Breaking the Scale Obsession (So I can become obsessed with other things like geeky TV)

Fever dream or best idea ever for a Great Fitness Experiment? Admit it: she’s getting an awesome workout. (Click through to see the above video if it doesn’t show up in your e-mail or reader.)

Lying feverish and delusional in bed makes you think funny things. At first it was just stuff like “Can I be totally sweat-soaked and still be freezing?” and “I wonder if that noise means the children have emptied every cereal box in the house into a big pile and are jumping into it like leaves?” Answers: sadly, yes and even more sadly, yes. But as I got sicker, my brain got so much more fun. First it compelled me to watch every episode of Surviving the Cut thinking I might come up with some good ideas for future Great Fitness Experiments. (Let me ask the Gym Buddies how they feel about having their hands and feet bound and then thrown into a pool for “drown proofing” and I’ll get back to you.) Then it made me not only watch all the episodes of the first season of The Dollhouse but made me so consumed by it that it’s all I’ve been able to think about for three days.

(Sidenote: I often talk about how I don’t watch TV and this is why. It’s not because I don’t like TV. It’s because I freaking love it and get so sucked in – reality shows are my weakness – that I will never get anything else done. Hence it is a pleasure I reserve only for when I am bed-bound. Or in strange motels where I’m trying not to wonder about the stains on the bedspread.)

But the weirdest fever-thought of all was strange because of how completely normal it felt to me. Weigh yourself. See, after 3 days of pretty much not eating anything thanks to a throat that felt like I’d swallowed glass, I was sure to have lost weight. I used to have thoughts like this all the time. Back when I was a scale junkie, I actually remember getting the stomach flu – the violent kind where you vomit so hard it hits the toilet and splatters back out at you – and thinking “Yay, I’m going to drop like 10 pounds!” (Admit it: I am not the only one who has ever had this thought.) This time however, I could recognize the insanity. Here I am shivering so hard my teeth are knocking together like castanets and I’m happy? Because I might have lost a few temporary pounds that will inevitably come back on the second I start re-hydrating?

The grip of the scale is a hard one to break for some of us. I’ve heard tales about women who can step on the scale, shrug and say, “Eh, it’s just information.” before going normally about their day. I was never one of those women. I was the kind who had to strip buck naked, wait until I’d peed and pooped, place the scale on the exact same tile on my floor and then perform a weird toe ritual until the digital number popped up. And that number would set the mood for the rest of my day. Lower and I was flying! Higher and I was a failure at life! The emotional rollercoaster was both baffling (I’m a smart girl, right? How can I get so affected by a stupid number?) and heartbreaking.

Since converting to Intuitive Eating – some days it does feel like religion – I’ve mostly stopped weighing myself. The few times I have, like on my 1-year mark of being an Intuitive Eater, I’ve been comforted to see that my weight has only fluctuated a few ounces. In fact, not weighing myself made me think, just for a moment on that sick day, that I could weigh myself again and that maybe this time it would be okay. I went back and forth about it for several hours (days?) before realizing that the very fact that I wanted to weigh myself while sick was evidence of how, well, sick the thought was. Clearly it was not “just a number” to me or else I wouldn’t have even thought of it at that juncture. Sigh. And also, my legs were so weak that standing guaranteed falling.

Will I ever be one of those women who is totally at peace with the scale? Probably not. But at least I know it now. And I also know that Joss Whedon is a genius and between my deep fangirl love of Firefly, Buffy and now Dollhouse I kinda want to lock him in a closet until he comes up with another TV show for me to obsess over. (Serious question: Is there such a thing as an addictive personality? I swear I have one.)

What’s your relationship with the scale like? Have you ever thought about your weight during a wildly inappropriate moment? (Also true: I weighed myself immediately upon returning home from the hospital after having my babies. I mean, new babies are nice and all but 15 pounds lost in 1 day? How often do you get that?! Yes, that makes me a little sad now.) Anyone else want to fly their Geek Flag and tell me what TV shows make them obsessed?

