So I am fat. I know I am fat. I love being fat. I have no issues with being fat other than when it affects my ability to do something.
I have noticed since my surgery, now that my heart is healing (mostly healed, but still a struggle sometimes), my mass is causing me some issues. I don’t move as quickly as I would like. Not as flexible as I would like to be. I question my ability to complete certain work outs… You get the idea. It is not about the look, the number on the scale but rather the limitations I am currently feeling.
So what does one do when they are feeling like that? Embark on a wellness journey. Unfortunately, and I say unfortunate because it really is a sh*t indicator really, weight is the easiest thing to track on a daily basis. Non Scale Victories are f*cking awesome and should be celebrated! More emphasis should be on those! But I am getting distracted from my original point, lost it somewhere at weight. The scale number is an easy thing to track.
I don’t think it is just me who feels that my efforts should be reflected in measurement. Calories in, calories out, deficit = weight loss, equals lower number. That reasoning, and seriously backed up scientific facts, seem to not apply to my body. Why? I don’t know. Yes, it probably does but it seems like it is always more complicated than stepping on the scale and seeing results or change (in the right direction).
Look at today for example. Having just started this 2 week goal just today, perfect opportunity to do a weigh-in. I weighed myself yesterday because I wanted to have a starting weight for the next two weeks and was uncertain if I would be back at the gym today, anyway, justification not necessary. How I managed to overnight half a kilo while fasting, eating what I ate the night before, science could not explain to me. All I know is this is why I do not weigh myself regularly. This is why I dread the scale, not because of the number but because from one day to the next the numbers do not seem to connect for me. I mean, it could be that the salt was just really bugging me yesterday or that my body decided to swell (joys of being a heart patient). Any number of things could be the culprit. Hell, I could have slept-ate some delivery pizza and have no recollection (unlikely).
The fluctuation of the numbers, for whatever reason is infuriating and, if I am honest, discouraging. Which is why I generally avoid it. And while I am current not using weight as a goal in the coming weeks, I am tracking it and plan to track it daily throughout these two weeks. (No, I will not share the number with you everyday, because it is not relevant, see the entire previous text.) I am tracking it out of curiosity more than anything else. I will make a pretty graph and see what conclusions I can make from it, if any.
My advice is always focus on the non-scale victories. Focus on how you feel. What you did this week that was impossible last week! Those are worth celebrating. A number is a number, and yes, they are worth celebrating if that’s our goal, but why would you focus on something that fluctuates so frequently and really has no say in how you feel in your body. Unless it does, hell, some people are super weight focused and that works for them. There is nothing wrong with that. It is just not something I use for my be all end all wellness journey.
Stay safe out there. Don’t forget to move when and if you can.
Nic
I wanna know… What are some non scale victories you measure?