Monday, January 14, 2013

At war with the scale...

So I really try not to get frustrated with people who are new to this weight loss journey and start getting frustrated and even talk about quitting because "I'm doing everything right and the scale hasn't moved!"  I try really hard, but I do find myself silently going off on them.

First off, I do believe in weighing yourself.  On my way down, I weighed daily and I still do.  But you cannot get obsessed with the numbers on the scale.  If you do, you'll go nuts.  For some people, they weigh themselves weekly for this reason.  Make sure when you do weigh, make sure you weigh at the same time and under the same circumstances every day.  For most people that means jumping on the scale right after you get up and after that first pee of the morning.  

You want to look at TRENDS - not day to day fluctuations.  Make one day your "official" day.  Mine was always Sunday.  During the week, you'll see ups and downs, but on your "official" day, you should be down. Sometimes you'll be down a lot, and sometimes hardly at all.  Track it on a chart.  If over the course of a few weeks, you are consistently going down, you are doing something right.  If you are not, then you are doing something wrong.

Secondly, remember that the scale is not the be all and end all.  That's why I encourage measuring.  Are you ok being 1 pound down but losing 3 inches in your hips?  I certainly hope so!!  This is especially true if you are new to exercising.  Your body is going to be a little shocked and might not drop poundage, but you will lose inches.

Thirdly, if you are not losing weight after a course of a few weeks, something needs to change.  You are not a miracle of science.  I see people all the time saying that they are exercising and eating PERFECTLY and their weight has not dropped at all.  NOT POSSIBLE. 

Fourth, I've said this AD NAUSEUM but I'm saying it again.  This is not a FAST journey.  If you expect to have 5 days of great behavior - exercising and eating right - and you think you can hop on the scale and have it drop 20 pounds, you are shit out of luck.  It doesn't work that way.  Wrap your head around this, or quit.  See how much weight you lose when you give up.  Either you want to work for this or you want a magic fairy to wave her wand and make you thin with hardly any effort.  I waited a LONG time for that fairy and guess what?  THE BITCH NEVER SHOWED!

Instead I had to work for this.  So suck it up, be patient and persistant, and you WILL get there.  But don't start complaining 2 weeks into this!



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