Throw Away the Scale

There are things I say on such a regular basis they often come out as a rant. Don’t starve yourself. No, low fat does not make it good for you. Running is great. Running is not great for losing weight. Just because they put it on your plate does not make it a portion. I don’t give a flying fig about the scale. Throw the scale away.

So you want to lose 5 lbs., who doesn’t? Do you know what 5 lbs. of weight loss will look like on your frame? Oh, you want to lose 20 lbs. O.k. why 20? If you are just picking 20 lbs out of a hat because you think 20 lbs sounds good. We need to talk. What are you really after? You want to feel better about your body. You want to be strong and confident when talking to prospective bosses. You want to feel sexy. You want to make the ex- who wronged you at prom drop their jaw. You want to not be out of breath after a flight of stairs. You want to be able to catch your two year old when he goes flying at mach 2 towards the dump truck in the street. You’d like to stave off nasties like high cholesterol, high blood pressure and ED. You want to lose the muffin top and cankles. Whatever your reason it is important. Give rise to the reason. Numbers on a scale are just that… numbers on a scale. Throw the scale away.

There are some numbers that are very important to your health and wellbeing. Your cholesterol. Total, the good and the bad. Blood pressure. A1C. Resting heart rate. VO2 max. Recovery rate. Your body fat percentage and body mass index. If these numbers are in check I could give a rat’s about the number on the scale. Did you know there is a skinny fat? You could be a scale’s dream. @ 5’9” a buck twenty. Big deal. If the scale says what you want but some or all of the aforementioned important numbers are out of whack, that scale’s not giving you the whole picture. You are still a ticking time bomb. Throw the scale away.

Let me tell you of a friend of mine. Actually I have many friends that do this so I know some of you do to. We’ll call y’all Rube. Rube weighs herself every morning. 194 it said yesterday, and Rube was having a grand day. You see it said 196 the day before so Rube is feeling fine. She is sure all that water she has been drinking is paying off. The birds are singing, the sun is shining alright Rube is sticking to her diet today! Girl feels so good she beamed as she put on her face and styled her hair, she put on that new shirt she bought and took the day for a nice walk around the neighborhood sunning her fine self. Rube was at work feeling high and telling her gang how she lost 2 lbs. today. ‘Really it’s just easy’ she said ‘drank all my water yesterday.’ Husband comes home at dinner and Rube’s feeling hot. ‘Don’t I look thinner’ she coos. He might even get some tonight. Yesterday was a beautiful day.

Today my friend is a different story. This morning the scale tips 195. Well poor Rube is just heart broken. Literally. She’s crying first thing. On goes the don’t look at me muumuu, no make-up, no hair. ‘Yesterday I ate so well and it doesn’t even matter’ Rube tells a baker’s dozen. At work she barely leaves her desk. When friends stop by her office to say hello, Rube pretends she buried in paperwork or stuck on a call so she doesn’t have to tell them she gained weight today. Rube’s husband comes home looking for the glowing bride that met him last night to find his wife buried in tissues and throws with a tub of ice cream and her favorite movie. He winks at her and gets whacked with the empty box of tissues for his trouble. “Don’t look at me” she cries. Poor bloke today is not a good day. On and on this cycle goes for Rube and her poor mate who could give a rat’s about the number. Rube’s days are made or broken in that first moment by the scale. Don’t be a Rube. Throw the scale away.