For as a long as I can remember, I have always been on some sort of diet. However, they never stuck for too long because one thing or another would set off my emotional eating, and I would be right back to cheeseburgers and lots of ice cream.
My body gains and loses weight pretty evenly, but when I suddenly found myself 30 pounds heavier, I knew I had to make a change. I started running and followed a modified Wheat Belly diet, but still made room for treats like ice cream and wine. I dropped almost 15 pounds fairly quickly, but while I was losing, I realized that one thing I was doing every morning was helping me reach my goal.
I was weighing myself. Every single day, first thing in the morning, before my coffee—and my busy schedule—could mess with my results.
Eventually, I started making excuses for why I couldn’t get on the scale. I had a big dinner. I didn’t get to the gym the day before and my results would be skewed. My pants didn’t feel different, so why should I get on?
Guess what? When I finally did step back on the scale, I found I had gained most of the weight back.
Researchers (and my friends!) have mixed feelings about getting on the scale on a daily basis. It’s easy for things like bowel movements, bloat, lack of sleep, and more to cause the scale to fluctuate a bit every day. However, I found that stepping on the scale every day—or at least every other day for consistency—has been the key to my continued weight loss success. In fact, a 2012 study proved that people who weigh themselves after losing weight have less of a chance of gaining it back.
While getting on the scale isn’t the best part of my morning, it allows me to make better choices throughout the day. If I notice the scale has bumped up significantly, I know to drink more water than usual and watch my portions. If it has stayed the same or gone down, I’m doing something right and will continue on that path.
But you can’t let numbers on a scale dictate your mood or attitude for the day, something I have been guilty of in the past. Understand that weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint, and keeping a positive attitude about it will yield even better results.
