07.29.09
See, now I’m just confused.
Day 29, 4 weeks down, almost done.
So the last couple days, I was pretty bummed. This whole thing wasn’t going so well, and I was really struggling to find a silver lining (or at least an umbrella). I was contemplating next steps.
I decided to bump up my intake to 2200 calories a day. I’ve learned that if I go much below 2000, I start shutting down. I certainly don’t lose any weight that way, and I lose the energy and motivation to exercise. So, perhaps I need a little bit MORE food to get energized.
Between the extra 200 calories and the way my day timed out, I managed to have a really nice dinner last night. Steak, broccoli, a salad and a cold, delicious Fat Squirrel. I was even able to follow it up with a small cone from Dairy Queen. I almost felt like a normal person for a couple hours. (Unfortunately, I was watching Watchmen with that dinner, which turned out to be a huge freakin’ disappointment, but that’s a whole other story.)
I also learned that a movie-sized box of Raisinets has as many calories as a 7-oz. sirloin steak. I think we both know which one would be more filling.
So, whatever. I was reaching for a zen state in which the struggle had its own merits. I wasn’t there, but I was reaching. I was coming to terms with the fact that I wasn’t going to end up losing more than a couple pounds from this whole thing.
Then I went to the gym this morning. Once again, I suited up to swim a few laps. I hopped on the scale, just to see.
229 pounds. Huh?
So, now I’ve apparently lost six pounds in 2 days. Or this scale is completely hosed. Or the barometric pressure in the locker room is goofy. Or… I’m not sure what to think.
I think that Friday, I’m done with this experiment. I think that I may or may not lose weight this month. I think I may never know, as I can’t completely trust the scale at the gym. I think that after this, I’m only getting on the scale once a week. I think I may stop getting on the scale altogether. I think I might be better off checking my weight every few months at the doctor’s office.
I think I need to focus on getting healthy. I think I need to stop focusing on my weight. I think I need to question every word out of my doctor’s mouth.
Weight: 229 lbs.
Exercise: 1/2 k swimming.
Intake: 2235 calories.
What I ate today: Banana, yogurt, cereal, coffee, peach, bread, turkey ham, corn, hamburger, jo-jos and a beer.
Sara said,
July 29, 2009 at 12:33 pm
I’ve gone back and forth on the how-often-to-weigh issue with clients. The conclusion I’ve come up with is that it just depends on what motivates you. If you are completely discouraged by a bad number, or you start to take it easy when you see a good number, then less frequent weighing is better. However, if seeing a pound or two extra really lights a fire under you – then I say daily is fine. Personally, I’m a fan of just paying attention to how my clothes fit, though this is not concrete enough for many people.
Do you use the same scale every time? Gym scales are often abused and not maintained so they can be really inacurate. I also recommend that people weight at about the same time each day.
“I think I need to focus on getting healthy. I think I need to stop focusing on my weight. I think I need to question every word out of my doctor’s mouth.” – YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Andy said,
July 29, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I do use the same scale at roughly the same time each day, which is good. I think it’s a decent-quality scale, which is good. I think it gets a fair bit of abuse at the gym, which is bad. I’m thinking that I should find out if it gets checked/calibrated/etc. at any sort of regular interval, in which case I could try to always weigh in right after that. I was also debating buying one to have at home, but that could open a whole different can of worms.
I’d like to judge more on how my clothes fit and how I feel, but I’m afraid I’m too number-oriented to do that.
Krishna said,
August 10, 2009 at 5:49 pm
I was just thinking about this too, Andy. I threw my scale out a little over a year ago. I’m super motivated today, and thinking I might start tracking food & exercise, and maybe do some inches measurements.