Weighing In On Weight Control
How many times have you tried to lose weight?More than you'd care to count, right? Most of us, at some time, have looked at diet books, diet pills, potions, anything we could find to get rid of unwanted pounds.
My question is not "did any of these methods work, long term?" because I am pretty sure the answer is "no.
"My question is "how often did you weigh yourself, and did it help?"I suppose if you are currently trying to lose weight, you can simply change the "did" to "do and does.
" You should know that I once weighed about 25 pounds more than I do today.
I have been on many different diets, and, for me, none of them worked.
Well, they did work, while I was on them.
But once I stopped the diet, the weight came right back.
While I don't exactly remember all the diets I've been on, I do remember the scales I've been weighed on-both my own, and at the group meetings I used to attend.
And when I belonged to group programs, I remember I wouldn't eat the day of the meeting, because we had to weigh in.
Then, after the meeting I would go out and eat.
I'm afraid I wasn't a very good groupie.
Let me tell you about my experience with owning a scale.
I have one of those professional scales.
You know, the ones you've used in the doctors' office.
Many years ago I conducted my first weight control group out of my living room in State College, PA.
I suppose it's a good one, because it still works.
Over the years, I have found that weighing myself doesn't really help me with controlling my eating.
I used to weigh myself all the time.
I'd weigh myself at the beginning of the day, and then at the end of the day.
Eventually I learned that the numbers on the scale weren't always very helpful.
I always weighed more at the end of the day-who doesn't?But it wasn't fat-it was the weight of all I'd eaten during the day that hadn't been digested.
As I "evolved" my weight control programs, I would only weigh myself every few days.
But even that didn't help me.
See, if I found I had gained weight, I would be depressed, and I would eat more.
Conversely, if I saw I had lost weight, I would be very excited, thinking, "If I did this before, I can do it again.
"Guess what I would do?Yes, I would eat.
So, for me, weighing myself every few days was no help at all! Everyone will discover his or her own weight strategies-healthy or not.
I think, for me, the best thing is to just not weigh myself at all, or perhaps maybe once every few weeks.
The reality is, I know when I have overeaten.
Luckily for me, I don't punish myself, and I try to just move forward.
I have learned to balance my overeating with periods of eating less-and according to my doctors' scale; my weight has stayed the same for the last 10 years (plus or minus a pound or two).
If you are a person who weighs yourself all the time, try giving yourself a week off-you know you deserve it.
Pay attention to how you are feeling, emotionally.
Hopefully, giving yourself this week off will be a liberating experience.
Maybe you will be able to discover something about your behavior.
Maybe you will discover you don't have to be a slave to a scale, and you don't have to be a slave to your diet.
When you learn to trust yourself not to depend on a single number, you will be able to trust yourself to make the correct choices for yourself.
Perhaps...
over time..
you may discover a way to lose weight-a whole new way.
Copyright (c) 2008 At Peace With Food
My question is not "did any of these methods work, long term?" because I am pretty sure the answer is "no.
"My question is "how often did you weigh yourself, and did it help?"I suppose if you are currently trying to lose weight, you can simply change the "did" to "do and does.
" You should know that I once weighed about 25 pounds more than I do today.
I have been on many different diets, and, for me, none of them worked.
Well, they did work, while I was on them.
But once I stopped the diet, the weight came right back.
While I don't exactly remember all the diets I've been on, I do remember the scales I've been weighed on-both my own, and at the group meetings I used to attend.
And when I belonged to group programs, I remember I wouldn't eat the day of the meeting, because we had to weigh in.
Then, after the meeting I would go out and eat.
I'm afraid I wasn't a very good groupie.
Let me tell you about my experience with owning a scale.
I have one of those professional scales.
You know, the ones you've used in the doctors' office.
Many years ago I conducted my first weight control group out of my living room in State College, PA.
I suppose it's a good one, because it still works.
Over the years, I have found that weighing myself doesn't really help me with controlling my eating.
I used to weigh myself all the time.
I'd weigh myself at the beginning of the day, and then at the end of the day.
Eventually I learned that the numbers on the scale weren't always very helpful.
I always weighed more at the end of the day-who doesn't?But it wasn't fat-it was the weight of all I'd eaten during the day that hadn't been digested.
As I "evolved" my weight control programs, I would only weigh myself every few days.
But even that didn't help me.
See, if I found I had gained weight, I would be depressed, and I would eat more.
Conversely, if I saw I had lost weight, I would be very excited, thinking, "If I did this before, I can do it again.
"Guess what I would do?Yes, I would eat.
So, for me, weighing myself every few days was no help at all! Everyone will discover his or her own weight strategies-healthy or not.
I think, for me, the best thing is to just not weigh myself at all, or perhaps maybe once every few weeks.
The reality is, I know when I have overeaten.
Luckily for me, I don't punish myself, and I try to just move forward.
I have learned to balance my overeating with periods of eating less-and according to my doctors' scale; my weight has stayed the same for the last 10 years (plus or minus a pound or two).
If you are a person who weighs yourself all the time, try giving yourself a week off-you know you deserve it.
Pay attention to how you are feeling, emotionally.
Hopefully, giving yourself this week off will be a liberating experience.
Maybe you will be able to discover something about your behavior.
Maybe you will discover you don't have to be a slave to a scale, and you don't have to be a slave to your diet.
When you learn to trust yourself not to depend on a single number, you will be able to trust yourself to make the correct choices for yourself.
Perhaps...
over time..
you may discover a way to lose weight-a whole new way.
Copyright (c) 2008 At Peace With Food
