Are you numbers obsessed? What's your relationship with your scales like? How else do you measure progress?
Like anyone who’s struggled with their weight and embarked on a number of attempts to lose weight, I’ve had a very up and down relationship with scales over the years. From complete avoidance and fear for many many years to obsessive behaviour of weighing daily and even multiple times a day to check progress – both loving and hating them at the same time.
Scales are a great tool for measuring your progress and one of my biggest motivators in my own weight loss journey to lose over 10 stone was seeing a new number at the start of my weight. Moving from 20 stone to 19 stone something was hugely powerful and really gave me a sense of success, achievement and a belief that I could keep it up. But on the flip side, the feeling of deflation and defeatism when I’d gain 1lb and didn’t know why had the potential to send me into a dangerous spiral of comfort eating.
I’m definitely not saying that weighing isn’t important or valid, but more that it’s important to recognise that the number on the scale is just one way of measuring your progress and be very aware of how that number makes you feel and if your behaviour is altered by what it says.
How often do you weigh yourself?
There’s no hard or fast rule as to what you should or shouldn’t do and its very dependent on the individual but it is recommended, that to get an accurate measure of your progress, that weighing yourself once a week is the best indication of your progress if you are on a weight loss journey. If you are someone who’s maintaining a healthy weight, weighing once a month to keep an eye on things may well be sufficient.
I’ve certainly gone through phases of weighing myself every single day (and sometimes more than once!) and again, I’m not going to tell anyone whether this is right or wrong as you need to do what works for you, however a few things to be aware of!
Weight fluctuates!
Have you ever gotten on the scales and seen an increase of 2, 3 or even 4lbs overnight? Yesterday was just a normal day, nothing out of the ordinary in terms of what you’ve consumed but waking up this morning, your body seems to have gained several pounds from seemingly nowhere! Our weight can actually change by up to 6lbs from morning to evening in the same day!
There are many reasons why our weight can fluctuate (and I’m not talking about overindulging on a takeaway and a few glasses of wine) and sometimes, when we get on the scales and they show an increase from yesterday, it could be down to one or more of these factors:
- Water: consumption, retention and general fluctuations
- What you ate and drank the day before – some foods take longer to process and pass through the body
- Salt consumption in your meals the day before
- Carbohydrate consumption the day before
- Exercise levels the day before
- How much sleep you got
- Have you had a poo
- Did you consume any alcohol the day before
- For women, where in your menstrual cycle you are
Weighing once a week, one the same day, at the same time and under the same circumstances (whether that’s clothed or naked, with or without shoes, with an empty bladder, before breakfast, after lunch etc etc) will give you a more accurate picture of where you are and give you a better representation of where your actual physical weight loss is at.
How the scales affected me
I’m definitely guilty of being ‘numbers obsessed’ at various times in my own weight loss journey – and sometimes, that really helped and motivated me to keep going and work hard to achieve my next goal. I’d also say, I had many times when the numbers obsession had the complete opposite effect and led me to disordered eating patterns and behaviours. I thought I’d share a few of my experiences and see if any of these resonate with you:
Weighing (obsessively) every day
When it worked and was a positive action in my life
– it motivated me to keep going
– it inspired me to repeat certain behaviours (eg exercise, meal prep)
– it helped me through unexpected daily temptations or challenges and strengthened my resolve
– if it showed a gain, I thought rationally about what I’d consumed and if I was being honest with myself
When it didn’t work and became a negative impact in my life
– if the scales showed an unexpected overnight gain, I felt crushed, a feeling of failure and deflation and the ‘sod it, what’s the point?’ voice in my head would be hard to ignore and I could easily fall into old eating habits
– if the scales showed a great loss overnight, I’d be elated and in that weird way in which we reward ourselves with food, the voice in my head saying ‘just one won’t hurt’ would make herself heard and I’d find it harder to say no to the biscuits in the office for example
– I’d completely forget about all the positive things I’d done the day before, my self-worth was tied up in the number on the scale and became the only measure I’d judge myself against
Weekly weigh-ins - when you only focus on the numbers for that particular week
This is a tough one as when you are looking to lose weight, a ‘weigh-in’ is an important part of that process, its motivating, it gives you a real indication of your progress but from personal experience, and from many years of working to help others lose weight, your ‘weigh day’ can be one of your biggest stoppers to see the progress you want to see.
