sm266

I put my scale out of sight. I found myself stepping on it everytime I was in the bathroom, and I decided that was not a good thing to get into the habit of. So, I put it away; every thursday shall be my "weigh in" from now on, otherwise, it'll not be seen. I feel liberated already.

slvoid

Hehe, cool, next step, turning off the speed display on the bike computer.

teamawe

I left my HR monitor at home my last few rides. Cheer for liberation !

Don Woodson

I just bought my first bike computer. In addition to the normal functions, it's also supposed to be able to tell me how many calories I burned.
Now that I know, I don't want to know.

Stubacca

Good idea, sm266. Stepping on the scale daily (or even more often!) can be bad for motivation. Weekly allows you to see changes much more clearly. I put our scale in the second bathroom (which we rarely use ourselves) to help get rid of the temptation before/after a shower/other bathroom activity.

I can vouch for the same thing on the bike with the computer, too. When I picked up my new commuter recently, I decided not to put a computer on it. Instead, I just ride it as fast as i feel comfortable with given the road and weather conditions and my energy level. I've been enjoying the riding so much, not caring about how long it takes me or what my average speed was, that I've stopped paying much attention to the computer on the roadie except for the cadence display. Very liberating...

DnvrFox

Yes, average speed doesn't mean s*i*!

What counts is "Did you enjoy your ride today?"

If the answer is "Yes" then you had a good day.

As far as weight loss goes, your belt around your waist ought to tell you just about all you need to know!

noisebeam

This is true, but depends on what the number means to you. I did spend a few weeks weighing before/after most activities - this gave me a very good idea of what my dehydrated, my just after dinner with half gallon of water, etc. weights were. I liked knowing what my daily fluctuations are - it was a good learning experience - I could vary 5-7lbs over a day, ~3lbs if I am careful to stay well hydrated and eat smaller but more frequent meals. Seeing a suddenly low number was an indication to me that I was probably dehydrated.

I don't do that anymore, but just because I see a high number or a low number does motivate or de-motivate me, it only makes me consider why. All that matters to me (and it doesn't that much) is the overall monthy trend.

Al

John M

sm266, I did the same. I weigh on Fridays and measure and then log this. As to the computer I have 2 on the bike. Polar HRM w/bike functions and flight deck. I admit I am a gizmo freek and like info, an engineer thing. However during a ride I have the HRM set to read trip time/ time of day and HR. I get a fixed amount of time during the week so I ride by this. The bike computer I just watch the cadence. During the ride all I look at is cadence and HR. Now when I get home I will d/l all the info from the HRM and review my ride. I feel this free's me so that I can do what I want and as Denver said, enjoy the ride.

Pman

I have found it good to replace the scale with a full-length mirror. That is a much better perspective on how my conditioning is going.

sm266

EGADS!!! I'll try that next month, but that would only make me cry right now!!

DnvrFox

You are braver than I!

bubber

The scale can be a very useful tool for maintaining your weight at a desired level. I recommend you read the "Hacker's Diet" at https://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/ to learn how to use a scale properly.

John M

bubber, cool link. I see John is the wheel behind Autodesk
Thanks for the link.

Pman

It is really only scary at first. Pretty cool when you start getting results though!

Nam

I've lost a lousy 4 lbs in a month a half, I put the scale away too since I'm tired of seeing the same number over and over again.

Zin

I weigh in on Sunday mornings right after I get out of bed. Still at 215 this morning. I also watch my waist size and have a full length mirror. I don't think the mirror does much good. I don't see the gradual changes that I know are taking place when I look in it. I have found that photographs, digital or traditional, to capture my form at a given point in time for later comparison has been far more effective.

bmph8ter

Good for you!!!

SSP

The problem with body weight is that it changes from day to day, and throughout the day. Comparing any two weigh-ins, even a week apart, can be misleading due to the natural fluctuations (this is especially true for women, whose monthly cycles impact weight significantly). I typically "lose" 2 lbs over night, and have seen daily fluctuations of 3-4 lbs for no apparent reason.

For weight loss, it's the long term trends that are important. Ideally, you should be losing weight at a slow, but steady, rate. Losing 0.5-1 lb per week is a good healthy goal to shoot for. But, this rate of change makes it difficult to tell if you are on track, because your weight can fluctuate so much from day to day. It's easy to think you're doing great when one weigh-in is low, or get discouraged when one is high, but both reactions may be mistaken.

To address this issue, I've recently released a program called WeightWare (https://www.WeightWare.com ) that you may find useful. It's a weight and health diary that you can use to assess your current weight, set appropriate weight loss goals, and monitor your progress. It's based on the idea of frequent weigh-ins (preferably daily). Each weigh-in is a data point that is used by the program (along with some statistical analysis) to analyze your progress, and alert you when you are getting off track. So, if you want some information to help your inspiration, check it out...you can try it free for 30 days by downloading from the web site.