I track my weight loss on two different scales. One is in the Weight Watchers (WW) office, where I weigh myself once a week. The other is in my bathroom, where I weigh myself every couple of hours.
Take a wild guess which one is more accurate and helpful.
The scale at the WW office is digital, measures me to within one-tenth of a pound, and is controlled so I can weigh myself consistently once a week. In a good week I’ll see a decent loss, congratulate myself on my victory, and mentally prepare for next week’s weigh-in. That scale is absolute truth. It’s law. It’s attached to a computer for heaven’s sakes; how can it not be canon?
In contrast, the scale at my house is white and square and cost nine dollars at Wal-Mart. When I step on it to weigh myself, the little spinny wheel weaves back and forth undecidedly until it stops on a number that is accurate to within one to six pounds of my actual weight. I’ll weigh myself first thing in the morning, right out of the shower, before or after a meal, with and without pants depending on the weight of the fabric, or any other random time I happen to be in the bathroom.
I know it’s unrealistic to expect to lose any significant amount of weight on an hourly basis, but I can’t help stepping onto that pathetic little scale every time I pass it. I treat it the same way I treat my daily horoscope in the newspaper: I’m skeptical, but if it’s good news it can make me feel kind of optimistic. Each time I step on it I’m feeding the hope that somehow I’m losing weight.
The truth is, I’ve realized that when it comes to losing weight, it’s not about the numbers, its about the habits. Numbers on the scale are variable by the minute. Actual body weight can fluctuate faster than a drink of water or a trip to the toilet (which is why, at my WW location, the line for the restroom can be as long as the line for the weigh-in booths). The human body just shifts itself around that way.
Habits, on the other hand, literally tip the scale for real. Habits make you exercise. Habits make you take smaller portions of food. And over time habits will become so ingrained in the way you live that the weight doesn’t creep back to your thighs six months after you hit your magic number. You hit goal, you keep on with those habits, and you stay at your goal weight. Like forever.
Yeah. Habits.
Of course, knowing this doesn’t stop me from stepping on my pitiful little scale whenever I pass my bathroom. It’s certainly not the most productive habit I’ve acquired since joining Weight Watchers, but I tell myself at least I can recognize it for what it is. I’ve decided that if I continue with all my new good habits that have lost me 25 pounds as of last Wednesday, I can keep this stupid little bad one.
*Archived post from June 2010
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