Tales From the Scale

I have been really focused on my weight loss goals.  I have been tracking every BLT (bite, lick and taste) that enters my mouth.  I have logged it all on etools whether it's over my budget or not.  I have exercised every day over the past 2 weeks with the exception of Sundays.  I have even upped that exercise time a minute each day so that as of this morning I am exercising a full 30 minutes.  I have stuck to my Daily Points Target and am pretty close to my Weekly Target.

Since I am feeling so good about my progress I stepped on my home scale the other day hoping to see a lower number than I had the few days earlier when I had weighed myself at home.  I was sorely disappointed to find that I had not lost even one ounce!!  What!? I've worked so hard.  I deserve to see at least a loss of .2 in a few days of "on plan habits".

I pondered my disappointing number as I started my day.  What does this mean?

I rarely have used my home scale the past several years.  There was a time that I was a slave to that scale.   I would step on that home scale every morning with an empty stomach and see the results.  I would let that number affect my mood and actions.

I then started stepping on the home scale a few times more each day to see what affect my eating and exercising would make on the scale.  It got to the point where I was obsessive and it wasn't helping me one bit.  If the number was down that day I would celebrate by feeding myself.  If the number was up I would eat to drown my sorrows.  It took some time but eventually I realized that this scale was not healthy for me at all and stopped using it.  I only let myself be weighed at my Weight Watchers meeting once per week. It was amazing how much this helped me.  I would follow things well for fear of what the scale would say that week if I didn't make the right choices.  If I remember correctly I actually threw out my home scale to make sure I didn't become a slave to it anymore.

Since then I have purchased another home scale.  I found it helpful to use on very rare occasions and it wasn't fair to Bryan that he was not allowed to weigh himself because of my "sickness."  He uses the scale to help him. He uses it as feedback.  That's the way it's supposed to be used.  It's not supposed to be used to label us successes or failures....it's supposed to give us some feedback.

So I picked my mouth up off of the floor and gave myself some feedback.  It's okay if the scale doesn't feel as good as I do.  I feel great because I am doing good things for myself.  The scale will eventually catch up with my feelings.

Since then I have stepped on my home scale again.  It went down .4 over the past 4 days.  I would certainly like to see more, but I'm just going to use that to keep spurring me towards my goals.

The only number that really counts in my book is the number that I record once a week at WW........and even that is just a number.

I'm curious.  Do you use your home scales?  How often?  Does it benefit you?

Corinna

"She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, 'If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.' Immediately her hemorrhage stoped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease." -Mark 5:27-29