I’ll talk you through my own experiences from early in my own weight loss journey and some of the times when focusing only on the numbers affected my progress but I know from many people, they’ve experienced very similar:
Weigh day – firstly, what I consumed before getting weighed was different to other days, I had a lighter lunch, I had a self imposed ‘nil by mouth after 3pm’ rule, I’d be starving most of the day (which made me miserable), I’d get weighed and no matter whether it was a loss or a gain that week, for me, once I’d been weighed, it was like I had a free pass to consume whatever I wanted that night. You may recognise the phrase ‘treat night’ which is a common but often unspoken or guilty habit that people get into – I could happily justify it in my head: if I’d gained, I deserved a treat and it was comforting and if I’d lost, it was a reward for all of my hard work. My weight loss completely stalled for several months completely down to my ‘treat nights’ and as soon I was honest with myself, understood that my body wasn’t going to ignore the excessive amount of calories I was consuming once a week and got myself out of the ‘treat night’ mentality, my weight loss started moving again and I got myself to my goal weight.
Negative thinking – when I was deep in a “numbers = success” way of thinking, my sense of self-worth and confidence was completely tied up in what the result on the scales was that week. I’d feel down and miserable if I’d gained and that feeling could last several days and have an effect on all areas of my life. I’d lose sight of how far I’d come and all the positive changes I’d made in my life: I’d forget about all the great things I’d done that week – the lovely healthy meals I’d cooked, the exercise I’d done, the non-scale victories I’d achieved – all wiped out and no longer as important as the fact I’d gained 1lb.
Other ways of monitoring your weight loss progress
I definitely want to make it clear that I’m not suggesting that a weekly weigh-in is a bad thing but what I do with my weight loss coaching clients is find other ways of measuring progress too and as each one of us is very very different, there are lots of different ways to help to keep yourself motivated.
I went back through my Facebook page and found the following photos I’d proudly put up on my wall during my weight loss journey.
These images represent real milestones on my journey – now, over 8 years later, I can still remember how I felt in each of these pictures – the confidence, the goals I’d achieved, the ‘firsts’, things I never expected I would be able to do, who I was with and the sense of real accomplishment.
What I absolutely have no idea of is what my exact weight was in any of these photos or what my result had been that week and I was also nowhere near my target weight in any of them.
Sightseeing on my own in Chicago on a work trip, wearing a bright yellow coat, standing on a glass platform and asking a complete stranger to take a photo of me.
4 firsts for me and probably stands out as one of the biggest highlights in my journey. I was a size 20 here (I remember being so excited I could buy a size 20 yellow coat!)
The ‘Race for Life’ and proudly displaying my medal and race number.
I’d never run in my life and I’d just completed a full 5k without stopping, I’d never done anything that required a ‘number’ to be pinned on me before and I’d raised over £500 for Cancer Research UK
The first time I bought and wore a fitted above the knee dress.
This was a size 18, I’d been talked into buying it by a good friend and though I was incredibly nervous, I wore it to a party and felt a million dollars. No-one had ever seen me in anything like this before and I got so many comments on how lovely my dress was (something I’d never really had before either as I had always dressed in large, dark items to ‘hide’ my size)
Belting out ‘American Pie’ on the karaoke.
I’m definitely lacking in talent in the musical department but I’d never had the confidence to get up in front of people to sing before – not because of being tone deaf but because I was afraid of being judged for my size so this was a huge step in my confidence.
This skirt is the first size 18 item of clothing I bought. I bought it in Debenhams in the ‘normal’ range (rather than the plus size) and both me and my good friend Clare cried in the queue waiting to pay when she told me how proud my mum would have been of what I was achieving.
This is one item of clothing that I will never get rid off as its such a huge part of my journey and represents a big milestone I reached.
Getting ready to start the SHINE half marathon walk through London at night wearing a bright yellow tutu.
I’d never imagined being fit enough to take part in anything that included the word ‘marathon’ in it and dressing up was something I’d avoided even as a child as I was usually too big to fit in any costumes and I’d never felt confident enough either.
So, here's some examples of how you can measure your progress in other ways
1) Set yourself other goals - not just based on what the scales say
Examples: dress size, fitness, a new hobby or accomplishment, pushing yourself to do something out of your comfort zone
2) Take your measurements and keep track of your inch loss
If the scales aren’t moving as quickly as you’d like but you measure and see your waist has shrunk a couple of inches, that’s going to give you a real boost!
3) Clothes
You can use your clothes in several different ways to keep you motivated.
– Is there a favourite item you’d love to be able to wear again and feel brilliant in? Get it out, hang in on your wardrobe door and try it on once a week to see and feel your progress.
– As you lose weight, keep one item of your biggest size and try that on regularly to show you how far you’ve really come
– Buy something new one size smaller and use that as motivation to keep going so that it fits beautifully and you feel brilliant (and as soon as it does fit, treat yourself to another goal item of clothing in the next size down to keep the motivation going!)
4) Photos
Take progress pictures once a month (in your underwear if you are brave enough) in the same place and at the same angle – you’ll be amazed at the physical transformations you are making. You certainly don’t need to share them with anyone else but use them as personal motivation.
5) Fitness, energy and sleep
As you lose weight, you may also start including more exercise into your routine – keep note of your progress and be proud of your improvements. You may start by just walking for 15 minutes a day but after a month, you may be happily achieving 45 minutes a day and are less out of breath or your aches and pains aren’t as noticeable. Similarly notice how your energy levels are improving and how less tired you are. All are great indications of how you are improving your health and wellbeing.
6) Recognise emotional achievements
This is one of the biggest I think and one we often undervalue or overlook
– have you conquered a bad habit?
– have you showed control over a trigger food or a situation you find challenging and made healthier choices?
– have you found a new way to deal with a tough emotion such as stress that doesn’t involve turning to food?
– have you built new healthy habits into your lifestyle?
– has your mood improved?
– are you feeling more confident?
– have you tried something new or something you’d never thought you’d do
Never ever underestimate how important these things are, tell yourself well done, tell your loved ones what you’ve accomplished and make sure you are telling yourself how proud you are for achieving this.
For example, imagine this situation: you have a stressful day at work and your tired, upset and grumpy when you get home – normally you’d order a takeaway as you can’t face cooking, you may open a bottle of wine to help you destress and end up drinking all of it and after dinner, the comforting chocolate bar comes out.
But this week, instead of ordering the takeaway, you stick a jacket potato in the microwave, top it with some beans and a handful of salad, you open the bottle of wine but stop at one glass and instead of the whole chocolate bar after dinner, you only have half.
This is something to be proud of, you’ve accomplished a lot and made some really big changes. If the scales show a 1lb gain this week, that’s not what you are measuring yourself against – you should be bigging yourself up for the changes you made and the progress you took in managing your emotional eating triggers.
I could write a whole lot more on this subject as its something I feel really strongly about but I’m going to stop here for this post and hope that I’ve not waffled on too long and that there’s something in this that resonates with you.
I’d love to hear how you measure your progress or non scale victories you’ve achieved that mean more to you than any number on a mechanical box! Comment below or drop me a message to share!
And if you’d like to find out more about my weight loss coaching services and how I can help you to achieve your goals, please email me: georgina@mealplansmadeeasy.co.uk or my mobile is 07843 442607
This resonates so much with me also being a slave to the scales. Beating myself up every time they don’t show what I feel I ‘deserve’ etc etc. Great advice as always Georgina. Brought a tear to my eye too when you talked about standing in the queue at Debenhams and how proud your Mum would have been. Brilliant!
Glad you enjoyed it Karen, the numbers are definitely an important part of the process but for me, I really try to make them just one part and ensure that success is found in as many ways as possible. xxx
Must admit I’m very guilty of weighing daily but I read this and decided I’m going to try to break the habit !!!!! A Xmas present this year was really nice Nike gym gear talk about bit tight so I’ve taken them out the drawer and hung them on the outside of my wardrobe to remind me my goal is to get them on comfortably without looking like a sausage squashed into a skin !!!!
Thank you for this Georgina x
That’s a great incentive Linda – nothing better than feeling good in yourself and your clothes!