Today, weigh ins started at our unit. Some volunteered, some voluntold TODAY YOU GET WEIGHED.

Overweight, no problem, just come back in couple of weeks and try again.

So if you fail a urinalysis can you come back in couple of weeks and try again?

FAIR OR FOUL?

Fair... I am big believer in enforcing the rules evenly and across the board. And the rule says that you weigh-in during the month of October. As long as you are in compliance during the month of Oct, you are in compliance.

It is a good practice to do this. I have been the program administrator several times and I have always used this practice. It allows members who may be just a little over to come in compliance without negative effects on their career. Keeps the work load off the medical folks and the command. All for the sake of three lbs.

Definitely a fair practice.

Why not see it like a pre-board?

I say good, lets people know where they are and what they need to do in the next 30 days. Its better than weighing yourself at home and thinking you're good and then going to the YN or HS to get a suprise. Scales and such are different to an extent so its good to get a "practice" run in before the real deal! Did you all see the new weight standards message?

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So if you fail a urinalysis can you come back in couple of weeks and try again?

Kind of a stretch on that one... Are we really comparing being a pound or two over with doing illegal drugs? You can have an extra pound or two from water weight. You can't accidentally test positive for cocaine.

I think it's fair for the same reasons stated above. You have until the end of the month to ensure you are in compliance. With the new BMI standards and more mandatory PT programs coming out, this shouldn't be as big of an issue for too much longer.

October, birth month, pick one. It doesn't take much thought power to figure out if you are overweight, by how much, and how much you need to lose - and by when.

Having once been "promotion withheld" pending weight loss (yes, I was overweight and in 3-1/2 months lost 30+ pounds)...I don't have much sympathy for those who get fat and lazy and do nothing about it... You need an incentive? How about $2,800 in base pay not to mention the difference in BAH.

If you're overweight - lose it before your weigh in.

If everyonewho is overweight is given the same latitude to wait until the end of the month, then it sounds fair to me. If only some overweight people are given the opportunity to weigh in again later in the month, then that wouldn't be fair.

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And the rule says that you weigh-in during the month of October. As long as you are in compliance during the month of Oct, you are in compliance.

That is true, but a command has discretion to weigh you in any time of the year, not just Oct/April if they feel you are over weight and not in compliance. We are required to be in compliance all the time and not just in April and October. So when you do do a weigh in with your SPO/YN you should expect it to count anytime. If you want to know if you are in compliance before the actual weigh in, do that on you own time. They are just required to record it at a MINIMUM in Oct/April in Direct Access.

Yeah..but some commands are NOT giving anyone that latitude to wait till the end of the month...if you get weighed in at the beginning of the month, and end up being overweight, they document and put you on the program right then and there. I do believe some take that requirement literally anyway.

I went through that at one Sector, got weighed in on 1 OCT, at the time a few yrs ago was well over my max and exceeded the BF % by about 2 pct. At the time I felt the YN's couldn't measure right, got measured by two different YNs, both came up with different measurements,including the new YNC who just reported in there. However each measurement still had me over my BF limit, so I left in a ****y mood, got up to my next unit, and didn't sign a thing when I left.

Talked to the YNC at the time at my new unit, she said I had till the end of the month, so I worked my ass off to shed a few LBS, was still over my MAW, but ended up within BF limits.

However...I learned a valuable lesson, one that I realized I would never win if I ever tried to fight the system...bottom line is its a gamble to try and beat it if your over your MAW and playing roulette with the BF percentages. I had been contributing to my own weight problem with **** poor eating habits--eating out at Hooters and other chain restaurants for a few years, and washin it all down with cold beers and other inebriating beverages wasnt conducive to maintaining a skinny waistline.

Since that time nearly 2 yrs ago Ive shed over 30 lbs, don't drink anymore, am under my MAW for the first time in over 10 years, and dont feel like I have to fear the weigh-ins either. It's just not worth it to be in the position to gamble with the standards. I don't agree with the process for enforcing the standards, or how some of the determinations are made, but bottom line for me is I don't want to compete with that process, so I have to make sure I'm not in that position to potentially lose.

I think the benefit of the doubt should be in favor of the member for weight probation. If a member was 10lbs. over and 24% body fat and he turned 30 years old while on weight probation, most commands would observe his new Max Body Fat % and remove him from probation.

