Is this scale haunted, or what?
I am so "right there" with this post from Sean Kelley (no relation to former flames) on the newly-relaunched Health.com blog. We have two scales at home- one is a pricey bodyfat tester digital number, the other a good-ol-fashioned analog one with no bells or whistles. I have often found myself getting on the digital scale, hopping off, and stepping back on to find that I’ve gained or lost as much as 3 pounds in 20 seconds. And the bodyfat reading varies widely as well.
That’s not to say that Rob and I have any more consistant results when we whip out the calipurs, but we are getting better.
For my money, I think an analogue scale used once per week at the same time of day and a cloth tape measure are the best tools for tracking progress.
What are yours?
I can tell you what ISN’T a good method: hopping on the scale every morning and watching fluctuations day by day. Last time I made an effort to lose weight (when I actually attended WW meetings) I instructed my husband to hide the scale until I told him to bring it back out; I would only weigh myself at WW meetings. Of course, then you’re weighed fully clothed, and you can cheat with different clothes.
I ought to slide it under the cabinet until my appointed weight time per week. At least then I’ll know I’m working to weigh myself.
I moved mine out of the bathroom, as well. That is a great tactic.
I weigh myself everyday before I get into the shower. It doesn’t bug me if it fluctuates…I only really track my weight one day of the week. Maybe I’m weird, but it entertains me more than affects my self-esteem to see it go up or down depending on what I did the day before.