Losing Weight - Weighing In

[Guest guest]

A Free-Reprint Article Written by: Larry Tobin

Article Title:

Losing Weight - Weighing In

See TERMS OF REPRINT to the end of the article.

Article Description:

Part of our ultimate goal in doing all this habit changing

is to lose weight, of course. Part of that is the practice

of weighing in and seeing what our progress has been.

Unfortunately, this is another area where people too

frequently miss out on developing a good habit, and find

instead discouragement and frustration. However, just like

all other problems, there is an explanation and a habit that

can help solve it.

Additional Article Information:

===============================

872 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line

Distribution Date and Time: 2010-08-05 10:30:00

Written By: Larry Tobin

Copyright: 2010

Contact Email: mailto:larry.tobin@...

For more free-reprint articles by Larry Tobin, please visit:

http://www.thePhantomWriters.com/recent/author/larry-tobin.html

=============================================

Special Notice For Publishers and Webmasters:

=============================================

HTML Copy-and-Paste and TEXT Copy-and-Paste

Versions Of Article Are Available at:

http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/db/t/losing-weight-weighing-in.shtml#g\

et_code

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Losing Weight - Weighing In

Copyright © 2010 Larry Tobin

Habit Changer

http://www.HabitChanger.com/

Part of our ultimate goal in doing all this habit changing is to

lose weight, of course. We've talked about making goals and

keeping our eye on them, and how to set achievable benchmarks for

ourselves as we do what we can to make ourselves healthier. Part

of that is the practice of weighing in and seeing what our

progress has been. Unfortunately, this is another area where

people too frequently miss out on developing a good habit, and

find instead discouragement and frustration.

The tricky thing is, sometimes the scale doesn't have good news.

Sometimes we stand on it and we don't see the decrease we want,

or, worse, we see we've picked up a pound somewhere despite all

our hard effort. This is hard to take sometimes, and is one of

the biggest causes of giving up. However, just like all other

problems, there is an explanation and a habit that can help solve

it.

The Weighing Habit Step 1 - Picking the Time

The first problem that tends to come up is setting the wrong time

length for our weigh-in sessions. Eager to see results, we often

start by weighing in every day. On the surface this feels

logical. After all, we keep a daily food journal, make daily

goals into weekly milestones, and try to plan daily meals for

ourselves. However, body weight takes a long time to settle

properly, and can actually fluctuate from day to day. So even

though what we see as an extra pound we've gained between today

and yesterday might not be a permanent thing, seeing it there

causes discouragement.

Instead, set your interval for one week. Don't even look at the

scale in the intervening days! A full week is enough time for

your body to begin responding to changes, so waiting a week lets

your measurements on the scale have more impact. That way the

short term swings and dips don't give you the wrong impression,

and you gain an idea of the way your weight is trending. Also,

make it the same day and time every week, to establish firmly in

your mind that this is a habit to be followed, not something you

squeeze in when you can.

The Weighing Habit Step 2 - Treat it as Information

Information is neither good nor bad; it's just something we can

use — if we're willing. If all goes well and we stick to our

plan, then we should see a steady, downward trend in our weight,

and we can be happy about that. However, if we trend upward for

one week, we shouldn't get too discouraged.

The body responds to all manner of things in its environment.

Some people retain more weight in the winter, and peoples'

metabolisms react strangely to diet changes. If, in fact, you

aren't trending downward, simply accept that it means you need

to either keep at it, or perhaps change something more, instead

of giving up.

The Weighing Habit Step 3 - Keep it Consistent

Gathering information can be tricky, and there are ways to fool

ourselves into thinking we aren't progressing as much as we'd

like. There are elements that can be adjusted or changed in order

to make information-gathering more accurate. These are what

scientists call 'controls,' because they allow someone to keep

control of the information.

First, make sure you weigh in at the same time every week, as we

mentioned earlier. Your body has patterns that it follows, and

may weigh in differently in the morning than at night. Set a

convenient time you know you can meet again and again, and stick

to it.

Second, make sure to weigh in wearing the same clothes, every

time. Your clothes can add a significant weight to any scale you

stand on, so make sure you note down what outfit you're wearing

the first time you weigh in, and wear it every time. This will

make your results more accurate, and help cement the habit of the

matter in your mind.

Third, always use the same scale. Different companies calibrate

their scales to different standards. Broadly speaking, they

should provide similar results, but a digital scale could present

differently than a counterweight scale in a hospital, for

example. So even if you're at a friend's and they have one

handy, don't hop on for a quick check. Stick to your scale, each

and every time.

Fourth, remember your system of rewards. The best way to use the

scale is to integrate it into your whole, habit-building and

habit-changing plan. When you reach a benchmark that you're

proud of, reward yourself somehow with something you enjoy.

Reinforce the positive aspects of reaching your goals, even while

you make sure not to beat yourself up over temporary setbacks.

The scale is a tool. It isn't a judge that we should fear or

feel guilty before. Like any tool, it allows us to address

matters professionally and systematically. Sometimes our weight

will seem higher, other times it will seem to trend lower, and

the scale can help us with that. Don't treat it as something to

dread; learn to use it properly, and it will be a tremendous help

in setting up a good, solid habit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Larry Tobin is the co-creator of

http://www.HabitChanger.com/ offering effective

and empowering solutions for stopping stress.

Try our 42-day weight loss program.

http://www.habitchanger.com/losingweight