Monday, April 1, 2013

Scales & Crack

I broke down and bought a bathroom scale tonight. I haven't owned one in over five years. I initially got rid of it for any number of reasons (1) moving from Texas to New Hampshire and didn't have the space for it, (2) it wasn't working right (ie, I wasn't losing weight), or (3) I didn't want to become a slave to it. I'm sure the reason is a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

I don't know that I've ever been a slave to the scale. I don't think.... I guess what I mean by being a "slave" to it is stepping on it every day, twice a day, and throwing myself onto the floor in a fit of despair at a 2 oz gain. That has never happened (nor will it). However, for many years I did let it deter my efforts. For example, if, after six months, I didn't lose XYZ pounds, I'd quit. This was when I was watching the Biggest Loser and naively assumed that because I was bigger I'd lose more faster. This is not always true, sadly. So for years, I'd get into "I'm gonna workout and eat healthy!" periods, and would then quit when the scale didn't budge that much. I didn't consider any of the other changes, just the scale. So, maybe I was a slave to it.

Not. Any. More.

I feel that I'm in a safer place now because I've spent the last 16 months breaking through that old cycle of workout for six months--quit for a year--workout six months--quit for another year. Plus, I need it if Weight Watchers is going to work properly. There are two scales at my gym and my weight is different by 1 to 1.5 pounds between the two. That's beyond annoying. Plus, they're "old school" slide-bar ones and I never know if I'm getting an accurate weight. So... I am now a scale owner. Hopefully my sister won't find me rolling around the bathroom floor wailing in despair one morning in the near future.

My ultimate choice for a donut.
Also... my house smells like crack. And by crack, I mean the carrot cake that I'm baking for a farewell party for a coworker this week. I've always had a pretty severe sweet tooth. (Mmmm donuts. The picture to the right is worse than the smell of the carrot cake. How sad is that?) A few years ago, I realized that the stuff was making me sick. Literally. I could feel my pancreas working overtime to combat the sugar. I was pretty sure that I was giving myself diabetes. Plus, I was going SO overboard with certain things. One brownie was never enough, so I'd eat four. There are only three pieces left? Let me finish them ALL now so I won't be tempted later. Needless to say, I had a problem. So, I cut it (all sweets, basically) out of my diet.

It's been at least two years now since I've had candy/cake/etc. The closest I get is dark chocolate covered almonds. While I no longer crave cake and can turn it and other sweets away without a problem, some days are MUCH harder than others. Especially when it smells so good. I think I'm a sugar addict. A former sugar addict. At the moment, I'm jonesin' a little!

Stupid cake.


4 comments:

Jammi said...

Sour Cream Glazed donuts turn me into Homer Simpson. I actually have a recipe for them but I haven't tried it yet because that's just asking for all sorts of trouble.

At least if I have to buy it I can talk myself out of it/avoid the coffee shop, lol.

And congrats to you with 1. breaking your cycle and 2. being secure enough to buy a scale!

I avoid the scale like the plague. I hate them so so so much and it's not even rational. I don't even use my actual weight to see how I'm doing (I go by more the fit of my clothes on me and how I look in them also why vanity sizing is BS) but I still hate them.

And I really do admire you for finding a routine and sticking to it.

Summertime I'm so active and then the first leaf falls and I turn into a bear, lol.

And in regards to your previous previous post, definitely feel pride in any weight lost because it's soooo hard to lose and so easy to put on twice as much in the long run and you're doing it in a healthy way which is great.

Tanya said...

I. Love. Sour Cream Donuts. I wasn't kidding when I said that picture was worse than the smell of carrot cake! Yeah, I had to give them up forever. I feel like I'm drooling now just thinking about them. So sad. So delicious.

I have stepped on the damn scale a little too much since buying it. I'm thinking about storing it under my sink and taking it out on weigh in day. I'm hoping to become more active this summer too. I want to start jogging--blah. Maybe not. What kinds of things do you do?

Jammi said...

I usually jog as well during the summer, google "couch to 5K" very easy and scheduled even if I have a horrible habit of slipping up with it.

I also did kick boxing a bit in college, like one of the all girl classes which was fun, super hard and I preferred not to go with a friend just because then I'd half ass it if the person I was going with wanted to complain/talk. Which sounds horrible but still.

This year I think I'm going to relive being 12 again and try rollerblading part of the way home from the train station. It's like a thirty minute bus ride sooo I think during the summer that would be a helluva of a exercise and hopefully pretty fun.

But first I have to buy skates, lol.

Tanya said...

That's cool. I think I'm going to take a few tennis classes this summer. I'd also like to do some yoga. I might need to up my gym membership to the next level, but I'm holding off on that while I pay for Weight Watchers. I feel like I'm not coordinated enough for kick boxing or Zumba... I'm a horrible dancer. lol.

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