The problem I have with weighing a member on the first and then later in the month is simple. Regulations state we are always to be in weight compliance. If a member is out of compliance on the first of April or October then they obviously have not followed direction. Those members should be noted and put back on the scale a month or two later. I do agree with wpbsailor that there seems to be a lack of consistency with body fat measurements. There may need to be some better training done on that one. I have always been a fan of requiring an observer to ensure the YN uses the tape correctly.

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And the rule says that you weigh-in during the month of October. As long as you are in compliance during the month of Oct, you are in compliance.

Not sure what planet you are reading the regs from. A member may be weighed "..any time deemed necessary by the commanding officer." NOT JUST sometime in OCT. You step on the scale, you are overweight, you should be on probation. This is an important leadership deal as there are limits on how many probations you can get. Not to mention that if they are a pund or two over in Oct, I'll bet they are not close the rest of the year. That is why we have C School cancelations for weight all year!

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Originally posted by jdekoff:

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And the rule says that you weigh-in during the month of October. As long as you are in compliance during the month of Oct, you are in compliance.

That is true, but a command has discretion to weigh you in any time of the year, not just Oct/April if they feel you are over weight and not in compliance. We are required to be in compliance all the time and not just in April and October. So when you do do a weigh in with your SPO/YN you should expect it to count anytime. If you want to know if you are in compliance before the actual weigh in, do that on you own time. They are just required to record it at a MINIMUM in Oct/April in Direct Access.

jdekoff -

I agree with you 100%! My past 3 tours I have conducted weigh ins on the 1st of April and October. If a member was over weight or BF, then they got placed on probation. There is NO giving them a 30 day window to loose the weight. I have the option to weigh people at ANY time, thus you MUST BE IN COMPLIANCE AT ALL TIMES, not just the last day of Apr/Oct.

Get with the program, people, and stop trying to find stuff to complain about 24/7.

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If a member was over weight or BF

ftg - one minor correction: that should be AND not or.

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I had been contributing to my own weight problem with **** poor eating habits--eating out at Hooters and other chain restaurants for a few years, and washin it all down with cold beers and other inebriating beverages wasnt conducive to maintaining a skinny waistline.

Sorry about that, I think that might have been my fault. You have to admit sir, that was the best damn 15lbs you could ever gain, I know it was for me. Ahhhhh to the good old days at Hooters

hect
i see you found a way to slip in a four letter word, net nanny missed it.

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Originally posted by hagsmk:

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I had been contributing to my own weight problem with **** poor eating habits--eating out at Hooters and other chain restaurants for a few years, and washin it all down with cold beers and other inebriating beverages wasnt conducive to maintaining a skinny waistline.

Sorry about that, I think that might have been my fault. You have to admit sir, that was the best damn 15lbs you could ever gain, I know it was for me. Ahhhhh to the good old days at Hooters

Sean:
Naaa...I thoroughly enjoyed some of those times: the Voodoo Arena Football game, Saturday nights at the "roundy-round"..but I'm sure YOU have a lot more to add to that repetoire..

I recall a few other things at Hooters I'd rather not remember..lord knows I DID drink plenty of ....isn't there a video out there somewhere of me spelling my name with various body parts?

Oh the things that I could probably be blackmailed with..and those are the times I probably need to make sure the old crew is also my BEST friend...

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Originally posted by gowyo1:
hect
i see you found a way to slip in a four letter word, net nanny missed it.

wow....that slipped through me as well

No harm no foul...right?

If they have 2 lbs to lose I think they should be given till the end of the month. I understand we should ALWAYS be in compliance but jeez, two friggin lbs!! come on. We have alot of higher people testing the scales that look pretty good in their uniform but fight those 2 lbs to get in compliance in october and april. They come in, test the scales out and come back the next week or so. Otherwise we are sending them to the doctor with a medical referral and they come back two weeks later with the 2 lbs lost by than already. Than you say well why dont you just measure them and I say because the poor guy has a long skinny neck and little wrists but a barrel chest and a belly that is alot smaller than alot of people in the coast guard but the measurements are against him. I know more than a few people who meet the measurements because they do gain weight in their neck. I guarantee that if they lost the 50 lbs that they look like they are over, that big ole neck would shrink. I think that working out should be mandatory, than we wouldnt even be worrying about the people that are 2 lbs over in the first place. Next October they will be a few more over from the feedback Im getting. Everyone seems to be getting a complex about their weight. Were going to get some coasties with eating disorders next year.