To Weigh, Or Not To Weigh. That Is The Question

I've been back on track since the 14th so this is day 10 for me. I weighed and I have lost 7.2 pounds. I'm happy with that . It's been a steady progression which is what I like to see. I am a charting kind of gal. I find that I do best when I have my college ruled spiral notebook to record in every day. I have columns for date, weight, blood sugar, ( history of diabetes) blood pressure,(history of hypertension) pulse, and I put either an up or down arrow beside each entry to be able to visually see the overall trend of improvement. I keep it right here by my computer and it reinforces my commitment when I see it. This is what works for me.

The whole weighing thing is a very personal choice to make. We have regular debates on here about what is best, but that will be different for everyone depending on what emotional state they are in at the time and how the scale effects that.

For me, 13 years ago when I lost the first 120 pounds, weighing was a self inflicted torture. I was weighing up to 5 times a day! Even in the middle of the night if I got up to use the bathroom! I put all my emotions and self esteem in a bucket and weighed it constantly just to see how I should be feeling about myself at that moment. it was, at that stage, the worst thing I could do to myself and caused me unnecessary stress and doubt.

Now, I approach this with little to no emotion. I just have a job to do and I am treating it like that. My morning weigh in does not always send me dancing in the streets, but neither would it if I suddenly saw 5 pounds lost. I can glance over at my charting and see my overall trend of progress and THAT is what keeps me emotionally neutral.

I don't want to start a heated debate on the topic of weighing, but I will give this advice. Depending on what kind of personality you have, and what current state you are in regarding self esteem and how the numbers on a scale determine your state of mind and actions, this will tell you if you should be a daily weigher/tracker, or a once per month/week weigher. Be truthful with yourself and make your choice based on your best interest.

We are all pretty good at beating ourselves up when it comes to all things weight and size related. Don't be the bully in the bathroom every morning weighing yourself if it doesn't ALWAYS give you a positive and progressive feeling, no matter what the number. If it makes you feel bad about yourself, or disappointed or like nothing you do is every good enough, then stop for now. It will only hurt you and make you feel hopeless.

But, if you are more of an analytical type, charting may be the way for you to go.