Weight Loss, Scales, and Record Keeping

I think that an accurate scale is important for reaching and maintaining weight loss.  This would seem obvious, but for many years, my husband and I used an old spring-type scale.  We liked that it didn't require batteries.  However, it became less accurate as the years went by, and showed me as approximately 7 pounds lighter than I actually was, and it showed my husband at 10 pounds lighter.  It seemed to work perfectly for the kids.  Also, being an analog scale, it did not give a precise weight. 

These qualities were a perfect combination for the denial that occurs when I gained weight.  Because I didn't have an exact weight to begin with, it was easy to pretend that I was never on the low side of 120 (according to that scale I was at one time), and thus I was not gaining weight.  It was easy to trick myself that I was just having a little water retention from  my period.  That five pounds would be gone when my period goes away, right?  In fact, I have learned that I am only an average of 1 pound heavier right before and during my period. 

Eventually, my husband and I grew tired of estimating our weight based on our crummy old scale.  I searched Amazon for a new one, and we argued about it a bit before we settled on the EatSmart Precision Digital Scale.  I didn't like it that it had so many reviews--it looked suspicious to me.  (EatSmart encourages its customers to leave reviews.)  Despite my misgivings, it has turned out be a nice scale with good battery life and seems to be very accurate.  It's easy to read the numbers, even in through early morning pre-coffee brain fog.  If this scale doesn't work out, I'd definitely get another digital. 

I began charting my weight at the end of October. I realized that I needed to lose about 7 pounds--I had probably gained about 10 from my lowest weight back in 2010.  In the past, just charting my weight has frequently been enough to get my habits under control.  Not this time.  I painfully charted a 7 pound weight loss.  I was recording weights irregularly (at least once a week on Sunday, but I'd also include the good ones from other days.)  I decided that this was silly and began only recording my Sunday weight (or a weight from the next available day if I would be away from the scale on Sunday). 

I still weigh myself frequently, but I only record once a week, EVEN IF i get a really good weight on another day.  At the end of the month, I calculate my monthly average weight.  This is extremely useful in spotting a pattern.  I know I could do this online too, but I kind of like just putting it into a little paper book. 

One thing I have learned over the years is that not weighing myself regularly is a huge red flag that I am deep in denial about my habits.  I also think that doing something about it before I hit 140 is a very good sign--in the past, I've had to reach over 160 pounds before I realized how out of shape I had gotten.  I think that's progress.  I think it's a sign that, despite my childhood in Fatland, Texas, combined with the media bombarding me with images of skeletal females, I finally have a  realistic idea about what a good weight for me, a very short female, should be.