Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Battle with the scale.

Hello all. I decided to make Wednesday my weigh in day, instead of Mondays. I made this change last week. I know, I'm playing a game with the scale, but weekends are usually the worse time for me, and if I slip up, then I feel like a failure if the scale doesn't give me the number that I want. Wednesday just seems like a good day to get the most accurate weight for me. That's my plan and I'm sticking to it!

I'm just starting out again on this journey and I am trying to keep all things in perspective. Weight fluctuates at different times of the day and month, and even with the salt content of food eaten. The scale doesn't know it's weigh in day, and just because the weight isn't what you want on _______ ( insert day!), doesn't mean that tomorrow the scale won't say something different. I like to think of my weight like the stock market graph. There are fluctuations up alittle, down alittle, but the important thing is the direction you want to be heading. That would be up for the stock market and down for the scale!!!

I have tried all sorts of tricks in my complicated relationship with the scale. I have a family member who has  weight to lose and she put the scale away because she said she just didn't want to know what the number was. She said she knows she is losing weight by the fit of her clothes and her bra and clothing  size is decreasing. For her this is working. So I tried that method for a month. I hid the scale. Well at the end of the month I was the same weight. I felt like had I known this sooner, maybe I could have made adjustments to my eating plan. I need to keep a check on my weight more often than that.

So I moved the scale into our other bathroom. I have to walk down the hall to get weighed and can't jump on it several times a day as was my habit in the past. I'm not perfect, but I try for only once a week. I have found if I sneak in a weight and I am down before my official weigh in day, I sometimes get alittle cocky and loosen up on my eating plan.

So today, I went into the bathroom, weighed myself and was shocked that I hadn't lost more. I picked up the scale, walked into my bathroom down the hall, got naked and weighed myself three times. It was over a pound less than when I was in the other bathroom. Same scale, different weight. All three times in my bathroom I was the same weight exactly, and I am taking that as my official weight. So it has been three weeks and I have lost 3.9 lbs. I'm not breaking any records here, but with my trip to the ranch, and alittle  more wine and carbs then I should have had over three weeks, I am happy with that. Don't mind the cat, he's 17 years old and he hides upstairs from the dogs and is amused by any activity these days. This weighing in stuff was highly entertaining to him!

The point I'm trying to make, is that we get so obsessed over weight, but we have to keep in mind that there are fluctuations occuring constantly in our body. You are losing fluids, holding onto sodium & waste material. Our bodies are contantly putting out and taking in. Ironically, my slim son weighed himself before I moved the scale, and then again when I brought it back to his bathroom, he weighed himself again and had lost 4/10 of a pound! Why does that always happen to skinny people? But even his weight changed in those fifteen minutes. Oh, and by the way, I made sure the scale was level on the tile and not wobbling on the tile seams, and it is a  fairly new digital scale.

So I am going to approach my difficult relationship with the scale just like I approach a difficult relationship with a person. Accept it for what it is, realize I can't change it, but I can change my behavior, and only visit it when I have to! Hope you day is going well. Until next time!

Thought for the day:
The scale is only one instrument used to measure our progress. Don't give it too much power or let it influence our feelings. There are many others things that show us we are headed in the right direction. Keep on that path.

5 comments:

  1. If you've read my blog you know I have issues with the dang scale:) I agree it really does depend on hydration etc. to have an accurate weight. I weigh first thing every morning. It can be exhilarating when I lose, but depressing if I gain:( When I have been a bad girl and it stays the same, I am happy too! However it works for you is the right way. If you lost 3.9 lbs after the food you were offered over the weekend, I would say you are doing pretty darn good! Good job Pattie!!!

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  2. What an encouraging post! It is too easy to get caught up with the numbers. Keep up the good work and it will pay off. I really enjoy reading your blog, have a great day :)

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  3. HI - I agree with everything you said. I too am an avid weigher. I just can't seem to help myself. Like you I think it keeps me in line. But I realize that it does go up and down and why. I try not to get too upset when the stock goes up. LOL
    Have a great day :-)

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  4. It keeps me in line, too. It helps me to see the scale go up when I expect it too, I just have to not be angry when it doesn't go down when I expect it should :P)

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  5. That dang scale has knocked me in the eye 2 days in a row, my magical feelings were short lived:( I will defeat that dang scale if it is the last thing I do:)

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