Should we ‘scale down’ the weighing-scales? This is a difficult question; and one I feel should very much be a matter of personal preference.

At the start of this process, I vowed to myself that I’d never become a ‘weighing-scales’ addict. I wouldn’t measure too often, or obsess about the latest reading. Instead, I’d take a ‘measured’ approach and trust more in the fit of my clothes and other markers. These include energy-levels, general well-being, as well as the ultimate indicator – the mirror!

Without monitoring progress however, how would I assess whether or not I was on track to meet my targets?

This conundrum led me to the decision to ‘weigh in’ once a week. This interval would allow me to keep a healthy distance from data. Hopefully I’d just crest along smoothly, and get a nice surprise once a week.

And then it all went wrong.

Week 2 saw the worst thing a dieter can experience – gaining weight, rather than losing it! This was really distressing. I’d tried so hard and had been in ketosis the whole time. I simply couldn’t understand the fluctuation. I consequently mulled it over for a while & managed to identify the problem. I changed my diet accordingly and succeeded in bringing things back on track.

A week is a long time to wait for diet-disappointment. Would this trend have been spotted earlier if I’d have ‘weighed in’ more often? I think it would.

I must admit to having stepped onto the scales most mornings since then. Yes; there’s inevitably the daily confusion of ‘how on earth has that happened?’; but a more frequent benchmark enables me to spot any problems and address them as soon as they occur.

My ‘corrective action’ may be as simple as having a smaller portion for dinner, or taking a little bit more exercise than planned. So far, this seems to be working.

And after all; if I hadn’t avoided the scales for so long prior to now; I probably would never have gained so much weight in the first place!

So for many, the jury’s still out on the weighing-scales. For me however, I’m a convert. It takes a lot of time, effort, planning & money to initiate a lifestyle-change to this extent. I really want it to work. Why risk all that for no reason?

There’s an old saying which states ‘you don’t fatten a pig by weighing it all the time’. Well, I think the opposite is true if you’re trying to slim it down!

For the time being then, I’m keeping the scales and shall heed their advice. Maybe at the end of all this, I’ll have a ceremonial purge and rid myself of them forever.

Or maybe I won’t. Who knows? Ask me when I’m there.

Thanks for reading,

Adam.