The Oprah diet of the week book that was on the best seller list last christmas, You. On a Diet, the focus on that book was all about Waist management and not Weight Management...

Hahahaha, good point.

Again though, I don't take issue with the long-term trend in weight. If you're dieting that should most definitely be heading downward.

Yea, I read that book.

You know what else has a scale mentality?

snakes...

I kinda like the scale mentality. I feel like it kicks me into gear when I get a bit off track. However, the best measure I go by is when I have to put another notch in my belt or buy new pants. That's the best feeling.

Weighing myself every morning is always an addiction to me. I understand it may not be "right" or "correct" but it is always motivation for me not to cheat during the day. Now, I am also the type that doesn't freak out if I gain a few because I do understand that the scale isn't always right

But, like I said....when I get on the scale and after a month I am 10-15 pounds lighter....it is a great feeling and one that KEEPS me going

Right, like I said.... some can handle it just fine mentally.

Personally, I get more thrill out of waiting weeks to step on the scale and see a lot of progress rather than watching it tick away slowly.

It's like when I was a kid on Christmas Eve. I didn't want to stay awake staring at the clock.... it took forever. I'd rather sleep and let the time fly by.

That's my only gripe with the challenges here. I like doing the challenges, because it gives me some extra motivation to get my exercise and try new things, but I dislike the weekly gain/loss points. Some weeks I see a lot of downward movement on the scale, others I get no movement or a jump up, but over the long term, it keeps going down. Having a "gain" one week doesn't bother me, because I know it's water - but I hate losing the points. :P

I keep trying to come up with a way to do a challenge without weekly weigh-in points, but no luck so far.

you can suggest a challenge that's activity based... or inches based... or vegetable based... or water based... really whatever youoc an dream up... those have all been done before...

I meant one of the big comprehensive ones, where there are activity, nutrition, and weight components, but with a longer-term focus. I agree there are plenty of limited-scope challenges that don't have a "scale mentality."

Bookmarked!

I'm so bloody weary about moving away from the scale, but after a month of only losing like 3 Kg but looking thinner in pictures, I think something may be up. But what could possibly make me weigh more- muscle doesn't grow that fast does it? And if it does, surely not that much?

Bleh, I guess I'll weigh and measure myself every two weeks, pics every month and go from there. The only reason I'm now convinced is that every thing you just talked about is what I experienced or am experiencing. :-(

Thanks for the help!

I've had to remove the scale entirely from my weight-loss adventures. To start with, I'm 5'11" and I weight 180 pounds so I'm right on the verge of "normal" weight, but I still don't like the way I look.

I think a lot of my difficulties come from the fact that I was a soccer player for so long that to me, any body type that doesn't reflect that same shape is bad (I know, I know...an unrealistic image to a certain extent) so I've had to forgo scales in favor of other, as somebody put it so aptly, WAIST management methods.

I found one here Weight loss - dieting - your ideal body size but I don't really have "skinny jeans." What I'm shooting for instead, but similarly, is to drop my waist back down to a 32 vs. a 36. So I'm giving up the scale in favor of a pair of jeans four years old. They're out of fashion so once I get into them comfortably I'll go and buy some new ones!

Yes, it can.

I weigh myself every week or so, but it's not that I'm obsessed with the weight its self, it's that I can't really see visually if it is coming off. That's not to say that I don't care about my weight at all, but it's more important for me to look good than weigh good.