Ok...kinda funnny but... I went to the doctor this morning for what I thought was a sinus infection. So, they ask me to step on the scale, and I did...backwards. Told them I truly didnt want to know what theirs said because on mine I'd lost 42 pounds (lost 10 before starting atkins). If their scale said I weighed 5 or 10 more than mine...I just frankly dont need to know about it. I know the loss would still be 42 pounds...but I didnt need to deal with the psycholigical ramifications of picturing my weight any higher than I do right now. I've worked too hard and done too well to throw myself a meaningless curve ball. They just laughed and said "well done." Might be kinda vain but, such is life. Thought maybe someone else might want to use this nifty little trick to avoid a potentially demotivating and unneccessary event.

Very smart thinking! Brilliant!

I have a doctor's appt tommorow and I was dreading weighing in simply because I know their scales always weigh out more. I know it is a mind game but still....

I think I'll use your trick and then just ask the nurse if it is lower than the last time I was in. That's all I really want to know.

d'lyn

I like that idea. I will try that on my next doctors appt. I was devastated on my last appt. It weighed me in 10 lbs heavier. I was shocked, all the while knowing that I had lost 60 lbs no matter what their scale said. Of course if had I used their scale when I started this woe 2 years ago I would have weighted 230 instead of 220. YIKES

I have yet to meet any two scales that agree. The one at the gym, the one at my doctor's, and mine at home all give me different numbers. I'll just stick with mine at home, thank you very much.

2 Little additional notes...
1) my blood pressure and pulse were so good that the nurse said "wow!" and actually asked if I was one of those people that works out all the time (tee-hee). Havent even gotten into regular excercise again yet! (looking ashamed...not really) So Atkins seems to be aiding me in things other than weight too!
2) I used to use the scale trick at the doctors when I got pregnant with my second son too. I started off 25-30 pounds heavier (or thereabouts) than with my first, and I really didnt want to think about what the scale read...so I just asked them to tell me what I had gained at each visit so I could at least track it.

Neat idea. I've already figured out that my doctors scales weighs me about 20 pounds heavier so I don't sweat it and subtract. LOL

Did you know you can simply tell the nurse no? Unless you are having a physical or they are prescribing medicine where the dose is based on your weight, then they have to know. When I go in for something that has nothing to do with my weight I tell the nurse to note "patient refused". The first time I did it she asked kind of sarcastically if I was having a bad day, I said no, are you? Now she just says ok and doesn't bother me.

That is much better than me, I have avoided going to a doctor for years, because I don't want to step on their scale! Even now I have a great fear of it!!!

I have 2 at home (one digital). I swear one says I'm atleast 5-10 pounds heavier than the other. I have put a 5 pound weight on each to check if it's calibrated correctly. I also noticed that if I move them to other spots on the floor, I get different readings. Naturally, I take the lowest!

Even when I was really fat, getting weighed at the Drs office didn't really bother me much. I mean, I certainly didn't like it, but I don't have the struggle with the actual "weight number" that some people do.

I look at it this way. When I was 280 lbs, anyone could look at me and see I was huge. What difference does the number make.
Now that I know I'm thinner, people look at me and I figure they must know I am a reasonably healthy weight. What difference does it make if the actual number is 125, or 135, or 145, or whatever... I doubt anyone cares.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's not the number. It's the way you look. I see so many women on this forum who are obviously very thin, don't have an ounce of fat to lose, but because they happen to have higher scale
weights than other people, they trick themselves into thinking they need to lose like 30 pounds. It's insane and unhealthy. At 126 (on my home scale, 130 on my doctors scale) I have a higher body fat percentage than a lot of women who weigh significantly more than I do. The number itself is just a rough estimate, and it can never ever tell the nitty gritty details of body composition.

In my opinion equating self worth and body image with a meaningless number is pretty stupid. It's bad enough that the way we actually look heavily influences our self-perceptions and perceptions of others... do we need to worry about something as meaningless as a number, now, too?

Ladycody that's great about your bp & pulse! I know my doc has already reduced my bp meds from 2 pills per day to 1 - I'm hoping to eliminate it all together in the very near future!!!

ItstheWoo, I agree with you and I wish I could be there!
I have actually had a good amount of relief since losing 20 pounds but it's that whole "OH NO!" feeling one gets when we think we're doing so well and WHAMMO! FAT AGAIN!

But it's mostly an illusion. If we're conscious on a daily basis of what we put in our mouths, we won't "wake up fat" one day out of the blue.