Stop Weighing - Please

Yesterday, a dear friend called.  She and a friend have been on weight watchers and trying to lose pounds.  She was upset because she believed the results she had achieved were disappointing.  She told me she had lost only 10 pounds in five weeks.  I expressed praise and joy!  I said to her "that is exactly what you should be losing if you intend to keep the weight off.  That is the goal, is it not?"  She agreed that long term success was the goal

I then asked if she had been exercising and she informed me that she had been riding her bike and working out with a circuit training video.  I again praised her and told he that she is probably putting on some muscle - which is good-  but that could be skewing her perception of her results.  I explained that muscle takes up about 20% less space than fat and weighs more.  It keeps your metabolism high and is the magic bullet for getting lean.

I then asked her to go into her closet and find a pair of pants that were a size smaller than she currently was wearing.  She had to look for a while and called me back and said "I found of pair of pants that are old and a size smaller.  I put them on and they fit perfectly!  I am PUMPED!"

I then recommended she find another pair of pants- another smaller size -  to measure her success by, and not weight because it was only discouraging her.

Here's to throwing out the scale and using your skinny jeans as a guide.  That is our goal isn't it?  To be smaller?  Who cares about a number on a machine?