Banishing the scale

Well, more like putting it in time out. For the past year and half or so I've been a daily weigh-er. I know, I know, a lot of folks disagree with it. For a long time I've felt like I was one of those special people (I'm special, alright) who can use it like the tool it is and not let it adversely effect their outlook on a daily basis. That said, my weight swings wildly throughout the week, especially as I inch closer to goal weight. As a result, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that lately the number on the scale in the morning, most certainly has, at least temporarily, totally been effecting my attitude. My husband called me on it a few weeks ago and he is right. (There ya go, honey. You've got it in writing.)

So I put the scale away. I'll bring it out once a week, of course. Let's not get crazy here. But no more daily weigh-ins for a couple of weeks at least. You see, I hesitate because I feel as if not weighing myself and keeping myself in constant check will result in me ballooning back up again. Immediately. Like...POOF! The rationale mind tells me, "You're still journaling all your food.That is all you need." But the stupid part of my brain clings to the familiar and easy to understand. The stupid part of my brain is going in time out with the scale for awhile.

In other news I got to wear this at work last night. Pajama Time, don't you know.

You are so insanely jealous right now. I know it.

Tales from the Scales

But first.....

......size 12s, baby!!! Yeah-ya!

OK, fine they are still a little muffin-toppy, hence a loose shirt today, but I really needed another pair of pants and I wasn't going to waste money on another pair of 14s. 

That said, let me tell you a little story about the scale and how ridiculous I am, and probably how most of us are about what it tells us. As I am sure I have mentioned before I am an everyday weigh-er. However, it only counts on Wednesdays, which is when I record it in my WW app. Not surprisingly my weight fluctuates every day in a pretty predictable pattern. Starting on Weigh-In Wednesday, it gets lower on Thursday, lower still on Friday, spikes back up through the weekend and drops again on Tuesday and Wednesday. But then last week I stayed at exactly 190.0 for about 5 days straight. Which I thought extremely odd. Then my college buddy came into town and I did not weight myself at all till Monday. A Monday that followed a weekend of using up all of my weekly and activity points and then some. Scale still read 190.0.

Ok, clearly something is amiss. So I started fussing with the scale, took the batteries in and out and ended up with numbers from 189.9 to 194.5 At which point I figured I must need new batteries. While at Target picking up the batteries, I saw a cheap dial scale and figured, "Why not pick it up for back-up?" So I brought it to work, followed the directions for calibration and it says I weight 215 lbs.

What? What? WHAAAAT? (insert Kyle's Mom's voice here)

I...I can't really still be over 200lbs, can I? Has the other scale been really off for a long time maybe? What if? No. That's silly, I have to be somewhere in the low 190s. Don't exactly know where but.....I couldn't possibly be? Could I?

(head shake)

So what exactly do I weigh? Honestly, for a few minutes I felt panicked. But I talked myself down off the ledge fairly quickly when it dawned on me: What in-all-that-is-holy does it freakin' matter? I'm (almost) fitting into size 12 jeans, my 14s are loose. In terms of fitness I am in better shape right now than I have ever been in my entire life. I surprise myself weekly with what my body has been accomplishing. And I'm going to give myself an anxiety attack over a number? No, sir. That is NOT what this past year has been about.

Now THAT said, of course I got new batteries for the scale. Let's not get crazy here, it's not like I am going to just throw the scale away. It is a very good tool for making sure I stay on top of things. 

But a number does not define me. My accomplishments and behavior are what define me.