To throw my bathroom scales away?

[Bibs2014]

Have been following slimming world most of this year (as well as dieting for the past 18 yrs!). Keep losing and gaining the same half a stone. Everyone time I lose 2-3lbs I let myself relax and end up going off track and gaining it all back again. Sick of being a slave to the scales.

There's a skirt I'd love to get into - shall I just use that as my guide? Scared of gaining more.

It really is what works for you.

I'm doing the exact opposite to you - decided never to diet again and eat pretty much what I want but in smaller proportions, and I weigh myself every morning.

I've lost over a stone since June and am the lightest (and fittest/healthiest - due to training) I've been since I was 25 (I'm 48).

I do think the key is not being a slave to the whole thing, not feeling deprived, 'scared', etc, but it's in whatever way you can do it if yswim.

Can you afford a personal trainer? I think that was the key for me in many ways. Not just the actual training, I only go once a week so that wouldn't make that much difference, but taking my health seriously, getting nutritional and work out tips from her, and seeing how much harder I can work my body then I ever thought I could or should.

Yes; use the skirt.

Use the skirt. I don't agree with scales! I'm currently overweight and know it - I don't use scales to tell me, but pre-kids I was very fit, very little fat and I still weighed quite heavy as I had a lot of muscle. Go on flab and use exercise to get rid of it - much healthier! (Now I just need to follow my own advice...)

I've never owned scales and I love it. Could you give them to someone for a while and see how you get on without them for a month or two? Then if it doesn't work for you, you haven't wasted money.

I weigh myself weekly to keep track of my weight, and would not get rid of my scales for that reason, to easy to gain half a stone without really noticing!
Why do you let yourself relax when you lose 2/3lbs though?
That is the issue i would be concentrating on, either commit yourself to say 3 month of healthy eating with no relaxing and you should lose the extra half stone or accept the extra half stone, either way i wouldn't go to slimming world again, waste of time, evidently.

Why do you relax once you've lost 3lbs? Surely you'll do exactly the same once you've worn the skirt once?

The problem is you see dieting as a temporary thing until you've hit a target, rather than a slower, permanent lifestyle change. Just changing what you use as the target won't change that until you are prepared to accept your "relaxed" style of eating has to go forever.

(Your "diet" type of eating should lose you weight, your "relaxed" should maintain weight, "overeating" gaining weight, you are overeating and calling it relaxed, you can never eat like that if you want to be slim, sorry, it's shit isn't it?!)

I've no idea what I weigh-I just go by the fit of my clothes.

The only time I get on the bathroom scales is to find out the weight of my suitcase or to find out the weight of my child.

I don't know why I let myself relax

Ditch the scales!!

I gained and lost the same half a stone for a few months, I got obsessed with the number on the scales, if I had been 'good' and my weight didn't go down I thought 'fuck it' and ate rubbish.

So I picked a pair of jeans out of my wardrobe that I loved but couldn't do up anymore, and tried them on once every couple of weeks until they fit me! I have no idea how much I weigh.

Hugh - that's what I do, I get lazy.

Is the diet you are on quite restrictive? Is it not something you could realistically stick to long term? Then it's not right for you, changing the target from a set number of lbs to a certain skirt won't change the cycle if the problem is you change your eating habits to something that's in no way sustainable until you hit the target then go back to "normal" eating, that means you gain weight.

You need to stop thinking in terms of "I'll diet until x" more "this is how I eat now", and if that means it takes twice as long to get to your "dream" weight, but is sustainable for the rest of your life, then that's the way to go.

buy the skirt in a bigger size and enjoy life

Great tips Dinosaur. Is that what you do?

Paddington

Yes, there's a selection of 'small changes' that I've made that mean that my 'normal' eating is just neutral on weight gain/loss. (Although I'm going to have to review again soon, lifestyle changes have meant that I'm walking less so feeling that very slowly I'm gaining a little weight.)

Try to make small changes that you are certain you can keep up for the rest of your life. (eg. I am now on 6 years of having my coffee black without sugar - and I normally only drink coffee or water in the day, anything else is a 'treat' - I used to drink a lot of calories - I now only 'drink calories' in wine form, and then only with food, another tough but effective change!)

Pick a bunch of small changes, (easiest if you only introduce one or two a week) by January/February it'll just be your new normal and not be part of a special diet, just the way you eat/drink.

I think the main ones for me are eating when bored (at work) and eating for the sake of it

Recently I felt so pissed off with the scales I didn't weigh for a week and ate really thought about what I was eating and I did felt so much better and lost weight. Hence the reason I started this thread!

I threw mine years ago when DD became somewhat obsessed with standing on them.

In this house we now use the 'clothes still fit me' method coupled with yearly GP checks.
I really don't like scales. I know they can work for some but for others they seem to be the little voice in the corner shouting you to constantly stand on them.

Good luck!

I weigh myself constantly and it really affects my mood.

I totally agree with changing your mentality from being 'on a diet' (by very definition it means you have to come 'off' it). I really would ditch the diet, not the scales!

As I said above, could you afford a personal trainer? Getting fit and seeing your body change shape is not only a buzz, it also makes you less likely to want to undo that exciting process.

I'd also recommend planning a week of meals with stuff you LOVE, not 'diet' food, or food low in 'sync' or calories, just delicious, healthy stuff, no junk or processed stuff, then cut the portions down. This will remind you that you can eat whatever you want, as long as it's fresh-ish and healthy-ish. Don't see food as the enemy, don't think anything is out of bounds.

Honestly I dieted for 30 years on and off and I'm now the slimmest I've been since I were a lass (!) and it's such a relief not to count calories or have that awful 'Oh no I've gone over my points/cals/syns' restrictive feeling.

*Syns not sync

I can't spare the cash for a PT at the moment.

I resisted weighing myself this morning which is a start!