Singing for a smaller me

One thing I promised myself going back to Weight Watchers was: no matter how badly I thought I did that week, I would step on the scale. Now, this is what works for me, it may not necessarily be right for you, but past experience has taught me avoiding the scale does not work.

Yes, I'm aware it's not just about what the scale says, however the scale isn't that bad a judge of progress. Whether it's a pound gained, lost, or just staying the same, it doesn't really matter. Yet showing a gain of 3, 5, 10 pounds is a sign something could be wrong and might need to be addressed.

In back of the WW Pocket Guide (that doubles as your weight loss journal), there's a coupon to "skip" a weigh-in. In all honesty, I'm tempted to rip it out or scribble all over it with a sharpie. My mind reads that as a free pass to eat whatever crap I want, not write it down, pretend it never passed my lips, and the week after skipping a weigh-in feign shock at seeing a gain. Yeah. Not going to set myself up for that kind of failure.

Logically, I'm not that attached to weighing-in. The way my clothes fit, the spring in my step, recovering from back pain that much more quickly, these tell me I'm going in the right direction. But, the thing is, I don't trust myself to accurately gauge those things. Until I stepped on the scale last June and saw the scale inching towards three hundred pounds, I didn't think I was doing that badly. I chose to not see how my shirts were getting tighter across my stomach, to not acknowledge my work pants were getting snug in the thigh, to pretend I didn't just have to buy a bigger size in my jeans, and to ignore how much bigger my double chin was getting. And all that time, the scale sat in the bathroom untouched and gathering dust. If at any point over the months between my wedding and last June I stepped on the scale, I would have known something was wrong.

You see, I'm just so angry with myself for ever allowing it to get that bad. I need daily, weekly, and monthly slaps in the face to keep myself from falling back down the road to old habits. Awareness is just one piece of the puzzle. If stepping on the scale is part of that, I'm willing to accept it.

Now, I'm not directing this diatribe at anyone in particular, nor is it a sign of what my week's weigh-in taught me (because I actually did pretty well). And allow me to reiterate, this is what works for me, it may not necessarily work for you.
Moving on.

This week's WW Meeting Topic was "Spicing it Up", tools to keep you from boredom in your diet. How many people eat the same old breakfasts, lunches, and dinners day after day? Aren't you tired of chicken, chicken, and more chicken? If you have one more serving of brown rice are you going to punch someone? Well, I can honestly say much of my success comes from "spicing it up". I'm on a constant search to add new and interesting foods/recipes to my diet and prove that losing weight isn't boring or uninspiring.

One of the things our leader asked us to do last week was bring in empty boxes/bags of foods that we couldn’t do without. I forgot my bag of empty boxes at home (grrr), but did stand up and share a couple of my favorites: Morningstar Farms Buffalo Wings, Archer Farms Organic Fruit Strips and Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese and Sour Cream. Things I love, love, love, and eat every week.

Overall, it was a pretty great meeting topic, and one to which almost everyone felt they could contribute. So, without further adieu:

This Week's Stats

Starting Weight: 291.6

Previous Weight: 258.2 lbs
Current Weight: 256.6 lbs
Difference: -1.6 lbs

Total Weight Removed: -35.0 lbs
Total Percentage of Weight Removed: 12%

Yes, you read that right. 35 pounds gone baby!!!! Yeah, it might just be time for my signature happy dance.