Should i pay attention to the scale

Accomplishment turned to despair. Then I'd drag my defeated ass to the nearest cafe and do myself and my diet some serious damage. In life, there are few things that healthy eating and regular exercise don't improve. One of the consequences of getting on the scale -- which may or may not say what you want it to say on any given day -- is that you lose sight of how great you feel.

Once you lose sight of the pleasure you're feeling, keeping healthy commitments becomes even harder. Instead of getting on the scale, pay attention to how satisfying it feels to wake up after a good night's sleep. Notice and enjoy it if work feels better because you're calm and can cope with the bullshit better. Don't get distracted by what you may or may not weigh. I was in one of my dozen stints in the joint my term for Weight Watchers when I strutted in for my weekly weigh-in after a perfect, cheat-free week.

I felt like Wonder Woman: strong, capable, and like I was using my powers for good. I lost my superpowers and critical-thinking skills on the spot. Every exercise class I'd gone to, every meal I'd painstakingly prepared, every glass of water I'd chugged, it was all useless. I sat through the meeting, planning what treats I'd buy on my way home to make up for lost time. The scale measures only one thing: the numerical value of gravity's pull on your body.

Hartley recommends trying mindful eating and paying attention to internal cues of when you are and are not hungry. That way, your eating habits are a reaction to your body's needs rather than the number on the scale.

If weighing yourself in the morning affects your mood for the rest of the day, it may be helpful to give it a rest. Or, if they wake up and see that their number is higher than they wanted to see, they might give up on the healthy changes that they're working on. It can also be a disordered eating behavior that goes unrecognized and even celebrated in higher weight individuals, she continued. If you think you or a loved one are struggling with an eating disorder , you can find help and support through the National Eating Disorders Association.

Although a scale will help you determine your body mass index BMI , it won't tell you your body composition, or the amount and distribution of fat and lean mass on your body. Thinking about body composition is important because muscle takes up less space than fat on your body. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Losing weight: getting started. Updated December Physical activity for a healthy week. Updated May Losing weight. Updated February Your Privacy Rights.

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I Accept Show Purposes. Instead of the scale, try other ways to track your progress : Get your body fat tested Take your measurements at different areas of the body to see where you're slimming down Go by how your clothes fit Keep a fitness journal to keep track of your weights, exercises and strength gains.

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Learn more. More on Weight Loss. Reap the Rewards of Intermittent Fasting. Bathroom Scale Buying Guide. The Right Way to Weigh In Follow these steps to get an accurate daily weigh-in, which will help you make smart choices about what to eat and how much to exercise. Place your scale on a hard, even surface—no carpeting. A wobbly or tilted scale can result in an inaccurate reading. Stand still, with your weight distributed evenly on both feet. Top Picks.