Thank you! 1,500 is okay for me...every now and then I am hungry, but, generally, I'm not, and I don't feel super deprived. My best friend went to Weight Watchers a while back, and they had her on a 1, 200 calories a day diet! That is too low for me! There's no room for treats, and I'd be starving!!

Thank you so much for the encouargement!

I do feel I need the scale, but I can see how different things work for different people! That's crazy that you'd weigh more AFTER you work out! I wonder what that's about. Well, I know I can't rely only on the scale, I also have to keep in mind how I look, how my clothes fit, etc. But, yes, that's a really good point about looking at other things, too.

I originally wanted to loose 40 pounds...but then I decided that it's not just about weight loss, it's also about gaining muscle and losing fat, and being healthy. I was overweight when I started dieting, according to the BMI chart. I could loose 40 pounds and be in a normal weight...but I thought I would aim for 30, instead, and then see how I feel. Maybe that will be enough for me. I have to remember that I am almost 35 years old! I'm simply not going to look like I did when I was 16!

I fear the scale because what happens is I will lose a few pounds and be really happy then I will still be working hard and perhaps lose nothing or gain and that discouragement seems to fuel a binge!! On the other hand - I lose a lot of weight feel happy and think I can slack off and binge again!!! Its not good!!!

I can see why you don't like the scale! I can see how disapointment would fuel a binge! When I was disapointed recently, I didn't binge, but, I can totally see how a person might binge....it would be like, well, it's not working, so who cares what I do now?? When I was dissapointed, I had to reminde myself not to binge. I told myself: hey, look, it's probably just numbers fluctuating, so keep up the good work, and I'm sure next week will be better. And next week was better.

I can also undestand the odd thought about losing weight, and then thinking it's okay to binge! I find it can be usefull, too...dieiting for a long period of time (like 6 months) is so hard, and it's good to know when it might be okay for me to have a little bit of cheat day - not a binge, but, say, a snickers bar after supper. So I kind of like it when I do lose weight, and the scale lets me know I can have this one little treat....I'm only 2 months into this, and I've got around 4 months left, so I need some treats! Anyway, I like it when I lose weight and can afford the very occasional treat, but I can also understand how it would lead me to think I could just binge away.

I guess it's just that I really do get some good things out of the scale...I feel I need to know the numbers. I can't deny that the scale has some difficult aspect, too, but I feel I can deal with them. I'm willing to take the good with the bad. But everyone is different. For some people, maybe the scale just creates too much stress and problems.

It makes sense...we're all such different people, so of course there are so many different ways to deal with this. My bf is a recovered/recovering drug addict/alcoholic, and he's dealt with his addiction in different ways then others have, and it seems to be working for him, so I guess weather it's food addiction or drug addiction there's a lot of different ways to deal with it.

I don't like the BMI chart at all. I'm 5'10 and according to that I am supposed to be 185. I haven't been 185 since 10th grade. I don't ever want to get that small again. I would be comfortable between 205-210ish...

I am going to stick to the better eating habits. I am happy you have a clear goal in mind.

I like the BMI, but, yes, I can see how people also have to keep other things in mind, such as body frame (small, medium, large), and how much muscle a person has, because muscle is a lot more dense than fat, so a person can lose fat and gain muscle and actually weigh more, but be healthier!

Numbers are a really useful guidline, but I also think that there's more to it. There are skinny people who are actually really unhealthy. I think it's called "fat-skinny" or something...it's people who look thin, but who actually have a high proportion of body fat in relation to muscle, because they've dieted and too much of their muscle, instead of losing fat.

I think it's really good that you know what you're comfortable with. You know yourself best, and if 185 feels too low to you, then it must be too low. I think it is good that you are trusting yourself to know what's right for you.

For me, the BMI works, but it's not for everyone. I have a small, small frame, naturally, as does everyone on my mother's side of my family, so I take that into consideration when looking at the range for someone my height (5'7) on the BMI.

You know, I once read that there are some atheletes, who are, obviously super healthy, and yet there BMIs are too high! It's because of how much muscle they have...like I was saying, muscle is so dense.