vs. fat. Don't rely just on limiting your food and water - you will just become weak. Link to post Share on other sites
directx Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 I have recorded my weight daily on a calender for years. I only weigh once a day, every morning before I get in the shower. It keeps me from ever getting too far over my desired weight because it does bug me when I see that I have gained a pound. Yes. That's what I need too. (But I do it AFTER the shower). I simply cannot gauge myself like some people and I wish I could. I am at my lowest in 3 years, but yet I still feel like I was 20 pounds ago. Its not until I feel how loose my jeans are that I realize how much I lost. My perceptions are deceiving for me at least. I bet TrialByFire has proper perception of herself, seriously. Link to post Share on other sites
nittygritty Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 I do it out of habit. I have been doing it since I was a teenager and I'm 38 now and I've never considered it a problem and if it is I'm going to conveniently blame my parents. My Dad has always kept his daily weight on a calendar by their scales. I learned it from him growing up. Now he is really obsessive about it. He keeps 3 years worth of calendars, turned to the same month on each calendar and compares his current weight to what he weighed on the same day for the last 3 years, now thats a wee bit obsessive. Link to post Share on other sites
directx Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 yeah. I erase mine every month Link to post Share on other sites
nittygritty Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 yeah. I erase mine every month I throw the calendar away at the end of the year. I don't look back through the months because I always have a mental gauge and know to exercise and watch what I'm eating when I gain weight. The older I get the harder I have to work to keep weight off. I noticed my metabolism slowing down not long after I hit 35. Until this thread I hadn't put much thought into whether its obsessive or just one of my quirks or habits. If I'm on vacation and skip a few days it doesn't screw up my daily routine or anything. However, I do kind of have a mental thing about not weighing after I've had anything to eat or weighing in the middle of the day or evening or with clothes on, so maybe it is slightly obsessive??? I do agree with you that TBF and also Underpants, Norajane and Kamille have a healthier perspective about it. Link to post Share on other sites
Fun2BMe Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 For the past year or so, I have been completly obssesed with my weight. I have one of those electronic scales and keep weighing myself 5 times a day (or more). My whole mood depends on how much I weigh. I freak out if I gain as little as 300 grams. I also adjust how much I eat (and even drink water) accordingly. I feel like this is ruining my life. Depending on the time of the month, your body retains a lot more water that can weigh up to 3 to 5 pounds, but naturally goes away at a later time of the month. Depending on the time of day and day of the month/year you weigh yourself, the gravitational pull of the moon effects your weight, making you weigh up to 5 pounds more or less depending on the moon cycle, just as it effects the tides of the ocean. You are worrying yourself over artificial 300 grams. You should weigh yourself no more than once a week or month and over the course of the year notice if there is a sustained, significant change in your weight. If you weigh yourself during water retention and the moon happens to be in the wrong spot at that moment, you could weigh many pounds more on the scale than you have gained in real fat. It's only a temporary number that doesn't reflect your body's fat index which you choose to see throughout the day to voluntarily drive you nuts. The only times I get weighed is if I go to the doctor's office and even then if I don't take off my shoes and clothes I weigh a lot more than I really do so as long as I look good, I don't care to weigh my fluctuations throughout the day and month otherwise I'd needlessly diet and go crazy fighting against an imaginary few pounds that come and go and likely end up gaining weight from yo-yo dieting and mental frustration. Also, adjusting the amount of water you drink (it has zero calories and fat) only works against you since it will slow down your digestion and make you feel less full and make you gain weight for sure. Give the scale away. I gave mine away when I was anorexic and went through the same thing. Now I feel freed up and don't obsess over numbers that don't reflect anything useful other than harming you. Link to post Share on other sites
MakeLoveNoWar Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 and visualize yourself the way you want to be, examine every part of your self, and imagine how it should be, do not focus upon your problem, it will lead you to nowhere, instead imgaine the way you want to be, do it with eyes closed and breathe deeply, come out of there and realese it to the world, I myself have the same issue, and when I do this exrcise I'm much calmer and relaxed and it help me a lot, Thank You Link to post Share on other sites
