Local residents talk on weighty matters

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Last year, I thought I'd do myself a favor and buy a scale for my bathroom. Biggest mistake ever! I started out by weighing myself once a week. Well, that soon turned into twice a week, then twice a day.

I would teeter between the same 3 pounds all week. Up 3, down 3. It's better not to have a scale at home at all. If you're trying to shed pounds, just judge from how your clothes fit.

-- Heidi Le Blanc, Modesto

Do scales really tell the tale?

I have been struggling to lose weight my entire life of 54 years. I weigh myself daily and get mad when I am forced to weigh myself at the doctor's office and their scale is more -- and often heavier

by as much as 6 pounds! Also, with all the Super Bowl snacks our family ate, I gained 2 whole pounds and my skinny husband probably lost weight. Life isn't fair and I believe your weight has a lot to do with your hereditary tendencies toward your metabolism.

-- Karen Shaw, Manteca

I'm one of those 60-ish gray-hairs who never saw, felt or smelled a doughnut, candy bar or slice of double cheese pepperoni pizza that wasn't better off being eaten. The fact my washer and dryer continually shrink my clothes week after week attests to this fact. Let's just say my scales are not user-friendly. Stepping on the scales is like stepping on a sleeping rattlesnake. You know the results can be painful. That's why I make it a habit to shave before I weigh myself, for maximum efficiency.

-- Brooks Judd, Turlock

Call me a closet weigher, or a vampire in disguise, because no one, and absolutely no one, has seen me step foot on the scale. I take that back -- only the "nurse with no name" has seen the numbers when I have a doctor's appointment and my weight has nothing to do with my ailment. The look she gives you as you take off your heavy shoes and thick jacket is unforgettable. And when she moves that lever to the right, little by little, eeks! The office scale is way off compared to my home scale.

I'll never forget the day when my husband, who has no fear walking around naked because he doesn't have a speck of fat on him, pulled the scale out of the bathroom and put in the living room for family members and friends to weigh themselves. I was hiding like a vampire who fears the light.

I have this theory that the best time to weigh yourself is first thing in the morning, in the buff, when the kids are being dropped off to school, and after you used the bathroom. The difference when I weigh myself at night, as I stealthily and silently attempt to step on the creaking scale, is unbelievably dramatic. Who knew that water weighed so much!

The scale is like a drug to me. I know it's bad for my mental health, but I'm addicted to the daily fix. I keep telling myself I'll give it up. Until then, I'll continue to face this demon in the wee hours.

-- Annabelle Jones, Modesto

An interesting item, the scale. As with almost every obsession, it can be used with discretion or as an instrument of self-torture. At any given time, it may give you different readings. I weigh in once a month at a local health care facility. On occasion, I will weigh in at home; maybe I'll weigh in once or twice a month at most, and when I go to a physician's appointment, where the scale is mandatory. If I am trying to punish myself, I will weigh in after I've had a binge to see how bad I've been. If I've had a good day, I'll reward myself by weighing in. Lordy! Sometimes the weight registration will backfire and it will appear that I've GAINED weight when I've been good or ultra-good, and the reverse may be true when I've been bad! Go figure.

Another way to sabotage myself is to weigh more than once a day! "Good grief!" as Charlie Brown would say! Every time, I'll discover I'm a different weight!

The solution? Well, eat in a responsible way, weigh in once a month at a reliable weight loss spa or center, be responsible and get rid of the mind-set that the scale is your friend. It's not your friend! It's definitely a way to make yourself miserable! And get rid of that scale at home! Give it to someone you know who isn't obsessed with weight! And get on with your life!

-- Mary Anderson, Hilmar