Scared to weigh IN

Scared to weight in so frustrated... I've read the post of not being so hard on yourself, and not starting over but moving on. Its just so hard think I should have gotten it by now!

Mrspembrick, You are doing exactly that, being hard on yourself. Why? Losing weight is not a race. As long as you keep making an effort that scale will move in the right direction. Does it get stuck on a number sometimes for days or even weeks? YES! The scale is not the enemy. Just a guide to let us know we need to be more focused if it goes up. Do not let a number rule your day if it isn't what you expected. Of course we are thrilled when it drops. We see progress. But when it gets stuck. It can stay on a number even if you are on track too. You know if you are following your plan.

We can measure to see changes, our clothes may be looser. The scale is not the only way to check for results. We have to allow ourselves to learn how to lose so the pounds will stay off. I want you to get on the scale. Face whatever number it shows. Then say okay, how can I continue to improve my plan. It's not where you start but that keep going, all the way to goal!

If you want a buddy add me. I will help you any way I can. : )

Great advice Bocalvr! I second that. I would also like to add that you have just started on Fatsecret. I am not saying that this website is the all end for every single person but as you can see a lot of people have great success here and even more are seeing results. These results did not show up in a week or even a month. It takes time to get there. So please, Please, PLEASE stick with it. Don't give up. Take the number in stride and keep on keeping on. If you want to change anything I would suggest tracking EVERYTHING you eat. I have tried many diets before but none have been as successful for me as this time. I think that has a lot to do with putting every single thing I eat down. Try it for a week or two. Without writing everything you won't realize how many calories you ate on the ketchup on the burger, or the mayo on the tuna or the sugar in your coffee. All those little calories add up quick. We all have faith in you and want you to see results so come to us with frustrations but keep at it. We are here for support. Weigh yourself, shake it off and start again tomorrow with a new attitude and dedication. Good Luck!

I feel the same way...

It feels a little like a let down when you go away for a bit, and come back with a larger number.

I once promised myself I would only log into FatSecret if I could post a smaller weigh-in number. So for days, weeks, months even, I stopped logging in. And I stopped keeping track of my food and exercise. And that dreaded number didn't go anywhere but up.

So, I've decided that my weight really is just a number (it still looms and beckons, in many, many ways) but it really is more important how I feel.

And if FatSecret is going to help me feel better and look better, I'm getting over my irrational fears and weighing in more ofter, regardless!

LindsayCat, Thank you for posting that message. That is exactly what alot of people do. Once we stop monitoring our progress good or bad. We fall back into old habits. No one wants to report they gained again instead of losing. Way too many people quit so soon before they can see any results. If we pick a diet and FEEL like we are dieting? We will screw up.

We all need a menu we can follow everyday. Not for an event or a smaller size. We are great at losing up and down the same pounds. But terrible at keeping it off. Why? Most often as soon as we stop a diet we go right back to what we use to do that made us gain. After all, we earned it right? Time to have that cheesecake. Time to skip working out. Who cares what I weigh. Then a few months later back to square one.

That one line, "it is more important how I feel." Says so much! We have to face whatever obstacles we have put in our paths. Knock em all down one by one and the pounds will come off!

M.Trublu, So true. We need to know what we are eating, everything counts. We can't say I just had a salad. Salads can be worse than a cheeseburger if we are not paying attention to what is in it. Bacon bits, croutons, heavy salad dressing, ham, cheese ect... If we stop and really look at our choices. We can make a few changes, still enjoy and LOSE.

Number one rule for new people. Keep Coming Back. Success is waiting. : )

Bocalvr and LindsayCat, that's exactly what I did ... got discouraged with the scale and completely ignored the FatSecret reminders, didn't log in, didn't record food on FS or anywhere else ... a complete blind eye to it all. Did it help? NO! So, I'm back and motivated to achieve success!

Hey! Hang in there. I know (from my own experience) this is easier said than done. But you can do it. Remember, we are all made differently and will gain and lose differently. If you keep journaling, and keep planning your meals, you will learn what your triggers are and what works best. You may be a peron that goes a few days with no movement on the scale and then drop 2-3 lbs. in one day.

Also, most of the people on here have been at the same point you are at. Make sure you are eating plenty of vegetables and protein. Also, drink plenty of water.

Mrspembrick don't give up and face your fears! Blah Blah Blah... We've heard it a million times right! Well all those crazy people that have been saying it are correct. I have been pleasantly amazed over the last year at how much weight I have dropped because I didn't give up and I faced my fears. Fatsecret is a great tool - but just that - a tool to assist you. If you are anything like me, you've tried lots of diet programs and some worked and some didn't. But from all of them you've learned a tip or two that actually worked for you. Write those down - this is your list of tools. Now write down everything that prompts you to eat. When I looked at my 2 lists I found that I was an extreme emotional eater BUT I had great tools already in my toolbox to help me combat the emotional eating. SOOO COOOOL - I already had control over my weight (something I never thought I had control over)and I did not even now it!
For me, drinking water with benefiber helps me combat the sleepy tired eating binges that I go on before bed. It also helps me comprehend when my body is saying it is "thirsty and dehydrated" versus "hungry." The fiber hint came from my stint on Nutrisystem and the water from the drink 8-10 glasses a day to lose weight theory. Most times I am thirsty not hungry (the body confuses those signals a lot according to researchers). Another trick I use came from my friend. She places a saying on her refrigerator, "Nothing tastes better than skinny feels," to stop her from binge eating. I have it on my computer monitor at work because that is where my binge eating occurs due to boredom with daily work activities or under the gun crunch time pressure. The saying has changed as my co-workers have taken it and started their own weight-loss programs. The boys like "Nothing tastesd better than FIT feels."
In any event, make a list of all the things that have worked for you - this is your TOOLKIT - add to it as you find new "tools." Don't forget to add tips or tools that you learned from friends and family each time you traveled the "diet" road. Make a list of your eating prompts -hunger should be our only reason to eat! Compare the lists and find possible tools to help you combat those eating prompts.

