I have a confession, I am addicted to the scale. I am one of those people who starts dieting or exercising and weighs my self religiously every morning. I am not sure what I think is going to happen day to day? I think maybe I secretly hope that miraculously overnight I will have just reached my goal! I have had some modicum of self control and I made it to day four before I got on the scale this go around! Yay me! My weight loss on day four was 1.8 lbs. I am very excited about this small feat. Motivation! Progress! Is anyone else a scale addict?
The issue with being a scale addict is this; muscle weighs more than fat. In the past there are a couple of things that I have realized. First, when you start to work those muscles that haven't been worked; they can get inflamed and retain fluid. This was a hard lesson for me when I first started and I was highly offended at my initial weight gain. Second, measurements are a much better way to track your progress than the scale! I worked so hard watching the scale and not seeing movement in the past and it was discouraging. I began measuring myself weekly. WOW, it's amazing to see the inches coming off in all of the places it does I lost 33.5 inches in 30 days, but only about 14lbs. I realize that is still a decent loss, but it was the inches that got me. If I had only watched the scale it wouldn't had impacted me. I looked forward to my weekly measurements. I was excited to see my progress and what parts had gotten smaller. I admit, I still weighed myself but the proof was in the pudding so to speak!
I guess what I am trying to say is that yes our focus in this bet is to lose pounds, but pay attention to your body. Don't lose sight of the non scale victories you are having during the process and celebrate those along the way as well. I am going to work to do the same. We are working hard toward our goals and we deserve every high five we can get!