the SCALE

Every single article I have read warn us against weighing ourselves every day. Once again, this is my story and I'm no expert but, I disagree with the so called "EXPERTS". I made the scale my FRIEND. Our relationship is a strange love/ hate one. We fight and disagree all of the time, yet I see her every morning to see what she has to say. You can just picture me screaming at her when I think she should say one thing and she is stubborn and will not budge. UGH sometimes AHHH others.

How many times have you gone to the doctor and was more afraid of getting on the scale than of finding out what sent you to the doctor in the first place. Well if you weighed yourself often you would know within a pound or two what to expect. Let me ask you this, do you make deposits and withdrawals from your bank account with out checking it? Is the notion of living in la la land when it comes to your finances ridiculous? Even if you don't have a lot of money you want to know if you have enough to cover the bills, pay for groceries, commuting, and all of life's daily activities. Well guess what???? Your weight is exactly something you want to know where you stand. PERIOD...
This journey is a numbers game. SIMPLE. If you weigh X and want to weigh Y you need to lose Z...If you eat X and expend Y the difference is Z.

So here is where the mental journey comes in to play. Weigh yourself 4-7 times per week. Experts will tell you that mentally the scale will jack up your emotions if you weight yourself too often. While I agree that you may not see any results one day, or the scale may go up because of water retention or bloating or some of life's battles, that may get in the way. DON'T FREAK OUT!!! KEEP THE COURSE. Knowing will help you keep the course, make adjustments if necessary. If you are keeping a journal then you can look back at your menu and see if perhaps you took in some extra calories. If however you know in your heart of hearts that you have been eating well and did not sneak in crap, guess what, over the course of a week it will balance itself out and the numbers will go down weekly.

When adopting this new habit I suggest you weigh yourself first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. You should be in the nude or undergarments only. Try your best to do it at the same time. Like medicine, if you miss it in the morning don't do it in the evening. Wait until the next morning. As a back up source of confirmation of your progress, take your measurements. Now that should be done weekly or even monthly. Once you incorporate exercise into you regimen you will want to use the measuring tape as your guide. Muscle uses less space than fat so keeping your measurements will help you see your progress. I've have heard so called experts say that muscle weighs less than fat. That is pure BULLCRAP. A pound is a pound is a pound. PERIOD. A pound of cream cheese is a pound of cream cheese, A pound of steak is a pound of steak. However they look different on your plate. Well that is the same thing with fat and muscle. A pound of muscle will look leaner and neater than a pound of fat.

Again, that is why you don't freak out if the scale does not respond the way you want it to daily. However over the course of time it will.

Remember you are a meal away from starting your own journey.