And as the forum has said - use us, add us as buddies, we are one of your most powerful TOOLS! (No I am not calling everyone a tool, LOL

A diet or a lifestyle - it is your choice....

If we all stick together, we can do it. Don't give up. I've seen my "buddies" disappear after a week or two. You have to stick with it and log your foods and the weight will go. It will take time, and staying at one number for a while is very discouraging, but keep with it and "WE" can all reach our goals. We beleive in you, but you have to beleive in yourself as much as we beleive in you. You can do it!!!

I'm guilty of ignoring the fatsecret weigh in reminders, Ignoring myself and Ignoring my scale out of fear of what I'd see. I was here last year. Lost some weight and then I gave up and a year later am back.

I had to realize that excuses aren't going to get me to my goal, ignoring the problem doesn't mean there isn't one and that it's okay to admit I failed. The thing that's important is to learn that if I do fail today I can succeed tomorrow if I don't give up.

Last time I was here I sat in a corner. I didn't talk to buddies, didn't contribute to posts and just plain expected my problem to go away on its own. But I can't do it alone. I need people around me who understand what it's like to struggle each day. People who will join in to my happiness when I succeed, People who will encourage me when I fall. Motivate me when I want to give up.

I think having a "talkative buddy" like Bocalvr has helped me make it through this week. She messages me every day and it keeps me wanting to come back just to see what she has to say. Her tips are truly helpful.

I know that if I log in everyday, record my meals and if I go over my RDI I'm not afraid anymore to ASK for help. Find someone who can help me figure out where I went wrong. There are soooooooo many who succeeded on fatsecret it's not even funny.

Giving up is the worse thing you can do. Excuses will not get you anywhere and lying to yourself is not going to make the situation go away. You did this to yourself as all of us have. There's no one to blame and no one to take responsibility and no one to fix it except yourself. Once you learn that and accept that then it will make the journey so much more attainable.

The thing is you don't have to do it alone.... We're all here on the same journey and fatsecret is like a big dysfunctional family. There for you when you need us and all up in your butt when you think you don't. lol

I wish you much success in your journey and hope you stick around for awhile to see what you can really achieve.

The only thing to fear is fear itself. Listen to your body, it will tell you when you have reached where it is comfortable at.
I have found that I will take inches over lbs anyday. Don't know how true it is but have been told that muscle weighs more then fat.
So like previous posts.. you just have to stick to it...
Afteral it is not a diet it's a healthy eating goal.
good food = good mood.

Personally, I think it's fine to ignore the "weigh in" prompt. We give the scale entirely too much meaning and power. It's a tool. No more, no less. It's one way that we get feedback on the changes that are occuring in our bodies, positive or negative. It is not even a very good tool for that. I've gone through periods in the past where I've gotten out of going to the gym and watching what I eat. When I finally got back to the scale, I was actually the same weight or even down a few pounds. The problem with that? My pants were telling me that I was bigger and when I got back to the gym, I was definitely in worse shape. "Losing weight" was actually a sign that I had lost muscle tone and was damaging my health. People start strength training and they frequently put on weight initially- does that mean they're moving in the wrong direction? Absolutely not. And are you really healthier because you lost a few pounds after a stomach flu?

It's fine to skip the scale as long as you're doing it for the right reasons. If you've been more or less sticking to your plan and working in exercise, it can sometimes be better to just keep at it for a while without checking the scale. If I've been on track and I don't feel like the scale is going to be down, I'll skip it because a bad result is just going to be demoralizing. If I'm motivated and sticking to it, I'm not going to give the scale the power to take away that motivation. Now if you have been off track and are avoiding the scale so you don't have to hold yourself accountable, that's another story entirely.

If you view the scale as a tool like any other, then you won't use it if you think it will just hinder you. Do you feel compelled to use your screwdriver all the time simply because it's there? Probably not- you pull it out only when it can help you accomplish something constructive. Same goes with the scale. Far too many people stress about how to weigh in, when to weigh in, what to do if the number goes up or if it hasn't gone down for a few days. Weight loss is about any number of things - getting smaller, getting healthier, getting more fit, etc. The scale doesn't measure any of these things and can only even measure fat loss very crudely. Celebrate victories that really matter, like losing another inch off your waist, running your first mile (or marathon!), shrinking out of your jeans or bringing down your blood pressure numbers. Give some serious thought to your TRUE goals and when you do, you'll probably find that they usually have nothing to do with the scale.

i feel that when I weigh myself and it goes down, it's great. but if it doesn't move or goes up I get so discouraged, not motivated. I need a mental overhaul. I feel that when I weigh in, it does help me stay on track more, but it also hurts when it isn't want I want to see.