Today’s guest post is by Pamela Hernandez. Pamela is an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer and an ACE Lifestyle & Weight Management Coach. Last month, Pamela wrote about why you shouldn’t judge your progress based on the numbers on your scale. She vowed to stop weighing herself for 30 days to see if it made a difference in her weight maintenance. This month, she writes about the results of her experiment. Pamela is the owner of Thrive Personal Fitness. Follow her healthy weight loss and fitness tips on twitter: @thrivefit. She is ThriveFit on DailyBurn Tracker. Enjoy! – Kate

The best laid plans always have a way of going off track.

My goal was to not weigh myself for 30 days. I had no problem passing up the scale at home. In fact, I really enjoyed not being a slave to my previous pre-weigh in routine of breakfast, immediate workout, rehydrate and weigh. I wanted to always get an apples to apples comparison so this routine had to happen at the same time each Sunday, leaving me little room for variation.

The problem was I forgot I had 2 doctor’s appointments within 10 days during this time period. Each required me to step on the scale.

The first appointment went fine. I hopped on the scale, peaking at the number, but not really giving it another thought. I cannot say the same for the second appointment.

At my endocrinologist’s office I stepped on the scale, let the nurse record the number and followed her to the exam room without really paying attention to what the scale said. The appointment went fine, the doctor handed me my instructions and check out papers. As I was checking out, I was shuffling through the papers, trying to decide which were mine and which needed to go to the person at the desk. The following phrase jumped off the page at me:

Weight change since last visit: 2.4 lbs.

As we scheduled my next appointment all I could think about were those 2.4 lbs. My last appointment was in January. My prior at home measurements did not concur with this number and my body since didn’t really either. Was my body deceiving me? Had I completely derailed myself by giving up weekly weighing?

I was still pondering this predicament as I went back to the studio to get my workout in before resuming training for the day. My pants felt good. I didn’t look 2.4 lbs heavier in the mirror. No serious digestive issues to speak of, regular as ever. How could I have gained 2.4 lbs?

Then it occurred to me. My shoes. I didn’t take off my shoes. I normally take off my shoes when I weigh at the doctor’s office. I had done it at my prior appointment but because I was anxious to get in a room and in a hurry to get back I didn’t bother. I stepped on the scale at the studio, first with shoes and first without. The difference? 2.2 lbs.

I sigh of relief and then a bit of shame. No matter how hard I try to let go of the scale and listen to my body I am still a bit of a slave to the number. I hate to admit it but it’s true. I still need to work on letting it go, so I am going to continue to keep my scale time to a minimum, instead letting how my clothes feel and how I feel be my guide.

How did the scale free month go for you? What did you learn about yourself and your relationship with scale?

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