I’ve had a lifelong issue with being heavier than I’d like. Probably heavier than is healthy, though I read some time ago that people who have about 10% more weight than their BMI suggests they should be tend to be healthier and live longer. Oh, and did I read that it turns out the BMI is total oversimplified, way outdated bunk anyway?
But I digress.
Suffice to say, when I do the Right Thing–not eating junk food, watching portion sizes, exercising more, etc.–I can absolutely lose weight and be more fit. I’d lost enough at one point (and it wasn’t even that much) that I was briefly given the side-eye and asked about it by U.S. border patrol at an airport because my face looked different enough from my passport photo. Which, given it not getting to the point of strip search, I’ll take as a compliment.
So yes, I can do it, but I’m one of the masses of us who don’t like to do it. Nothing wrong with people who sincerely enjoy eating well and working out and being uber, it’s genuinely admirable and more people could use at least some of that initiative, I just happen to not be among them. I like snacking and would way rather sit and read or watch a movie or be writing than running or weight lifting.
But there are times when, in my yo-yoing weight loss and gain–and yes, I know it’s mass not weight, but no one likes a pedant so let’s move on–than I see and feel that, okay, it’s time to reel that tendency in and start focusing on being healthier. Eat less crap, move around some more, and enjoy the rewards of not being as repulsed when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror shimmying out of the tub. Maybe even (kind of?) being happy with the way I look, although of course so much of consumerism hinges on my not being happy with it (which is a post for another time).
And I’m getting there now.
We have a frustratingly fickle bathroom scale. It’s digital, which initially made me think, “Ah-ha! Electronics! These scales must of course be so much better than those old ones that use a dial to tell you how bad you should feel.”
Better is relative, of course. And some may even like this bathroom scale (hit me up with an offer if you’re interested in buying it), but it’s frustrating in that it will give you a different number every time you step on it, even if it’s right away. This morning I stepped on it three times and got three different numbers for my weight, spanning about three pounds. (Yes, I’m a Generation X Canadian, so while I wholeheartedly think the metric system is far better than imperial, I’m sadly caught between the system of our British founders and the globally influential United States that we’re right beside, so I use Celcius for gauging temperature but know my weight only in pounds and default to stating my height in feet (but at least know what it is in centimeters). I’m always using my phone’s calculator when we get our daughter to the doctor for a checkup and we’re given her height only in centimeters and weight only in kilograms so that it makes some sense to me.)
But yes, a three pound difference with three steps onto the scale. For the record, I always go with something like an average among the readings and go with that as my current weight.
In a way it’s probably good that the scale isn’t dead accurate down to the tenths of a pound, because as anyone who’s tried to lose weight knows, it can be a frustratingly slow process, and seeing only incremental changes despite what feels like a ton of effort can be depressing. So hey, I weigh myself and know that it’s something like that and move on with my day. Getting hung up on tiny changes in either direction would be maddening. To that end, I also don’t weigh myself every day, or even every week. In theory, more time between weight checks means more change, and seeing a bigger drop in weight after a couple of weeks of effort feels way better than seeing tiny changes every day or two. The former is way better for my mental well-being.
Anyway, onward with my efforts. I may do occasional check-ins here to keep people posted on progress, and it’ll probably help keep me inspired to keep going, as well.
If I can, I’ll get below 200 pounds, which was the lightest I was at that border crossing issue. And if I need to get a new passport photo as a result of such a drastic change, so much the better.