From skwigg's journal:
I weighed myself every morning for years. Once I was familiar with the trends, there was nothing new to see. Nothing exciting ever happened. I was amazed when I found myself forgetting to do it. It wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know. I didn’t need the number to confirm whether I felt good, had energy, liked my food, or was treating myself well. In fact, seeing the number could actually undermine those things. Reading Intuitive Eating gave me a new perspective on how a focus on weight could interfere with the whole process and disconnect you from what your body was saying. So, I went from daily weighing to once a week, to once a month, to whenever I feel like it. I’ve gone months without feeling a need to check. Right now, I don't weigh myself at all.
I didn’t realize until I quit the daily weighing and quit documenting numbers on little graphs in apps just how WEIRD and STRESSFUL it made my eating, even when I thought it didn’t affect anything. I would still turn down an invitation to eat out the night before a planned weigh-in, or I’d fret about carbs and sodium based on what they might do to the scale. I wouldn’t want to eat too late at night, or drink too much water at night for fear of throwing the morning reading. All of that was so deeply ingrained and subconscious that I didn’t realize I was doing it until I stopped. Wow, what a difference! The freedom, peace of mind, and deeper connection to my real needs make staying off the scale most of the time a no-brainer.
I have a situation now where even if I remember to get on the scale, an hour later I may not remember what it said. It definitely doesn’t take over my day or change my behavior. I understand now how people can walk away from it forever. When life revolved around the number, it was only because I had some untrue, unquestioned thoughts driving the bus. The reality is that if I’m listening to my body and eating to feel my best, I’m not going to gain weight in an out of control way or lapse back into starvation. Mindfulness and self-care don’t allow for either, and ironically, obsessing over the scale doesn’t prevent either. You tell yourself it’s a safety net but all my worst crazy unfolded while clinging to scale numbers. A focus on my values and how I want to feel produces better results.