Confessions of a Scale-aholic

Yesterday (Saturday) was my official weigh-in day; the day to document my weight and body fat % and evaluate my progress.  It's a big week because I think I'll break a barrier than I haven't seen in 20 or more years.  I'm not excited or anxious or fretting, though, because I pretty much know what the readings are going to be.  Why? Because I'm a scale-aholic.  There, I admitted it.  Despite all admonitions,  I hop on the scale more than just the once-a-week check-in.  And I'm not just talking about maybe a peek here and there either;  I check at least daily and sometimes more.  I even break my own rules and check on more than one scale; including the one at the gym.  Yes, I'm a scale addict.  Some of the rest of you might be this same way too.  It may be what drew you to the title of the blog.

This behavior doesn't surprise me.  It's just an extension of my commitment to fitness right now (sic: symptom of my obsessive compulsive tendencies).  But most importantly, though, is that I'm perfectly okay with this practice, at least for myself.  I recognize that it could be destructive for some and I'm not advocating this for anyone, but I've come to terms with it (acceptance is the first step) based on the following:

1.       I take the readings more out of scientific curiosity than determination of progress - you can call BS on me if you'd like, and I'd be lying if I said there wasn't some small component of measuring progress, but I started these multiple readings early on in my weight loss journey out of curiosity of the factors that influenced the fluctuations in weight throughout the day and week.  As a scientist and health care professional, I'm fascinated by human physiology and wanted to observe how my weight varied under different conditions.  At one point, I even contemplated tracking every weigh-in with notes on the variables (time of day, proximity to meals and exercise, weight vs. BF%, etc.) and sharing my findings here in what would have been the dullest blog ever.  In the end, I decided my OCD wasn't quite that intense. Right now, I continue the frequent readings to get a handle on variations in BF%.  That curiosity led me to observation number 2:

2.       Taking multiple readings throughout the week does nothing to help track progress - if you take nothing else away from this blog, remember that statement.  The fluctuations in my weight from day to day and throughout any given day were so unpredictable that they lacked any real meaning regarding my path to fitness.  My lowest weight for the week could be the day after my highest, and my final weigh-in would be somewhere in the middle, and the next week everything would flip.  Also, exercise and meals had little to do with weigh-ins, except, of course, that I weighed more immediately following a meal.  I had one of my biggest losses a day and half after a Cheesecake Factory dinner and a blow out the top of my daily calorie allowance.  This is why I still only track progress with the one official weigh-in a week.  And tracking body fat percentage is even worse, those readings are all over the place.  Fortunately, through all the fluctuations, the trend is still steadily downward.  This observation, thought, has also allowed me to:

3.       Stay emotionally unattached to the frequent weigh-ins - I have successfully removed any (OK, most) emotional connection with the results of these frequent hops on the scale.  If I got upset by a high reading or too excited by a low one, I'd be a wreck after just a few days.  Likewise, I try to remove any emotions with the weekly measurements as well because I know this is a long term commitment to fitness, not a weekly dash, and it’s the sustained progress over months and years that's truly important.  I also don't let it change my behavior.  I've had great success with my food and fitness plan and I'm not going to make any changes in my daily routine because of a few midweek measurements. 

Please note, I'm not advocating this behavior for anyone.  The professional recommendations to weigh yourself only once a week under similar conditions are very sound and will give you the best indication of progress.  Maybe soon I'll be bored with observing fluctuations and variables, but until then, I'm perfectly happy replacing the batteries in the scale a little more often. 

Stay healthy and happy!  

                                                                                                                                 

Is there a dark side to NSVs?

We all love NSVs (non-scale victories) in whatever form they show up, whether comments from the people around us, getting into that old pair of pants or running in a 5K.  They validate the hard work we're doing, boost our egos, and provide some additional support and motivation when the scale may not be as kind.  My recent experiences, however, have me thinking there may be a dark side to NSVs too.

About two weeks ago, I posted a blog on MFP about how the many NSVs I received recently helped me break through a fitness plateau (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/shivaslives/view/of-plateaus-and-nsvs-163870).  But as my weight loss has continued to slow down, I have been evaluating my behavior and realized that I have not been as resolute in my dietary habits as I was in previous months.  While I still keep a balanced diet and stay below or close to my calorie goal, I find that I am not eating as "clean" as I had been and I'm eating at times that I had been avoiding.  I'm also now consuming almost all my exercise calories where before it was closer to 50% to 75%.  And these new practices are definitely slowing down my progress. 

So, why now, after being so diligent for 5 months?  One of my theories is that all the positive feedback in its various forms may be eroding my resolve.  I could be getting complacent about making further progress because everyone is commenting on my current level of achievement.  And, beyond that, some comments like "You don't need to lose any more weight", "you're going to waste away ", or "don't go crazy on us" are actively discouraging advancement.  While I try not to let comments like these have impact, somewhere in the back of my mind I'm thinking "you're at a good place" or asking "will that new suit fit if I lose any more weight?" as I reach for a croissant that I wouldn't have touched a month ago.   

For me, awareness of this situation is a good first step to getting past it.  Just writing it down in this blog is helping me sort through it in my mind.  The second step will be to reevaluate my dietary goals. While I am in line with "consuming a balanced diet 1000 kcal below my daily burn", I definitely need to do more; perhaps strict compliance with "fit for life" eating, keeping my food consumption "clean" or only eating back 75% of my exercise calories.  I'll have to contemplate this a little more because it's too critical to take lightly.  The final step is the mental realization that I have not reached my health and fitness goals yet, despite what others' comments may be, and recommitting to them.  While NSVs are nice, the only person I have to satisfy is myself, and I won't let others dictate how success is defined for me on this journey or whether I'm going to have that croissant or not.