Sunday, January 23, 2011

Me, My Scale & I

Weekly weigh-in: 216.4
Loss: -.3
Total loss: -75.5
Emotion: Indefatigable

Maybe you and the scale dance every day, maybe you don’t give a doodley-damn what it’s got to say.

Maybe a gain sends you into a spiral of sadness and self-loathing. Maybe an uptick on the scale spurs you to be more determined and driven going forward.

Maybe a loss provides a near pharmaceutical high. Maybe you take each weigh-in with a shrug and a wary smile, because you know what the scale giveth, it may soon taketh away.

Maybe you sweat out every tenth-of-a-pound drop and maybe you don’t give too much weight to a number on a scale.

For me, the scale’s just another tool. Used right, it can help you stay focused and stay accountable. Used wrong, it can drive you out of your ever-loving mind.

Because make no mistake:  it will confound you, perplex you, infuriate you. You can do everything right and it just may laugh in your face. You can struggle and stumble and be shocked to see a “how’d-that-happen?” drop.

Once a week, I take a deep breath and step on that scale.

It isn’t always fair and it isn’t always a loss, but more often than not, I get what I deserve.

What I earned.

Enhanced by Zemanta

24 comments:

  1. The scale and I used to dance everyday. It was rough. Step on, step off, step on, step off. Trying to get it "right". It sucked and I ditched it.

    Now I don't give a doodley-damn about it! I use it only as a tool, but don't give it the power of the "whole tool box". :)

    Any loss is a good loss, Jack! It all adds up in the end!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh I like what Marisa said...don't give it the power of the WHOLE toolbox!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I completely agree. It may not always seem fair, but I (mostly) always get what's coming to me when I step on the scale.

    I just cannot for the life of me imagine weighing myself every day. I'm just not much of a roller coaster fan.

    Colleen
    Goodbye, Fat Girl!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I like how you just use the scale as a tool. I think I've got to approach it that way myself. Cheers, Rick

    ReplyDelete
  5. I get this and I really can't weigh every day. When I do, you just never know what to expect..just like that damn box of chocolates. Trying to always remember not to give it the power that it has had on my waking mood.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Shoot...I be sure to breathe out before I step on the scale so that I don't weigh the air in my lungs. LOL!

    You rock!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Such a level headed way of considering the scale, Jack :)))))) Congrats on that .3 because it all adds up.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You rock! I agree that like anything in life, we ususally get out what we put into it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great sentiment. It's important to realize that the scale is a tool not a punishment.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for your post today. I've am trying to lose weight and I currently don't own a scale. I don't know if I should get one because as much as I would LOVE to have enough self discipline to check it only once a week, I'm pretty sure that I would be checking it EVERYDAY... and I'm just not sure if I can take that kind of rejection! On the other hand, maybe haveing a scale around would, as you put it, "help you stay focused and stay accountable." I hope that's what happens. Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I used to do the daily "scale dance" but now I only step on at my weekly weight watchers meeting. But the number on it is just a small part of this whole life journey. Have a great Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  12. annnd I will be rapping that in my misfit head all day long...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Good for you! Salt, water, hormonal fluctuations may give us a number other than what we deserve but over time, it's pretty unbiased.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yes, one tool in the overall picture! I weigh every day BUT I count on those pair of jeans to tell me the real story too! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Exactly. It's what I've earned. Six years into maintenance. It's a tool only, it's never a surprise. Here's to self monitoring!

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ive recently started counting calories myself (instead of WW program) and Im finding the scale is much more friendlier now, especially when I set rewards for milestones! Next happy dance here I come!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I've been there at the scale dance but this time, this LAST time..I'm doing it completely without - so far its working fine for me
    Dawn

    ReplyDelete
  18. we get out of it what we put in...

    or maybe

    we get in what we put out

    wait, I wasn't trying to say I put out

    hmmmm

    congrats on the loss?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Excellent points. I think I may be giving my scale too much power lately. Or maybe this evil torture is a way of saying "I SAW you eat those brownies!!! Muah ha ha ha ha"

    ReplyDelete
  20. I do the daily scale cha cha..onoffonoffonoff.
    good job on the steady downward trend...keep it up jack. lookin good.

    ReplyDelete
  21. My scale is a wallflower. It sits in the corner, eyeing me, hoping I'll ask it to dance. But I know it's not just one little dance. It's the first step in an awful obsessive relationship that spirals continuously downward, until we're dancing several times a day. I just don't have the time or energy for that kind of relationship. So I just pretend not to see it staring at me.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I only use the scale when I'm doing things right. For a while I was completely avoiding it, because I was eating like shit. And you know what, when you're eating bad you don't need a scale to tell you. My body was telling me all I needed to know about what kind of weight that junk food was putting on. >_>

    Now that I've been eating healthier again, I use it just to let me know where I'm at. :) It's a lot harder to notice fat you lose than it is to notice fat you gain.

    Grat blog by the way! Found it through StumbleUpon and I really enjoy your upbeat-we-can-do-this type posts. :) Feels like we're all in this together.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I hate the scale, except when it says the right thing! And even then, I have yet to experience a pharmaceutical high, sadly enough.....

    Seriously, my trainer always tells me to ditch the scale and pay attention to how your clothes fit.

    I bet you are very close to your "just right" weight. Good job on a loss this week!

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails