The First Thing I Do When I Stop Dieting…
Is To Stop Weighing Myself Every Morning
When I was working hard to lose weight in 2006, I weighed myself twice a day – once as soon as I woke up and again before I ate supper. I wouldn’t compare my evening weigh-in to my morning one – instead, I compared it to the previous evening’s. Depending on what I ate/drank that day, my weight would fluctuate and I didn’t want to worry about how it compared to the morning reading. I could depend on it being in line with the previous evening’s weight. On average, my evening weigh-ins were about half a pound higher than the mornings.
My Biggest Regret From 2007
Back in early 2007 when I began regaining the weight I spent over a year losing, there came a point where I stopped weighing myself daily. I noticed the weight was coming back on. I had stopped working out and had remembered how amazing sugar and carbs tasted. I was spiraling out of control.
It had been a few months since I reached my weight goal and I jumped on the scale ready to view the damage – 192 lbs. I had gained back 20 lbs in a very short period of time! I can still remember a voice inside me telling me I could reverse course. This wasn’t as bad as it looked. I would never reach 200 lbs. I had 8 pounds to play with and get things together. I WOULD NEVER REACH 200 AGAIN. Nope, never. I could manage this addiction. I just needed to get back to the gym and stop eating everything I loved.
That Morning Was The Last Time I Stepped On A Scale
What I didn’t realize at the time was that the simple act of weighing myself – however painful the number and reality was – kept me in the game. It created a routine. That routine reminded me what I needed to do that day. If I didn’t like the number, I knew why. If I gained a little weight, I knew I needed to work harder that day. The scale kept me focused. And when I stopped the scale, I lost the focus.
In my weight loss attempts since then, I’ve tended to not weigh myself the morning after a bad eating day. You know the ones I’m talking about. Pizza and fries washed down with a pint of ice cream. Or half a dozen donuts eaten for breakfast followed up by a meal out for lunch. What’s the point of weighing myself if I know I haven’t lost weight and most likely have gained some? Rather, I tend to give myself a few days to get the weight off again before subjecting myself to the scale. That’s something I need to change this time.
My advice to anyone who is debating whether to weight in daily or weekly, I’d go with daily weigh-ins. It adds a layer of accountability to your diet. Want to stop by McDonald’s on the way home? Nope, I have to weigh-in tomorrow. Rather not go to the gym today? Nope, I have a weigh-in tomorrow. Weigh-ins may not always produce the number you want to see, but they do produce long term results you’ll love.
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