Throw out the scale? Uh, no...

Many diet books and self-proclaimed gurus tell you to "Throw Out The Scale". An example of this advice can be found here. OK, now that you've clicked through or not, please just ignore this advice. Don't believe me? Well, then trust the elder statesmen of the weight-loss world, WeightWatchers. While they have internet resources these days to help people like us, they also have old-fashioned, in-person meetings. And in those meetings, people hop on a scale!

Now, there are huge issues with the way that works. In colder climates people wear lots of heavy clothes and those clothes can vary in weight by a couple pounds each week. Regardless of what you're wearing, you will vary in weight by a couple of pounds -- over the course of each and every day! It matters how recently you ate, what you consumed, how recently you, well, got rid of some things, and so on.

So, maybe we should throw out the scale? Not yet. When starting out, try this on for size (no pun intended):

1. Find some item of clothing that doesn't quite fit. Try it on. Put it away without washing it. Pick something you're pretty sure you can wear when you reach your target weight.
2. Find a tape measure (the kind for clothing, made of fabric, not a Black and Decker) and measure some repeatable part of yourself. Hips are good for women assuming you can find the same spot again using a birthmark or whatever works for you. Men can use their waist. Measure a few times without sucking in and whatnot, so you really understand the dimension you're measuring. Right it down somewhere it won't disappear, like Evernote.
3. Since your weight is most consistent in the morning, right after you shower, weigh yourself and record it in that safe place. Each week, average the results. Instead of agonizing over the inevitable day-to-day variations you'll experience -- and women, this is worse for you -- you'll have something we'll call the Week's Waking Weight (tm). That's an average for the given week.

Your WWW is the thing you're going to see change as the weeks go by. But honestly, we are shooting for a slow and steady approach here, about 1-2 pounds per week max. If you try to do this without a scale, you're going to have fewer days you frown at the mirror because you've "gained a pound" but you're also going to have no real idea how you're doing until you've dropped a pants or dress size. And that's going to take a wall.

As for me, I did indeed hop on the scale today. It was indeed about what I expected and we'll keep the goal from the first post. Having not done that a week ago, however, I have no idea if this week's efforts yielded a pound or two of "lessening" myself. That'll have to "weight" till next week (pun definitely intended here).