Weight Obsessed? Get Rid of Your Scale

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weight obsessed scale

Do You Have a Weight Obsessed Personality?

Are you weight obsessed? Do you weigh yourself on a daily basis or close to it? If you do – STOP! Success is not measured by the numbers on a scale. Does the scale have any role in helping you reach your goals? Yes, but it is just one of many tools in your arsenal that you can use to measure success. Unfortunately, it is probably one of the least helpful tools.

If you think you have a weight obsessed persona, here are better ways to measure your success:

  • Look in the mirror. Do you look better? Sometimes it can be difficult to notice small changes in the mirror because we see ourselves so frequently. But it can be one of the easiest and most gratifying measurement tools.
  • Use a tape measure. Measure yourself with a MyoTape body tape measure. Measure the circumference of your waist, hips, arms, legs, and chest. If you find that your arms are getting bigger, but your waist is getting smaller, it’s a sure sign that progress is being made.
  • Use body fat calipers. Take skin-fold measurements on your abs, obliques, triceps, back, legs, and chest. If these numbers are getting smaller on a weekly basis, you know you’re losing fat. All you need is one of these cheap $6 body fat calipers to get the job done.
  • Take progress pictures. Snapping some photos every couple of weeks under the same lighting is a great way to notice changes. Those small changes are much more noticeable when you have before and after pictures side by side on your computer.

Weight Obsessed? The Scale is Not Your Friend

The reason a scale is not a good measuring tool is because your weight might not be going down, but you can still be losing fat. This happens when you both lose fat and and gain muscle at the same time.

Take for example somebody who is 180lbs at 20% body fat. This person is carrying 36lbs of fat on them. Let’s pretend that after months of working out he weighs himself again, but this time he’s still 180lbs. The scale would seem to suggest that he just wasted months of hard work because he didn’t lose any weight. What the scale doesn’t show you is that his body fat percentage dropped to 15%. So now he’s only carrying 30lbs of fat on him. That’s a loss of 6lbs of fat, and a gain of 6lbs of muscle! Suddenly, the discouragement of seeing no weight change has turned into encouragement now that he has proof that all that hard work is working.

More than likely all 4 of the better ways to measure success have shown progress. Not only can he see in the mirror that his body is more muscular and his muscles are showing more definition, but the skin-fold measurements are all going down and the tape measure measurements are all showing that his waist and hips are smaller. His clothes probably fit looser and he probably has gone down a couple of notches on his belt too.

Don’t become weight obsessed. Stay off the scale if you aren’t seeing the numbers you want, and give one or more of the alternate measuring techniques a try. How many times have you personally found the scale not budging, but people have commented that you’re looking better?

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About Tony Schober

Healthy living curator, blogger, foodie, certified personal trainer, husband, & step-dad to 3. Founder of Coach Calorie. Hates scales.

  • Marybeth

    I very rarely step on the scale…all it ever did was bring me down. But for people dieting and not exercising its really important I guess. I started a “boot camp” (I try to go 4 mornings a week) and for at least a month I never lost any weight but my clothes were fitting better, my arms and back were toning up but my weight pretty much stayed the same. Then after about two months I did step on the scale and I realized I was 8 pounds lighter! I still have a ways to go. But I would much rather be able to fit in a smaller size jeans, have my arm wings disappear and feel healthy than worry about what the scale says!!

  • Coach Calorie

    Marybeth, congrats on the progress! Many times when people start a fitness program, their weight doesn’t change, or it even goes up a couple pounds. It can be enough to discourage people from continuing on. Good job ignoring the scale and using common sense.

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  • Heather

    I am a major type A and I admit that I weight myself daily but when I did my first beachbody program a year and a half ago and started taking pictures that really changed how I think about weight. My weight hasn’t changed much and my measurements haven’t really changed at all but you should see the improvement in the pictures!

    • Coach Calorie

      Pictures are a great way to show progress. If you search the web, you can see many examples of how people have transformed their bodies, but have lost little to no weight.

  • Janene Scarborough

    I think your right about that, every time I have ever used a scale it simply makes me depressed, and makes me want to eat because I feel like a failure, I think when I try on clothes it makes me feel better because after awhile you notice how loose they are getting, and that makes me feel so great, it makes you just have more pep in your step. I totally agree with you on the scales.

    • Coach Calorie

      Clothes are an easy way to figure out if you’re making progress. Sometimes the scale won’t even move, but your clothes will fit different. That should tell you right there that something is not right. Thanks for sharing Janene.

  • Donna B.

    *hangs head in shame* I weigh myself at least twice a day, sometimes more… I know it’s wrong but I can’t help myself!! I think it’s because for the last 15 months I’ve been SO focused on losing weight and gone to some extremes to make it happen, I want to see progress.

  • j

    Totally agree! I am so in agreement with this that I have not seen my weight in 10 years! I have a medical issue and my weight needs checking so I ask the nurse/doctor to please not tell me the weight and I step on the scales backwards.

    I seem to have kept my weight in an OK range as I now go on how tightly things fit- but even thats questionable because if if work on my back (kettle balls and etc) I can find my tops feeling tighter same with lunges and thighs so its a bit of common sense really.

    I feel a lot better without seeing my weight and don’t feel instantly depressed by a number which lets face it, is more likely to be because I’ve had extra water and eaten foods with a little more salt, TOTM or even stress can also affect water retention levels, the scales are a bit of a joke really and its strange that so many people do seem fixated on a number- surely how you feel and how things fit you matters more? Who even knows what you weigh when walking down the street yet it would seem to many it does in fact matter more.

    Note, a low body weight does not equal attractiveness – in some cases it creates the polar opposite!

  • Geri S

    I hate the bathroom scale or any scale. When I go to the doctor they always have to weigh you and try to tell how your not eating right or you need to exercise more. The scale doesn’t tell them what you are eating or how you exercise.

  • Kiss

    I find if I don’t weigh myself every other day I put on weight. It’s like I need it to keep me on track. But i only take the Monday weigh in as my set weight.

    • http://www.coachcalorie.com/ Coach Calorie

      As I’m sure you know, it’s not the scale keeping you in check, but measurements in particular. Why not try measuring your progress via methods that actually matter? Calipers, hydrostatic weighing, DEXA scans, tape measures, etc
      What happens if you gain 2 pounds on the scale, but in actuality you lost 2 pounds of fat and gained 4 pounds of muscle? You might get discouraged over the scale’s readings. However, body fat caliper readings would tell a totally different story, and it would motivate you to continue with your current fitness plan.

  • http://www.coachcalorie.com/ Coach Calorie

    Hi Natt, if you are just now starting to exercise, it is very possible that you are putting on some intracellular water weight. When you start exercising your body increases it’s energy reserves. You store glycogen along with water. The only way to know for certain what is going on is to take body fat measurements along the way.

    • Natt

      I’ve been working out for over year now. I hate that my weight goes up and down!:/

      • http://www.coachcalorie.com/ Coach Calorie

        It’s time to take body fat readings and start getting meticulous with counting calories if you want to see some real progress. Are you eating quality foods?