Sunday, April 6, 2008

The Scale

Pollyanna needs some help. So I’ve really been trying to focus on the little sweet things recently (Homework from Y&G). But I keep getting sucked into focusing on the little not-so-sweet things.

For instance, I took much longer to fall asleep last night due to the fact that our bathroom scale finally broke. Who loses sleep over a bathroom scale? Me, that’s who. Maybe, I should explain?

You see, my scale and I go back a little over a year. It has been super dependable and would even save the weight for me so that I could see the progress. 5, 10, 25, 50, 60 plus, It’s all there. And it was rather accurate, and kept within 1 lb. of the scales at Pro Club. Can you start to see the attraction? If I get rid of it, well, that would be equivalent to painting over the children’s height milestones marks on the wall.

I had been so afraid of the weight creeping back on once I finished the 20/20 program that I visited ‘The Scale’ every day, sometimes twice a day. Enjoying the fact that I always weighed around two pounds less in the morning, than in the evening. Why is that? Go to bed, wake up and you’ve lost two pounds. Maybe I should sleep all the time. I’d hit goal weight a lot faster.

So regardless of the frequency, (maybe a compulsive disorder would be a more accurate description) visiting The Scale helped keep me accountable with myself. And I need (with a passion) to be accountable on the big dreams that I have.

So yesterday when Prince Erik excitedly called me into the bathroom to see his new weight low – I grudgingly went. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited that he has done so well and hit goal, but every time he checks in it reminds me that I’m not where I want to be yet. He was excited because he had hit a new low and wanted me to see. But when he stepped on in front of me all of the sudden he was five pounds over. We tried getting on the scale several times with wildly different results. Needless to say, his excitement rapidly faded as he and I both realized that our accountability friend had flown the coup.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the scale all day long. Worried that the weight clutter was creeping back in every minute that I stayed in the kitchen.

The good thing is that I meal tracked yesterday. I’ve been trying to for weeks but with one check point out of action, I needed something to keep me honest with myself.

I can’t replace the scale anytime soon. Because I wouldn’t want to settle for anything less than what we had, which wasn’t cheap. I guess if I was to see the sweet part of the whole ordeal, then I could imagine myself going to the gym more often to weigh in there. And maybe while I was at the gym I could actually workout.

So that’s my sad little focus. Have a great day. Now I’m off to mourn Charlton Heston, and see my clutter.

6 comments:

Trena Doll said...

My deepest sympathies for your loss (of the scale, not the weight.)
Maybe you can find a new way to measure your progress until Scale II makes its debut. The old 'How do the jeans fit today?' always seems pretty reliable.

Anonymous said...

On the topic of "Obsessive", my fat farm doctor told me a story...

She was watching Oprah, and there were 2 supermodels on. Oprah was asking them how often they weighed themselves and at what point they changed their behavior. SM #1 said, "Oh, I weigh myself once or twice a day, and if I'm up by more than a pound or two, I change what I'm doing the next day." SM#2 said, "Oh, I weigh myself before every meal, and if I'm up by more than 1/2 pound or so, I change what my meal is going to be." Oprah said, "That's amazing. I weigh myself once a week or so, and if I'm up by more than about 15 lbs, I change my routine."

The Dr's take was that SM#2's approach was obsessive and unhealthy because you can't micromanage your body like that. Oprah's approach, though, was self-defeating, because at 15 lbs, the scale of the changes you have to make are so big as to seem unapproachable. SM#1's approach was just right, because at 2-5 lbs, the changes that will make a real difference are extremely manageable.

I'd say that this puts you into the healthy SM#1 category, not the obsessive SM#2 category, nor the self-defeating Oprah category. So when you get another scale, don't feel bad :-)

Oh, and incandragon wants to know who did your banner art for your blog :-)

Suburban Correspondent said...

I walked around all day today, thinking, "Soylent Green is...people!" And I selected 5 CH movies and put them at the head of my Netflix queue.

fawndear said...

Nice to know I'm not too obsessive.

As for my banner. That was me, and a lot of borrowing from Disney's Bambi. I'd love to do a similar thing for the different holidays but that might make me obsessive so I'll keep this version for now.

Anonymous said...

Holy cats, you did a good job with the banner! I love how it's reflective of the whole family.

I need to introduce you to my friend Misty, who does amazing murals and such. I'm thinking that combining your customizations with her painting would be a business concept to be reckoned with!

fawndear said...

Yes, Please introduce me to Misty. The last mural I attempted was started 9 years ago and still isn't finished.