uniqueone Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 I used to be like that...but no more. I refuse to be controlled by it. You might feel you're taking control....but actually, it's taken control over YOU. I don't own a scale and haven't in a long time. I think we've become too obsessed with the scale. And where has that gotten us anyway? Obesity is on the rise. Instead of the scale, concentrate on listening to your body, eating healthy---all the time vs. going on "diets"--- and making exercise a part of your life. If you want control, get rid of the scale and you'll have it. Link to post Share on other sites
MakeLoveNoWar Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 I used to be like that...but no more. I refuse to be controlled by it. You might feel you're taking control....but actually, it's taken control over YOU. You are so right Link to post Share on other sites
Izzy B Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 there is nothing wrong with weighing yourself three times a day as long as it keeps you trim. If that is what works for you, nothing wrong with it! Link to post Share on other sites
uniqueone Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 there is nothing wrong with weighing yourself three times a day as long as it keeps you trim. If that is what works for you, nothing wrong with it! That's ridiculous. Obsessive much? Link to post Share on other sites
Izzy B Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Ummm, no, I'm not obsessive. I don't see how getting on the scale a few times a day is obsessive or unhealthy at all. I weigh myself once a day to keep slim. There is totally nothing wrong with hopping on a scale. Other people have their quirks. As long as it keeps her trim, which would make her happier than if she gained weight, then I see nothing wrong with it. I noticed how someone with a differing opinion on here gets judged and flamed for simply having an alternate (usually more intelligent) opinion, very narrow-minded group here on Love Shack. Link to post Share on other sites
uniqueone Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Ummm, no, I'm not obsessive. I don't see how getting on the scale a few times a day is obsessive or unhealthy at all. I weigh myself once a day to keep slim. There is totally nothing wrong with hopping on a scale. Other people have their quirks. As long as it keeps her trim, which would make her happier than if she gained weight, then I see nothing wrong with it. I noticed how someone with a differing opinion on here gets judged and flamed for simply having an alternate (usually more intelligent) opinion, very narrow-minded group here on Love Shack. I wouldn't call what I said to you flaming, however you're making disparaging remarks in your response above. But let's not go there, shall we? You're changing the story now. Before you were saying weighing yourself 3x a day. Now you are saying that there is nothing wrong with hopping on a scale (btw, why do we "hop"? does it make us lighter? ) And yes it's ridiculous and you'd see that if you knew anything about body composition and water weight and their fluctuations throughout the day. It's basically pointless to do. And it IS bordering on obsessiveness and that is leading into dangerous territory. Link to post Share on other sites
Fun2BMe Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 there is nothing wrong with weighing yourself three times a day as long as it keeps you trim. If that is what works for you, nothing wrong with it! I would add to your "as long as it keeps you trim" saying that if it does so in a healthy way. The OP stated "My whole mood depends on how much I weigh. I freak out if I gain as little as 300 grams. I also adjust how much I eat (and even drink water) accordingly. I feel like this is ruining my life." Link to post Share on other sites
Izzy B Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 I wouldn't call what I said to you flaming, however you're making disparaging remarks in your response above. But let's not go there, shall we? You're changing the story now. Before you were saying weighing yourself 3x a day. Now you are saying that there is nothing wrong with hopping on a scale (btw, why do we "hop"? does it make us lighter? ) And yes it's ridiculous and you'd see that if you knew anything about body composition and water weight and their fluctuations throughout the day. It's basically pointless to do. And it IS bordering on obsessiveness and that is leading into dangerous territory. Umm, biotch, it's just an expression, hop on the scale, no reason to be bitchy, biotch. I am not changing my story, just stating that I personally weigh myself once a day. Weighing yourself three times a day is not in itself unhealthy. Standing on a scale and looking at a number is not unhealthy. It's not leading on dangerous territory unless she is not eating enough to function. Hope this is not too confusing to you. Link to post Share on other sites
uniqueone Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Umm, biotch, it's just an expression, hop on the scale, no reason to be bitchy, biotch. I am not changing my story, just stating that I personally weigh myself once a day. Weighing yourself three times a day is not in itself unhealthy. Standing on a scale and looking at a number is not unhealthy. It's not leading on dangerous territory unless she is not eating enough to function. Hope this is not too confusing to you. Thank you for what you've written. You just proved a point to me. Link to post Share on other sites
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