P.S. A HUGE thank you to all of you who sent me well-wishes (or just thought them!) – I’m feeling like 85.3% better. And the remaining 14.7% is pretty much all green snot packed up in my sinuses.

81 Comments

  1. You’re so not alone in the crazy scale relationship. At my worst I would weigh myself every time I went to the bathroom- because it was in there and I could. Being sick is awful, I’ve thought ‘well at least I’ll be losing weight!’ on more than one occasion…when you think there’s an up side to getting food poisoning that gives you ongoing IBS issues you know you’re losing it.
    I hope you feel better soon! But in the mean time enjoy the tv 🙂 xxx

    • Thanks Claire! I hear you about the IBS stuff too. I hope yours is getting better – that is a miserable condition:(

  2. I’m the opposite of scale obsessed- I’m obsessed with NOT weighing myself. During both my pregnancies I refused to let them weigh me! The nurses were so uncomfortable with my “I decline to be weighed”, but hey- I’m obsessed. So after having #2 I bravely weighed myself right as I started a serious exercise program, and it was not too bad, I thought, and I had just had a baby. After exercising religiously for several months, I am smaller than ever! EVER! I have never in my life been a size 6!!! Hurray!!!! Weighed myself, just to see how much I’ve lost….you know where this is going right? I’ve gained 5 pounds! Whatever! I’m done with the scale! I have better things to do with my very rare free moments (like watch Survivor or the Bachelor…)

    • Yay Anna! This makes me so happy to read! So glad you chucked the scale and can see that you’ve gained a lot of muscle and lost a lot of inches so who cares what you weigh!

  3. …aaaaand she’s back (insert sigh of relief)
    That video is hilarious! I love the commentary!
    I’ve been doing my best to avoid the scale. For the most part, I’m happy with my body! There are many parts of it that I LOVE so why not focus on those instead of a relative number? Because it can certainly dictate your mood! I feel you!

    • Thanks Esmemerrie! (And this is totally irrelevant but you have the prettiest name. If I ever have another daughter – which I’m not going to, uterus is closed! – I would totally want to name her your name.

      • ahaha awe thanks!! 😀 I think this calls for a moment of honesty though 😉 When I was in grade 3, I looked at my initials (JME) I realized that if they were switched around, it would read JEM! I was entranced, and from that day on tried to convince my family and friends to call me JEM. Needless to say it didn’t stick, but I loved the name Esme and decided I should add it to my name, and since no one out in blog-land knows me by anything different, why not go with it!

  4. I’m glad you’re feeling better! And your kids sounds hilariously mischievous, I wish I had a mountain of cereal to play in…

  5. I’m so glad you’re feeling better ! Hopefully the extra 14.7% won’t take long 🙂

    I haven’t weighed myself in ages but have had the same thought – it is crazy making.

    The TV show I’ve been obsessed with lately (I’m buying a blu-ray player especially for the blu-rays when they come out – how’s that for obsessed ?) is Frozen Planet. I know it’s a documentary so now you know I’m a geek !

    I do love Joss Whedon’s work – Buffy; Firefly etc. I started watching Castle just because it had Nathon Fillion in it

  6. You’re totally not alone. Every time I get sick I am a teeny bit glad because I hope I will lose weight. But I don’t own a scale and I notice my weight increasing every time I weigh myself at the gym, even though I am dropping clothing sizes! It’s a bit disconcerting. I hope you feel better soon!

    • That’s a great thing – it means you are building muscle, girl! Ditch the scale and focus on how good you feel:)

  7. I have, on more than one occasion, tried to weigh myself before and after a large …erm … bowel movement. I always think it’s going to be some significant drop in weight, and it never ever is. I don’t understand that — I feel so much lighter, but apparently I’m not! I don’t think I’m obsessed with the scale, but I probably think about it a good deal more than I should.

    So glad you’re feeling better!

    • Hahaha – I’ve totally done that too! And you’re right it’s never as, um, helpful as I think it will be!

