Not a scale in the house.

[ManyARambling]

Alright so I've been trying to get healthy for about a month because (though I'm only 18) my family has a history of heart disease and diabetes on both sides and I've been overweight most of my life and really want to start a new life with a new body when I leave for college next fall. So because of the overweightness (I'm 4' 11" and weighed in at 185 lbs. last month) my doctor put me through a diabetes test just to check. Luckily I'm safe but it finally put things in perspective. Anyway, enough rambling. What I'm getting at is, I don't have a scale and though I've been watching my calorie intake, working out as much as my schedule allows, and have started to actually feel healthier (stairs at school aren't so tough and I don't get tired as much) I have no idea if I'm making any progress on my weight and it's driving me crazy. I've heard it's not good to be a slave to the scale but how do I know I'm doing anything right?

[dear_abby]

Originally Posted by ManyARambling

Alright so I've been trying to get healthy for about a month because (though I'm only 18) my family has a history of heart disease and diabetes on both sides and I've been overweight most of my life and really want to start a new life with a new body when I leave for college next fall. So because of the overweightness (I'm 4' 11" and weighed in at 185 lbs. last month) my doctor put me through a diabetes test just to check. Luckily I'm safe but it finally put things in perspective. Anyway, enough rambling. What I'm getting at is, I don't have a scale and though I've been watching my calorie intake, working out as much as my schedule allows, and have started to actually feel healthier (stairs at school aren't so tough and I don't get tired as much) I have no idea if I'm making any progress on my weight and it's driving me crazy. I've heard it's not good to be a slave to the scale but how do I know I'm doing anything right?

You would be wise to not be a slave to a scale, but they are rewarding, and measurable progress feels good. Is your family supportive? Good scales are kind of expensive, but if you are all in this together, maybe you can give up something bad for you as a family, and get one.

A few options - is there a health center (in my day they were called "the nurses' office") at your school? I bet the person who runs that would love to support you and let you use the scale, maybe even help you with tracking, and support. How about a friend's house? It would be good to have a weekly appointment with whoever's scale you are using so you keep on a regular schedule.

Be proud of what you are doing!

Abby

[almeeker]

There are lots of ways to tell how you're doing without a scale, although admittedly the scale is probably the gold standard for a dieter. One way to check is with your wardrobe, how are your clothes feeling, looser, tighter, baggier? If you have a flexible tape measure you can take your measurements and chart them here on fitday.com. As your weight goes down you should see a decrease in some of the measurements, my calves and forearms haven't changed much, but my bust, waist, hip and thigh measurements have gone down quite a bit. A reliable scale does not need to be all that expensive, the one in our bathroom was $30 at Wal-Mart and it's fine. One thing I would caution you on is to weigh yourself not more than once/day and to make it the same time every day, because your weight will fluctuate a little every time you eat, drink or void. I weigh myself every morning, naked, after I've peed but before I do anything else.

Also when you get to campus, there should be a gym of some sort and usually they have a really good scale hidden somewhere. My gym is really small and sort of cheap, but they sport a top notch scale in the corner behind the kettle balls.

[nctgreene]

I agree with Abby. Go somewhere else to weigh once a week or even once a month. It can be very discouraging to not see the scale move. I have become "addicted" to weighing and sometimes just give up because I don't see a change on the scale. Also, sometimes you gain because of fluid and that is discouraging.

The best thing is to continue to eat healthy and see the change in your dress size. That is a much better indicator.

Good Luck,
Nancy

[traceymc1985]

Hi there firstly well done on having the motivation to change your lifestyle. Making the effort to take the stairs is all part of developing a healthy lifestyle which in return helps not only whilst losing weight but also for maintaining. Ive noticed that since i started doing much more walking my legs and bum are more shapely and less wobbly.
With the scales- i weigh in everyday like almeeker after a wee and although they go up and down day to day i know that by the end of the week they will balance out in time for my weekly weigh in. I attend a slimming group but still like to have my scales in the house. The ones i got were expensive but my cheaper ones were much more reliable so even the cheaper ones do the job. But yes a great way to tell is if you try on clothes- i had a dress in my wardrobe that when i started was so tight my arm wouldnt even fit, now its too big and had a trip to the charity shop. Just seeing that zip go up that bit more every so often made me realise that i am doing it and its all worth it.
Its a good idea to weigh in at a friends house if you prefer not to have your own scale too but i reckon after a couple of days of being very good diet wise you will want to stand on the scales and see the progress. After a while you will relaise when the times your body is likely to carry extra water/weight eg. after alcohol or a meal, time of month or week before, morning/afternoon/night. The body seems to have its own pattern that you will become aware and learn to work with.
Another tip- if you do buy your own set of scales keep them somewhere out of reach that you wont need to see them all the time- might help you not become addicted to weigh in everyday. Of course a great tool to notice progress is a full length mirror and a locked bedroom door. Ive noticed that my underwear is getting looser on me and although it hurts to stare at the parts im not so happy with in time these will get smaller and the mirror will finally become a friend. Oh dear im babbling on- sorry lol. Hope you come up with a solution and as long as you keep putting the work and effort in which you are you will notice the weight falling off without the scales. Keep it up
Tracey x