My Journey Beyond The Scale: MEN ARE SO LUCKY?

Friday is my weekly weigh-in date and I am absolutely thrilled to report that I was down 4.5 pounds this week! That is the morning after my yummy Egg and Chips :-). I know it is not all about the scale but it does make one feel good. Right? There is no denying that. It also reiterates my strong belief that you can indulge occasionally and still lose weight. Getting right back on track is the key.

I can almost hear it ringing in my ears though. The words I hear all the time: "Men are so lucky...they lose weight so fast!"

Of course I do have an opinion on this. Are you surprised?

Before we go there, however, let's deal realistically with the awesome weight loss I saw this week. The following words are not "taking back" my success at all. I am owning it and believe I deserve every one of those 4.5 pounds :-)

It is important to remember, however, that I have just finished a stint of struggling with my eating. When we don't eat well our body stores glycogen, a carb that is stored with water.

When you suddenly start to eat really well, the glycogen burns first and the water gets released. I am guessing that accounted for a reasonable amount of my loss. Don't you worry... as I said...I'm still taking it!

This is why so many people see big weight losses at the start of their journey.

If that didn't happen for you when you started eating healthier congratulations! It probably just means you were eating pretty well already and perhaps portion control is something to focus on. Only you know you.

Ok...onto the "men lose weight faster" thing.

There is no denying that there is statistically proof that, on average, this is true. Men lose weight faster.

I prefer to think of it as "some people" lose weight faster. I personally know quite a few men who lose weight slowly, and quite a few women who lose weight fast.

I do tend to lose weight fast so I am one of the lucky ones. Or am I? I'm not so sure I am.

My problem with losing weight fast is that I have the knowledge that I can "just take it off again", and that mindset gets me in trouble.

That mindset enables me to pig out all weekend and pull it back in check before I have to face the scale the following week. So I can eat all weekend and starve all week. Do I get the results? Yes...along with massive congratulations on my achievements.

Is it healthy? Absolutely not.

That mindset encourages me to make unhealthy choices.

That mindset played a major role in my joining and quitting Weight Watchers 11 times.

When you feel like you can "get away" with it, you tend to overindulge. When you overindulge too close to your "weigh-in" date you tend to skip the meeting (after all...next week will be better and no one will know...right?).

Sometimes that theory actually works but it is a ticking time bomb. It is not a question of "if" it will happen it is a question of "when" it will happen. After over-indulging, the first meeting gets skipped so you can "bring yourself back in check"...but you don't bring yourself back in check...so you skip the second meeting, and then the third, and then the fourth, and then you are gone.

Three months later you find yourself sitting on a couch, eating Doritos, watching One Life To Live, and telling a friend: "I'm going to go back to Weight Watchers as soon as I lose weight". Crazy isn't it? Believe me, I have been there.

I know myself well enough to know that I WILL lose weight at a good pace if I stick to plan, but I also know myself well enough to know that that is not always a blessing.

That my friends, creates the dichotomy of it all. It is critical that you step on the scale, ESPECIALLY when you know you are "up", but it is also critical that you don't let the scale rule your life. It can destroy you as fast as it pumps you up. Thinking with, but beyond the scale, really is the only way to succeed long term. That is my opinion anyway.

So I ask the question: Are "people" who lose weight fast lucky? I'm not so sure.

So let us just accept the journey we are on, whatever it may be.

Here is to feeling healthy and fantastic going forward and keeping the focus on that! :-)

My food intake yesterday:

Given my indulgences Thursday and what I just wrote above, I decided "Friday" just had to be a normal day as much as possible for me. I knew we were going out to a restaurant for Ramen, however, and had to make it work.

Breakfast was Blueberry-Almond Muesli from the WW "Year Round Fresh" cookbook (I love this book!). It is great for those mornings when you need to eat "on the go". Super easy to make but you have to plan ahead as it soaks in the fridge overnight.

Lunch was a Chicken Vegetable Noodle Bowl (this was really just leftovers from earlier in the week). Be forewarned: I still have more of this and won't get home for lunch today...so it is today's lunch too (and that means your going to see it AGAIN tomorrow). It is really good but I will be glad to move on from it I think.

Dinner was Ramen out in a Restaurant. I chose a simple one with chicken and an egg.

Perhaps more important than what I ate was what I didn't eat. I left the sodium infested liquid behind, It was really just flavouring for the food anyway. So this is what I DIDN'T eat.