  8. Glad you’re better! Scales are so addicting, but if I don’t weigh myself periodically, my weight starts to creep up. For me, the number doesn’t make me sad. It just motivates me to work harder at clean eating. I’m a personal trainer and when the number is higher than I would like, it gives me an opportunity to experiment and then share whatever works with my clients.

    • I love this: ” It just motivates me to work harder at clean eating” If I could have a brain transplant, I would like yours please:)

  9. So glad to hear you’re feeling better!
    Unfortunately, that stupid number on the scale has more influence on my mood than I’d like. So on days when I think that I ate too much the day(s) before, I don’t weigh myself. Sometimes I just don’t want to know.
    A few months ago, I had some kind of stomach bug, that lasted exactly two days. Being the curious person that I am, I just had to weigh myself. I lost two pounds, that came back quickly, of course. The crazy part of my brain was a little bummed, that the stomach bug didn’t stay longer. Well, at least I realize now that this idea is crazy. That’s progress!

  10. I was at my last doctor appt (7th child) before being induced. I was 223 pounds. The day I was induced I was 223 pounds. My 6 week postpartum check up, I was 223 pounds. I was dumbfounded. I had delivered six babies and was always within 10 or 15 pounds of my prepregnancy weight of 132 pounds. (I had bad edema with my pregnancies.) My last pregnancy left me with a scale obsession and wrecked metabolism. I’d do it again!

    Good to read you are feeling better!

    • It’s weird how every pregnancy is different isn’t it? But those little miracles are absolutely worth it!

  11. I thought about YOU …. not the scale 🙂
    I was sick for 24 full hours —-first time in over 15 years.

    we are cybersicktwins.

  12. I’m glad you are feeling better! I was wondering about you yesterday!

    As for the scale. We have a deep and unhealthy long standing relationship. WHile I haven’t been guilty of weighing myself multiple times per day I generally do step on once a day. I’ve gone through time where I didn’t and surprise surprise my weight stayed pretty much the same.

    While I still do weigh in I find that my reactions to big or little changes aren’t very strong anymore. I just shrug and say “Oh well, this doesn’t define who I am.” That being said there is still a little glee at seeing it go down but that is also paired with the fear of it spiraling out of control. I don’t want to be sick anymore!

    As for being fever type sick. I too know the excitement that comes with the weight loss of that, however most of it is usually water and food “weight” and within a few days of eating normally it is all back and i just have to deal with the frustration of still feeling weaker on the mat or in the gym!

    • “i just have to deal with the frustration of still feeling weaker on the mat or in the gym!” Yep – that’s going nto be me today. Wish me luck!

  13. I had to laugh at your “serious” question–sorry, it’s nothing personal–as I have OCD and a totally addictive personality. When I like/do something, I want to do it all the time, whether that’s healthy or not. It becomes a ritualistic thing and doing less than what I did before–whether it’s watching a TV show, riding the stationary bike or weighing myself–brings on anxiety or angst. With that said, I have to temper my addictions, so to speak. I have to be conscious that I only exercise a certain amount of time, read a certain amount of blogs, weigh myself a certain amount of times a week–once, if at all.

    If the number is down, the “sick” part of me is happy. If it’s up–which would technically be a good thing and something I’m honestly striving for–the “sick” part of me gets competitive and wants the number back down. I don’t want to lose weight, but I want that “wiggle room” that dropping a couple of pounds affords me (building in an excuse to sit around watching more bad TV right?)

    My point is not to sound like a psycho, but to say that I relate. I know what my weaknesses are and what feeds into those addictions, so to speak, so I know what I have to be on alert for. I’m glad you’re feeling better!

    • You don’t sound like a psycho at all – I can totally relate to everything you wrote. Esp. the competitive part. And the “wiggle room” part. Oh and all of it. You can take the girl out of the ED but getting the ED thoughts out of the girl is a much longer process, I’m discovering!

