Reviewed by Dietitian Karen Ansel, M.S., RDN
Photo: Tim Robberts/Getty Images. Design: EatingWell/Cassie Basford.
I recently found myself lamenting to a friend about how all of my jeans were too tight. “I really just need to lose like 10 or 15 pounds,” I told her, half expecting her to respond with what many other people would say: “Same.”
Instead, she told me something surprising. She doesn’t own a scale. In fact, she never weighs herself at home, only at the doctor’s office. Rather than zeroing in on her weight, she focuses on maintaining her workout routine, eating lots of veggie-packed foods, and on how her clothes fit. If she’s suddenly feeling a little less energetic or notices that her favorite sweater isn’t fitting quite right, she makes adjustments to her lifestyle.
I was impressed, to say the least. I feel like I am constantly swinging between my “in shape” weight and my “I need to lose a few pounds” weight. The number on the scale can be discouraging, even when I’m hitting all my other health goals. It can dictate what, or how much, I eat that day—regardless of what I’ve actually planned for my meals. Most importantly, though, it can make me feel really self-conscious about my body, even if I just hit a new personal best in my last workout.
When the number on the scale isn’t where you expect it to be, it can be extremely frustrating, says Kathleen Benson, RDN, an El Paso, Texas-based registered dietitian. That can overshadow progress in your well-being, lab values and performance. So, even when people are proud of their healthy habits and see improvement in other areas, that vexing number can sap the joy of it all, she says. And when tracking your weight leads to negative emotions, affects your food choices or becomes an overly important measure of your health and fitness, you might be in a toxic relationship with your scale.
Realizing that this was me, hands-down, I’ve decided that it’s finally time to kick my scale to the curb. Here’s how Benson suggested I track my progress instead.
How Often Is Too Often to Check the Scale?
While some people can use their weight purely as data for tracking their health, that’s not the case for everyone, says Benson. Instead, many people have difficulty untangling the idea that losing weight is always a “positive” and gaining weight is a “negative,” she explains. In those cases, checking your weight daily can be far too extreme. Ditto for expecting the number on the scale to always decline. “Body composition doesn’t change overnight, and so to expect to always see a decline is unrealistic and unkind to oneself,” she says.
How often is it too often to check your numbers? It may be daily, weekly or even monthly if it leads to negative self-talk and impacts your mood.
What to Focus On Instead of “Dieting”
If you’re like me and know you need to make some lifestyle changes to feel your best, what tweaks should you make? Rather than focusing on cutting calories, skipping meals or letting the scale dictate your food choices, Benson recommends concentrating on your plate. She suggests tuning into one meal at a time and creating a balance of fiber-rich carbs, protein and fruits or vegetables. Start by loading half your plate with nonstarchy vegetables and/or fruit. Then, divide the rest of your plate in half, filling one part with lean protein and the other with fiber-rich carbohydrates, like quinoa, brown rice, whole-wheat couscous or starchy vegetables like a baked potato or sweet potato. She’s also a huge fan of the Mediterranean diet. This tried-and-true healthy eating plan focuses on whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables and olive oil, with fish as its primary source of protein.
Benson also recommends tracking your hunger and fullness cues by using a 1-to-10 scale to tune in to your true hunger level. A rating of 1 would mean that you’re absolutely starving, while 10 is feeling overly stuffed, she says. Ideally, you want to always remain in a 3-to-7 range so that you’re not ravenous but you’re still satisfied. Tuning into your hunger cues and balancing your plate is more sustainable and easier to maintain in the long run than constantly operating at a calorie deficit. This will also help you avoid yo-yo-ing back and forth between restricting what you eat every time you put on a few pounds and becoming more lax with your food choices after you’ve lost weight.
Related: What Is Intuitive Eating?
How to Track Your Progress Without the Scale
Rather than relying on a specific number on the scale as your health goal, Benson suggests taking a more well-rounded approach. She recommends setting goals that focus on your physical well-being, like hitting a certain number of days at the gym or weekly minutes of exercise. She also encourages ensuring that you’re getting enough sleep at night and tracking your day-to-day energy levels.
If you’re working out regularly, setting realistic exercise goals—like increasing the amount of weight or reps you do or beating your best time or distance—can also be helpful indicators that you’re getting stronger and healthier. While you might not see the results right away, your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels can also reflect that your lifestyle changes are positively impacting your health. For some people, noticing how your favorite clothes fit can help, too.
With that in mind, my “resolution” for 2025 is to ditch my scale at home. Instead, I’ll focus on increasing my active days, Benson’s food plan suggestions and being comfortable in my favorite jeans again.
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