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BlueWaterBottle's Journal, 11 May 2012
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Today I went out and bought a bathroom scale. I'm currently using an online exercise tracker and, of course, this online food tracker and I love them both, but using a scale scares me.
About 5 years ago I threw out a perfectly good analog scale that was almost exactly like the one I just bought. It was right after a chaotic time in my life when my health and fitness had definitely been on a back burner.
When I was ready to start making changes, I needed some other way of measuring success besides a number on the scale. Whenever I have relied on a scale as the sole method of tracking my success, I have been disappointed when the numbers didn't drop as I expected they would. At best, I would become frustrated and simply lose my motivation to stick with a diet or exercise regimen. At worst, I would try unhealthy fad diets and obsessive, painful exercise regimens to force the numbers to go in the direction I wanted only to abandon those unsustainable plans when they didn’t work either. The scale has never really been my friend.
Since throwing out my old scale I’ve adjusted my diet and started exercising more regularly. I've regained some lost strength and I've gotten leaner, if not lighter. For the last five years I’ve only weighed myself at my mother-in-law's house when my domestic partner and I visited for the holidays.
I started tracking my exercise in October 2011. It's hard to remember how weak I still was then, but the evidence is in my history. The evidence also shows that I am stronger today than I was then. The tool shows me that I am making the changes I want to make.
I started tracking my food last month. After six weeks the tool already suggests that I am moving towards the changes I want to make.
That is what the scale should also do. It is not a judge. It does not give a measure of me as a human being. It does not know or care if I exercise regularly or maintain a healthy diet.
It is a tool. It measures weight without any knowledge of the content of that weight. Over time it will be another method of verifying when I am moving in the right direction and of alerting me when it is appropriate to re-evaluate my goals.
That's all a scale does.
Diet Calendar Entries for 11 May 2012:
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2316 kcal
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Fat: 113.74g | Prot: 77.74g | Carb: 208.72g.
Breakfast: sugar, half and half, coffee, bread, 100% Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, All Fruit - Blueberry. Lunch: Creole Inspired Rice and Beans. Dinner: grilled chicken, Roasted Peppers, balsamic vinegar, red onion, olive oil, iceberg lettuce, croutons, tomato, black olives, onion rings. Snacks/Other: rum, Italian Sub. more...
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4105 kcal
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Activities & Exercise:
Walking (moderate) - 3/mph - 14 minutes, Desk Work - 7 hours, Resting - 6 hours and 46 minutes, Sleeping - 7 hours and 30 minutes, Driving - 1 hour, Housework - 1 hour and 30 minutes. more...
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