Why is Stepping on the Scales so Depressing?

It's not really surprising that so many people avoid stepping on the scales when the whole experience can be rather depressing. The trouble is that the scales never say what you want them to. You might avoid stepping on the scales after a period of overindulgence, and when you know you're heavier than you would like to be it becomes easier not to step on the scales at all. Unfortunately, if you keep on doing this you could continue to pile on the pounds so that when you finally do step on the scales you find yourself shocked by just how much weight you've gained.

Stepping on the scales shouldn't really be that depressing, as it is simply one way to manage your weight. If you don't bother to weigh yourself it is all too easy to gain weight, because you don't realise the impact of your eating and exercise habits on your weight. Obviously, you can tell when you've gained weight, since your clothes will have grown tighter, but you may not know just how much you've gained. If you don't know how much you've gained, it becomes easier to ignore the issue until, eventually, none of your clothes fit and you have no choice but to address the problem.

You may not want to step on the scales, though, because then you will know just how big the problem is. It is extremely depressing to discover that you have a lot of weight to lose. When you don't know how much you weigh, you can just pretend that you're only a few pounds overweight. Once you've stepped on the scales, though, you can no longer tell yourself that. If you learn you have over 50 pounds to lose, you then have to work out a way to lose that weight, or otherwise learn to be happy with the body you've got.

If you decide to lose weight, this can sometimes make stepping on the scales even more depressing. It's fine when you're losing weight, because you're able to see how your efforts to eat less and exercise more are paying off. However, if you fail to lose weight one week, which is always a possibility since even when you're 'good' the body can sometimes react in unexpected ways, you may become disheartened and feel like you may as well give up. Even if you do lose weight, you may be disappointed to learn that you've only lost a pound, despite working really hard to lose more.

Thus, if you wish to avoid finding yourself in the position of needing to lose a lot of weight, it might be worth stepping on the scales regularly, so that you can keep track of your weight and make any necessary adjustments to your diet and exercise routine before it becomes a problem. Stepping on the scales can be depressing, but if you manage your weight you will be less likely to end up obese, which means you won't have to feel downhearted when you step on the scales, since the numbers you see will not be completely unexpected.