  14. I will help you lock Joss in that closet. He makes the best TV ever. I am a TV junkie, though not so much with reality TV. I like Sci-Fi and detective shows (not CSI though, I find they really focus on the violence and I can’t handle it). Best new show this year is Once Upon a Time.

    The scale…Sometimes I’m okay with it, sometimes it destroys me. Not sure I’ll ever make peace with it unfortunately.

  15. You can do it!!! I know, cuz I did. (for the most part…) Your description of your scale habits sounded exactly like me. Back when I was 104 pounds. Stark naked, nothing IN or ON my body. Line the scales up exactly on the correct tile. Toes in the exact position. Weigh. Get off. Get back on to make sure it wasn’t a fluke. Anything over 104 (including ounces) resulted in NOTHING passing my lips until a true 104 was again achieved. (I onlyallowed myself to weigh 104 because I had a mamoplasty and asked the doc what they each weighed and factored them in!)

    And now – I weigh once in awhile. (Although I still line the scale up the right way…) I weigh more than I ever have (unless preggers…) and… I’m ok with it. There is a moment of panic, but then I remember I’m wearing size 6 comfortably. I look good – no skin over skeleton stuff going on. I’m trim, toned, have better muscle tone than I’ve EVER had (thanks again T-Tapp) and I get off the scales WITHOUT writing the number on the calendar hanging directly above it (where I record my daily tapping) and go about my day.

    You CAN do it!

    (And yes, there are addictive personalities – my sister, myself and my oldest son are living proof…..) YEA for feeling better! D3 and Oil of Oregano saved my life when I got the screaming heebie jeebies!

    • Hmm – I already take D3 but I’ve never even heard of Oil of Oregano. What does that one help with? And, for the record, the gym buddies and I have continued to do the primary back stretch (and sometimes the whole 15 min workout) after every single workout. Not ’cause we have to but because, well, it just feels good! So even if it doesn’t help us lose inches or whatever, it’s a great stretch.

      • Yup, Primary Back Stretch is a pretty great move. Feels good…

        Oil of Oregano is a natural anti-biotic that works well to kill all manner of nasty bugs. I prefer to take the capsules, although you can just take the essential oil. (But it’s an intense flavor…) Even with the capsules I burp “pizza” for awhile after. My dil caught a really bad cold at work on Friday. I had her up her D3 and take 3 OoO capsules 3 times daily and today she is feeling Great!

  16. I used to be a daily weigher, and I never was affected by the number in a mindset kind of way. As in, y mood wasn’t dictated by what the scale said. But, since I’ve stopped weighing myself regularly, I have noticed that it probably did affect my food choices and my working out and whatnot. Or it affected me in some intangible way. Does that make any sense? Like weighing myself just made me think that the number meant something, and I’d think about it all day, but my mood was never affected? Am I crazy?

    Anyway, my point is that I dont’ weigh myself daily, but weekly or every other week to make sure my weight isn’t dropping. And yes, I’ve definitely done the sick weigh before. That’s all kinds of wrong, I agree, but whatcha gonna do, you know?

    • No you’re not crazy – I completely understand what you mean about not realizing it’s impact on you until you quit doing it.

  17. I always tell people to stay off the scale. Weight is a worthless measurement. If you can, buy yourself some body fat calipers or a tape measure, or at least take pictures to measure your progress. You’ll be less likely to get discouraged.

    • I do have my body fat percentage taken on a fairly regular basis and do track my measurements. I’ve been very consistent for the past year or so – which is encouraging or discouraging depending on the day;)

    • Kimmi Page Posted on Han Solo.He can’t hear you over the sound of how badass he is.He shotos first.He gets the girl, even if he is looking a little scruffy.His butt is magical in a pair of pants with Corellian bloodstripes.

  18. The scale is a useful tool when used in a sane manor. If you want to use clothes or other ways of judging your fitness, that’s OK.

