To scale or not to scale?

That is the question!  I am a scale addict.  I have been known to weigh myself several times as day.  Because, we all know that our weight fluctuations during the day and to accurately know how much I have lost/gained I need to weight at various points during to day and monitor the changes at those times. 

I weaned myself off of multiple weighi-ins a day down to once a day.  I've argued that if I don't weigh myself daily, I will gain weight.  And history has proven such a fact because I don't want to get on the scale when I am gaining weight.  See the logic?

I now weigh myself every 5 days or so.  I just can't manage to go a full week.  The problem is...

I feel great until I hit the scale.  It's not that the scale isn't moving in the right direction.  It is.  It's just not jumping down the scale the way I feel like it is.

Let me explain.  I am working out and loving how I feel afterwards.  I am eating my 1866 calories or less.  I am making my goal for the end of the year.  So I should be happy with my scale readings.  But I am not.

So, I forcing myself to stay off the scale.  Not bad.  I feel great.  I am getting compliments.  But I don't "know" how much I weigh.  I am fearful that not knowing will mean I will gain weight.  But I hate how I feel when I get on the scale.  It ruins my day.  When I began this journey last year a good friend of mine suggested that I put my scale away for 6 months.  That I work out and eat right for those 6 months but not get on the scale.  I tried.  It lasted a week. 

But I think I am ready now to try going scale free.  Because I know if I follow the program I have set up for myself, I will see results.  My goal requires losing less than 1 pound a week.  So that scale is not going to jump each week.  In 6 months I should lose approximately 20 pounds if I follow my program.

I feel good not going on the scale.  I feel horrible when I get on it.  So logic says stay off!  But addictions do not follow logic.  Every morning I have to talk myself into staying off the scale.  That I feel good, that I exercise, that I journal what I eat and stay under my allocated calories. 

So here's my plan.  I weigh myself February 1st.  I will have my daughter hide my scale from me until July 1st.  I know that really is only 5 months, but I can't go until August.  July is the middle of the summer and still time to burn some major calories if I need to.  Plus, I am doing a tri on July 9th.  It just all seems to go together.  And in reality it will be July 3 or 4 before I can weigh in because we will be traveling back from NY on the 1st! 

Wish me luck.