I know a lot of dieting philosophy discourages the use of the scale. It’s true that muscle weighs more than fat, so the scale should not be considered the ultimate indicator of success. I understand all that, but at the same time, I’m convinced that use of the scale has its merits.
There is that instant gratification when you step on the scale and see a number that is lower than it was 24 hours earlier. That number can give you such a boost, such a feeling of success, that propels you into another day of eating right and exercising.
When trying to lose weight, it’s all those little successes that add up, and if those little successes come one half pound at a time (or even one-tenth of a pound at a time, as my scale is calibrated) then I’m all for whatever it takes to give you that feeling of success. As my mom always says, “Nothing succeeds like success!”
When I started this effort, early in April, the scale said 195.0. This morning, the scale says 181.4. Now, you can’t tell me that a drop of over 13 pounds is not significant! Yeah, some of that is “water weight,” but not all of it! Yes, my clothes are fitting better, but that’s something that happens gradually. But watching this number go down from 195 to almost 181 has been a joyful ride of “Yes! Yes! I am succeeding! I can do this! I can keep doing this!”
Also in defense of the scale: I have now been able to reset my weight “threshold.” At first, it was 195. Then it went down to 190. Now 185, and soon, it should be 180. If I continue to step on the scale every day, if at any point I should see a number above the threshold, that is a red light indicator to me that there is a problem which I need to address NOW. When you are just saying “You know, these pants feel a little tight today,” over time more and more weight can slip back on before you feel compelled to do anything about it. But you can’t argue with numbers. The numbers do not lie. When you get close to or over your threshold, there’s no more kidding yourself.
But hopefully I will not be going backwards like that, at least not any time soon. And hopefully I can continue to drop that threshold until I get back to where I was in 2005, when I lost all that weight just before Hurricane Wilma. My threshold then was 175. I am only ten pounds away from that now! Woo hoo! I can get back there, little by little, and after I do, it’s time to look at going even further.
I will say that I do not feel that I am “carrying” this weight loss the same way I did seven years ago. The body ages and changes. Oh well…but it’s still a good thing. Of course, at this point Russ and I have been using the gym a LITTLE BIT, but not as much as I would like. (Doing more exercise would probably help better define the way I am “carrying” this weight loss.) I got sidelined with this stubbed toe two weeks ago, and only felt comfortable about getting back into sneakers a few days ago.
Every day is so busy, sometimes it’s hard to find time to go to the gym. In comparison, eating right is easy, because it doesn’t really take any TIME to eat right. (Well, preparing a salad takes more time than making a sandwich, but that time difference is negligible.) The problem with going to the gym is that it takes up time that right now is devoted to other other activities. So that is my next challenge: making the gym a priority, making time for it during the day.
But this is just one challenge after another challenge, and meeting the challenges gives a sense of success that tastes better than any candy bar! I feel good!