  19. Um, I used to pack my scale and take it on vacations with me. Because, you know, I couldn’t go a week without weighing myself. A little over a year ago I gave up weighing myself and that lasted a good 8 months, and then found that I gained about 10 pounds (which is not a ton, but when you are 5’3 and on the small side already, it means your clothes don’t fit any more) when I finally stepped on the scale again. It’s odd, I knew I was eating too much and that I was going to gain weight, but somehow I let that be “okay” since I didn’t know my weight. But when I do weigh myself, I am less likely to over eat. So I need some arbitrary number to remind me to treat myself with kindness (as in, not allowing myself to binge on sugar)? Sigh. I can’t make sense of it.

  20. Yeah, I used to live for those all too frequent stomach bugs I got when I was dangerously thin. Crap immune system a trade-off for loosing 5lbs overnight? Alright! These days I don’t weigh myself but I do admit last time I had a stomach bug I was bummed my jeans weren’t any looser at the end of it. Sigh. Well at least I can still torture myself without the scale! Honestly though, kicking the scale was one of the best things I’ve ever done. I still remember running out of the bathroom in a towel freaking out because my roommate had broken my scale and I wasn’t going to be able to weigh myself that morning. I bought a new one that day.

    Glad you didn’t give in! It only gets easier over the years to resist that urge. These days even when other ED symptoms are high I have no desire to weigh myself ever again. I count that as a victory.

    Also, omg, Firefly! Loooove. Joss Whedon is fantastic. At the moment I’m obsessed with Walking Dead. I know you hate horror movies and so do I. This show occasionally crosses the line where it gets hard for me to watch (especially since our time to watch is normally during dinner!) but for the most part I love it.

    • I think that is an incredible victory! I love it! I hope to be able to say the same someday. And I’ll have to check out Walking Dead – haven’t heard of it.

      • Yup, zombies are kind of my favorite thing at the moment, lol! They just aired the “mid-season finale” of the 2nd season. Soooo good.

  21. After breaking up with the scale a decade or so I find I’m flirting again… I THINK I’m using it more for positive motivation but need to watch out. I found that with menopause, my normal “intuitive” plan wasn’t working quite the same way, so am doing more tracking than I used to. It’s good to remember how easy it is to get nutty about it though, so thanks for the great sense of perspective.

    And good luck on that last snot-packed 14.7%, hope you feel 100% ASAP!

    • Yes I’ve heard a lot of women say that just when they’ve finally figured out their bodies and made peace with them that menopause comes and royally jacks everything up. So looking forward to that one… Get it all figured out for me, please??

  22. You don’t need to make peace with the scale. You need to make peace with yourself. 🙂

    After 7 years of ED and living by the numbers, I got rid of the scale when I decided to choose life over thinness (~1999). Now I weigh myself about 3x/yr and even that feels unnecessary. If clothes no longer fit, then I might try to eat healthier and make exercise a priority (3-5x/wk), but my weight no longer has bearing on my happiness. Getting rid of the scale was a big part in learning to trust my body.

  23. I’ve done that. Been excited about going on the scale after being really sick and being ecstatic about the weight loss.

    Sorry about you being sick girl. I’ve been checked out mentally recently. So I’m trying to get back on my feet.

  24. LOOOOOVE the video!!!!!!
    And so glad you’re feeling better!
    I too have weighed myself after having the flu (stomach or otherwise), and after giving birth. The after-birth weigh-in, though, was more out of curiosity. (The baby only weighed 6 lbs, 7 oz, how much did all that other stuff weigh?!?! Apparently 12 pounds.)
    I think you know my geeky TV pleasure is “Doctor Who,” and has been since I was a kid. I mean, I used to go to conventions, dressed up, and read magazines devoted to the show.
    (Um, OK, I STILL read the magazines…)

  25. I’m totally on board with the ritual – it’s silly but I can’t just hop on it.

    I weigh about 1-3 times per week. When I don’t weigh at least once a week is when I start to get in trouble and get in danger of gaining unchecked. I can’t say it’s completely a number, but I’ve learned that it’s a measurement I need to take and it doesn’t have to ruin my day.

