The Scale - "Friend or Foe"?

After getting on the scale this morning that shows me weight, body fat and percentage of water, I pondered the idea of daily weigh in again to keep myself on track. Seems as though when I go days, or sometimes months avoiding that crazy little silver thing that sits in the corner of my bathroom I wonder if looking in the mirror at my body isn't enough to tell me - - but it isn't - - the mirror can't give you a number... And for all you BLUE people - data centric crazies - - you NEED a number to motivate you. I guess I should know that being a racer / runner and needing the clock and timing for each run to get me ready for a marathon.

BUT the scale can make or break my mood and I REALLY don't like it. Looking in the mirror should be enough. I feel good about me today - - that is important. Take the scale for what it is worth - use it as a motivator not a menace to your mind. It will help us beat the percentage of the population that are obese. A new program focus in the EI - with the new "Choose to Change" program centered around the NuPA trials that my friend Heather managed these past 3 years or more. Stay tuned and keep your ears open for what ACS is doing about it.

I am glad that we are all on track and have the minds to look within ourselves to motivate for a better YOU - a healthier YOU.
So get on the scale - make it a habit - get on track. Stay motivated.

Here is a great article from Good Housekeeping comparing body fat scales (remember weight is comprised of fat and muscle and water!)...
An excerpt of the article below:

Will your body be less fatty next year than it is right now? If you'd actually like to answer that question, check out the new scales that measure not only your weight but the percentage of fat in your body composition. We tested seven scales and compared their results with those of the Bod Pod, a $32,000 machine that's the medical benchmark. All seven overestimated body fat -- but they came a lot closer than the caliper method (favored by many health clubs), which was off by 50 percent. "These scales, even pricey ones, aren't absolutely accurate," says GH Institute Technical Director John Kupsch. "But they can track whether your body fat is fluctuating over time.

I have a Tanita and currently am using a HoMedics scale that measures water percentage as well (So I don't dehydrate - as one must be at least 50% water!) ... ask Judy (no more ER visits for me!).

Go Ruffle Boo - let's get it down!
Cheers to you all for making the decision to get it done!

Thoughts? Post your comments below....

Some Success Finally!

It has been a long slow process.. this losing weight business! It sure was easy to put on 30 lbs but a lot more difficult taking it off. Last week I went to Austin and Michael Hulse took Shannon and I to this, as he calls it, very "Austin" restaurant. The food was about as anti-Sonoma diet as you can get but of course I ate it up. I didn't get to exercise for 3 days either last week. The weird thing is I was afraid to weigh myself when I got back home so I waited one day. I took the plunge on Saturday and miracle of miracles I had somehow lost 3 lbs from the week before! All I can say is sometimes you have to shake it up, but then hop right back into it. My conclusion is that my body had kicked up my metabolism to adjust for less exercise and not healthy food and when I came back home and ate healthy and exercised it burned it up! Not saying that you should go off of your plan every week but I guess once in a while doesn't hurt. I have cut way back on my wine consumption too. About half of what I used to drink so I am sure that is helping too. I can relate to Karen's blog though I think that sugar has been creeping back into my diet more and more. Well everybody have a good week and remember if you fall off for a day or two the important thing is to get right back into your healthy routine as soon as you can!

Jeff and Diet update

I'm going to start off a bit off topic since I'm sure many of you are wondering how Jeff fared with Gustav this weekend. He's been staying in touch via text message...so this is what I know so far:

He evacuated last week, well ahead of the storm and in plenty of time to board up his house as best he could. He, Sybil, the babies and the dog are all with his in-laws in Alexandria, LA, about 3 hours from LaPlace/New Orleans. LaPlace has been without power for days now. Alexandria lost power yesterday and still did not have power when I last heard from him about 10 p.m. last night. Everyone is safe, but he has said that he's not sure what condition he'll find his home when he is allowed to go back. He already knows that his parents' house was damaged. His father is going to see if he can get back to LaPlace today to assess the situation at both houses.

Sybil's office was apparently damaged as well, so she will not be back at work until next week at the earliest. That means they are going to stay up north for at least another day or so... Jeff, as you know, is a trooper, so he should start to get messages as soon as he has power again.

I'll keep you posted.

In my area of the world, it's hardly as significant, but school started today. Maybe it's because Rob is a teacher, so the start of school has always been a part of our lives, but I see this week as one for new beginnings...sort of like our New Year's! We both started back at Wave 1 on Sonoma yesterday, just to kick the sugar cravings that have started to creep back in. We'll see how it goes! It feels good to back to both work and the diet, actually!