I know that most experts recommend you NOT weigh everyday because of hormones, water fluctuation, etc. When I am "dieting" though, I am obsessed with the scale. I can ignore it for months when I am not on a plan, but otherwise that baby calls me like I'm its mama. And I respond SEVERAL times a day. This has its good points and bad points. I really only count the morning weigh in measured nude, bone dry, sans glasses and jewelry. If I am down that morning, it motivates me to be "good". If I am up, it also motivates me to be "good", but it also plays with my mind which says "See! you cannot do this, never have never will" and I lose my resolve believing the evil thoughts. For instance, yesterday when I weighed, the bad boy showed a gain of 2.8 pounds from the day before. I had being doing everything right. Logging my food, staying within my calories with the exception of going very slightly over the day before, and walking a mile daily since 7/10/07. How in the world was it possible that I could be almost 3 pounds heavier than the day before? Right then, I did something I have never done before. I asked for help. I promptly posted my dilemma and Coach Jen responded by saying since I had not exercised previous to 7/10/07 it was very likely I was retaining water for muscle repair. I was skeptical, but since she is an expert and I am not, I decided to give Coach Jen the benefit of a doubt and myself and the bad boy a break and not pound either of us into a bloody pulp for the gain showed. That was victory #1 for yesterday. It was two-fold I guess, but I'll count it as one.
The next victory came that night when after sharing 2 pieces of pizza with my husband, the chips and queso started calling me. I responded by going to the refrigerator to check on the Cheez Whiz and I couldn't find it. I looked and looked and I finally spotted it, but by this time my senses kicked in and I realized that I was not hungry. Why eat when I am not hungry? Weird thought. I always eat, hungry or not. If I want it, I eat it PERIOD. Well, this was new for me too. Listening to my body and paying attention to it to overcome a mindless automatic response. Victory #2. The only thing is when I was ready for a snack, I STILL wanted the queso and chips!! And boy did I struggle. If I caved I would probably go over on my calories as there was little hope that I could stop with 2 tbsp of Cheez Whiz and 14 chips. I was really low on salsa, but that wouldn't stop me. It would just be more cheese and less salsa, no problem there. And the problem lay not only in the willpower to stick to an appropriate serving, but that the sodium would help me to hold onto all that water that Coach Jen told me I was hanging on to. I did not want to face the scale in the morning, knowing I could avoid a bad experience by avoiding the sodium. So again, I did something I have never done before. I found a healthy substitute. Sure, I still wanted what I wanted but I chose something I wanted even more. A healthier me. And the carrots and spicy mustard were crunchy and spicy, just what the doctor ordered. Oh, and the bad boy? He was good to me this morning. I am down exactly 5 pounds from yesterday.
I have to post my Monday weight for my challenge group and even though it might not show a victory in my numbers, I know that if I continue to be good to myself, the numbers will fall into line. Besides I am learning I am much more than a number!!
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