    Losing 10 lbs of sick weight is actually what jump started me from 240 to lose more. I knew it was unhealthy to only eat crackers and drink gatorade, but I looked awesome! If I could do it that way unable to barely move, surely I could do it when I had a functional body that could exercise!!! (and the rest is history…)

    We are currently watching Scrubs on Netflix. I love it! (And Joss is definitely one of my faves too)

    • Oooh I used to love Scrubs! Hilarious!! I even brought it to the hospital with me when I was in labor with my 4th kid. Although the stinker popped out in an hour so I didn’t get a chance to watch it:(

  26. First of all, that woman on the treadmill is amazing! Such talent. I have to wonder if she used to be a dancer and/or ice skater. I would break several bones in my body if I attempted any of the moves she managed to not only stay upright for, but made look smooth and easy.

    Secondly, I have the scale addiction, which is why I’ve worked at weaning myself off of it. I used to get on several times a day and my mood would change with every change of the number on the scale. Soon I was down to once a day, then three times per week, then twice per week, then once per week. I’m finally down to twice monthly and may even scale back to once per month.

    Sometimes I think I could handle weighing more often, but I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever be someone who can consider it “just information.”

    • I secretly really want to try some of that treadmill dancing even though I will likely break bones too. It’s oddly graceful!

  27. my scale obsession sounds weirdly similar to yours…
    reality TV – yes, it totally sucks me in too! all I can say is good thing that despite having satellite and 5000 channels we don’t get bravo because real housewives (beverly hills!) and top chef marathons destroy my productivity!

    • Thankfully I have never gotten into any of the Real Housewives franchises! And thankfully I don’t have satellite tv because my parents do and when I was at their house for Thanksgiving I discovered a show all about the mall cops at the Mall of America. Could not stop watching it.

  28. Charlotte, so glad you are feeling better! It stinks to be sick!

    BTW, that lady in the video sure has found a great way to make her cardio fun but I would most likely hurt myself falling or tripping myself! 😉

    I use the scale each day but I also use clothes. With age & the hormone issues, things are so different & I do have to keep closer watch on things so I keep on using it & clothes to keep track.

    Yes, I did have times when I let it get the best of me & yes, maybe still do at times but the times now are just PO’d times with hormone crap & how I can do everything right & still have weigh gain due to that…. don’t get old!!!! 😉

    • LOL. We’re all getting old! From the day we’re born! I’m just glad you are figuring it out for me so that when the time comes I’ll know where to turn for advice about menopause!

  29. Glad you’re feeling better, Charlotte!

    And way to resist the siren call of the scale–
    she is a beeyotch,
    and never has your best interests in mind.

    🙂

    When my roomie moved out,
    her old scale got unburied…
    I may have been weighing myself over the last couple of weeks.

    It’s just so hard to stop!
    And then you beat yourself up because of three stupid numbers,
    but still go back for more punishment the next day–
    it’s idiotic.

    Maybe I’ll take that scale outside and smash it with a sledgehammer.

    • If you do, I must see pictures! I wanted to do the same to my scale but if you recall I ended up just removing the batteries and donating it, lol.

  30. I am SO excited for you that you had the thought but recognized it as being unhealthy and didn’t act on it! THAT is huge – both recognizing it as being unhealthy and choosing not to act on it, but also this: “Because I might have lost a few temporary pounds that will inevitably come back on the second I start re-hydrating?” — THIS is, even though you were tempted to weigh, still putting the number and the scale in perspective!! AND while you were sick and delusional from fever! Yay for you!

  31. Thank you for this post. I’ve been an obsessive scale-user my whole life, and while making a concerted effort to get away from it, the evil thing still sits in my bathroom closet calling my name from time to time. This morning I had a weigh-in at work (I’m in the Army) and I’ve literally been obsessing over it for three weeks (since they announced the weigh-in…and on the Monday after Thanksgiving, no less!). The day I can just look at my weight as a number will be a sweet victory…and even though I don’t know if I can change that part of my self-image, I have to try because it defies logic that m “happy weight” is forever just five pounds less than whatever I happen to be.

    • Boy do I relate to this: ” I have to try because it defies logic that m “happy weight” is forever just five pounds less than whatever I happen to be.” !! And you’re right – it’s completely illogical.

  32. Glad you’re on the mend… and Joss is brilliant, indeed! Please tell me you’ve seen Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog!

    • I have!!! Dr. Horrible cracks me up. And reminds me of They Might Be Giants.

      • Hmm, I hadn’t thought of that but I can sorta see it. My husband and I sing/play the Dr. H soundtrack quite often. Good stuff. 🙂 Dollhouse is great, you need to check out S2 at some point!

  33. So glad to hear you are feeling better!

    As for the scale issues….blech…I am still dealing with them. In fact I was drooling over a new scale at the store that could measure your body weight, water levels, fat percentage and other fun and fascinating things. Run away, run away!

  34. I am also the “strip naked-toe-ritual-same-tile” weight watcher. During the summer, when I was exercising psychotically, sometimes twice a day for hours at a time, I weighed myself every day and my mood was definitely effected/determined by this number. I knew with the school year approaching (I work at a school) my work out mania was coming to an end, that my workouts would be harder to achieve and definitely not twice a day. Since then, I have laid low on checking my weight so obsessively, mostly because I already feel like I failed, I already obsess enough about the loss of definition in my arms. My relationship with the scale goes in waves but with winter approaching I have given myself permission to just be okay with the possibility I might put on some weight. I liken myself to a bear in hibernation. And, yes, I have totally thought about losing weight because I am sick. Isn’t in the Devil Wears Prada where she says “I’m one flu away from goal weight.” Totally sick, but I get it. Thanks for sharing.

  35. I won’t talk about the scale, because it’s a sad hard thing for me, but I can tell you that I’m also a big BIG Firefly fan and also loved Dollhouse.
    I love watching tele!

    So good to read that you’re feeling better. Take care

  36. nothing wrong with scientific curiosity of how much things weigh, like before and then after you pee to see how much really fits in that bladder that after a few children seems so much smaller. Or before and after childbirth to see how much of “that” is baby and how much just the yucky stuff that fell out with it. Or how much water one can lose after 2 days of vomiting. It’s just like my kids playing with my kitchen scale weighing apples, paper clips, screws, and baby sister. Nothing wrong with an inquisitive mind…right?

  37. I weigh myself pretty regularly, to keep track I suppose, and really just cos otherwise I don’t think I’m very good at recognising when I’m eating a bit too much one week and probably piling on the pounds unknowingly. Thankfully it rarely effects my mood, and I know I’m definitely not obsessive about it. How do I know? Because the one thing I latched on to in this post was the mention of Joss Whedon. Scales, weight? Pfft whatever… let’s talk about Buffy and Dollhouse instead! 🙂

  38. I threw my scale out not because of an obsession but because I didn’t have room for it in the RV. I’m sort of wishing I didn’t. It motivated me more than I like to admit. I just stepped on one at my friend’s house and I had gained 8 pounds! Ha ha!!! I was a little in shock although I could feel it in the waist of my pants I just refused to acknowledge it. I’m not bummed but I’m not excited either. I really do need to start moving more. One workout a week is not enough to keep me lean or sane. 😉

  39. Pretty much me. Since August I have put on inches and 3 or 4 pounds. Doesn’t sound like much, but it really bothers me. I went to the doctor last week. They conveniently have the scale on one side and the number thingie around the corner. I thought, “YES! Now I won’t see the number and be freaked by it”. But, when I went into the room and sat on the table, right where I could see the computer the nurse was typing the info in, I saw the number. Can’t get it out of my head. Between the pounds and inches and my difficulty in not eating like a hog, I am a mess today. Christmas break is done and I go back to work tomorrow and feel like everyone will see how fat I am. Yeah, I am a mess.

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