For people that diet and are on a quest for weight loss, we just can't stay away from the scale. It is as though we can't start our day without hopping on this device that sits on the floor that we stand on. There we are, giving our power to the scale standing on the scale staring down at the display waiting for the verdict. For some it is a compulsion for others it is mere curiosity. The problem occurs when the results begin to dictate our mood, our self-worth, and our self-esteem.

What is our compulsion with the scale? For some it's a measurement of success. It is a form of validation when we have been eating healthy on our diet program and regularly working out. Why do we need a little box that sits on the floor to give us the validation we want? You know what you've done, how you've stuck to your diet, exercised, and resisted temptations throughout your day. The scale doesn't give you the compliments or "way to go" for those aspects of your daily successes. The scale is just that - a scale that measures your body weight including temporary body fluctuations.

Scales don't tell you how much fat you are losing. A regular scale doesn't reflect your muscle or water weight either. Our weight can fluctuate from day to day. Water retention from sodium, retention of bodily waste, hormonal changes, bloating, and other temporary bodily adjustments all register on the scale either up or down. Rather than jump on and off the scale many times throughout the day so often to count as aerobic activity, weigh yourself once a week (or once a month) at the same time of day on the same scale.

If you weigh yourself every day, you can be frustrated because weight can swing two to three pounds up or down due to temporary body functions and changes. You'll get a more realistic picture of your weight loss if you weigh once a week.

There are excellent reasons for this. Your weight fluctuates many times throughout the day depending on what you've eaten, if you're hydrated, etc. This can be misleading and cause much frustration. When you weigh yourself, if you have lost weight, also give yourself credit for what you have gained in losing weight. Gains include feeling better about yourself, being in control over food rather than food controlling you, and being closer to your weight loss goal. If you haven't lost weight, or have put a small amount on, use this as motivation to keep going. Increase your activity and exercise, look at what you're eating and the portion sizes.

It is interesting how those little numbers representing your weight can dictate your entire day. The scale can make you feel skinny and strong or big and awful. Do not weigh yourself several times a day. It makes no sense and can lead to scale neurosis.

For true validation of your weight loss and healthy lifestyle changes, take body measurements. Seeing proof of decreasing measurements is a more accurate way of acknowledging your success. Another great way to validate yourself is by your clothes. Are you clothes fitting better, getting baggier or wearing a different size? Both of these are true ways to determine success and fantastic pats on the back that you deserve.

Take your focus from looking down to the scale on the floor and look up. Look at all of the tremendous changes you've made in your life, how great you feel physically and emotionally. Put it in perspective and don't think about weight as the only issue. Reflect on how great you feel, how you look, do you have more energy, and all of the many things that have changed for the better in your life since you started making healthy changes. Those are the ultimate measures of your success!