The allure of the scale

I hear stories all the time from people who are in the midst of losing weight who monitor the numbers on the scale religiously. Scaletians? Scalethoc? Scaleists? I dunno what to call these people. Anyway they follow the scale as if it were the only indicator of weight loss.

Now I'm not saying that getting on the scale is a bad thing. Heck, just before starting this blog post, I stepped onto the scale to see what number it gave me. 390.2. A nice number that continues my downward trend every since surgery. But that isn't what matters to me.

Last night, I went to the movies with my girlfriend. I wore one of my favorite polo shirts--a nice crimson number with the Alabama "A" over the heart. (What can I say, Crimson Tide fans carry the team on their heart anyway.) She made the comment that my shirt was starting to look a bit loose on me. I had already noticed that I was tightening my belt on a regular basis and have only one hole left before I need to break out a hammer and nail to add more.

See, we look at the scale and say to ourselves what does the number say. If it goes down, we are happy; if it goes up, we are sad; and if it is unchanged, we are frustrated. But we fail to notice the little things in life. The clothes that fit better--or are getting too big. Being able to climb stairs without gasping for air. Walking around your local big box store without getting tired. All of these are signs of improving the quality of our lives by losing weight and exercising. Yet we often discount those circumstances as we focus on the scale.

But a healthier lifestyle is not a number. It is our ability to get out and enjoy life to its fullest. It is the ability to go hiking if we want to. To jump on a bicycle and spend three hours cruising the countryside looking at things differently than we would if we were trapped in a car. It is about being able to get on the floor to play with our children without worrying about getting back up. Those are the things that really matter...not the num,bers on teh scale.

So I challenge you to change your perspective. Yes, the scale is one indicator of a weight loss journey. But it isn't the only one. Stop worshiping at the altar of the scale and start living life. It's truly so much better.