Thursday, February 3, 2011

Living in the Land of Make Believe

Got a rude awakening this week, my friends. A very nasty little reminder why SOD (the scale of doom) has been relegated to the cornfields for the past six months or so.

I know for many people SODs are valuable tools. For me, SOD is something invented for the Spanish Inquisition. It is a torture device that never gives me a straightforward answer. One day it's up, one day it's down.

It's like when women were thrown in water to see if they were witches. Any of those who floated (as I surely would have!) or could swim were obviously in league with the devil, and yanked out to be burned at the stake. Those who sank and drowned...well, death was the price they had to pay in order to be declared innocent.

Either way, there was no good answer. That's what SOD is like to me.

After getting a glimpse of the GINORMOUS number at the Doc's office last week (rationalized away by the big snow boots and clothes I wore) I climbed onto the gym scale on Tuesday night. I shouldn't have gotten on at night, of course, and in clothes....but still, I was shocked.

According to that scale, I've not lost one pound since..oh, November! Now I know for a fact that my pants are much looser. I have gotten comments from non-family members that I've visibly lost weight. So W.T.F???????

I hate SOD. Hate. Not getting back on for weeks and weeks.

But where's the make believe in all this? Well, I admit to suffering from a common dieting disease: fairy-taleitis.

You see, fairy-taleitis makes me think that I can take off pounds at a magical rate, and that the scale will instantly respond. Fairy-taleitis also makes me overestimate the impact of the days when I do eat "clean" and go to the gym, and underestimate the impact of days when nibbles sneak in and my movement is nil.

It's so much easier in the land of make believe, isn't it? Until you try to bring your pretend world and your real world into synch -- that's when the gray matter explodes.

Despite my momentary loss of confidence, I stayed on track this week. Tuesday night's little shock therapy moment did me no good, I will admit. I teetered on the corner of Hopeless and Despair for a good hour or two, before convincing myself to head on over to Tomorrow is Another Day Street.

Happily, I was able to walk to work once this week in my new orthotics and the report is positive! A few funny feelings in the toe, but overall very good. I have hopes of the twinges going away completely very soon.

Would you like to see a picture of my walk this morning?

OK, one more.
So the feet are holding their own, and the tummy is too. That's because I haven't eaten any veggies for about two weeks now. Doctor's reports expected soon, can't wait to see what the mystery results are. At this point, I'm beginning to think I'm just old and can't digest vegetables anymore!

10 comments:

  1. OMG I just love NY. What a gorgeous walk. Your talk about Fairy-Tale-Itis hit home. Especially in wanting magically fast weight loss, and including the pointed ignoring of little slips here and there (like me taking a breaded shrimp off my spouse's plate tonight). Sigh. We must all soldier on. It's nice to have comrades!

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  2. Yup, as soon as I turn something yummy down, I expect the scales to instantly reward my virtue by plummeting. Sadly, it never does seem to happen.

    Px

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  3. I've teetered on that corner many times, but now I can get off of it a lot sooner and switch my mind off from the diappointment.

    Yep, best to weigh on one scale and without boots and clothes, of course :)

    I still have visions of tying the scale to my car and dragging it down the street when I hit my goal weight, but where would I weigh in once a month? Hmmm, gotta think about that. Glad you got back on track.

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  4. Look at your clean roads! I'm jealous!! And oh its so pretty!!

    So where do you think you can change your loss cycle? I hate food logging, but would it help you?

    Polar's Mom
    www.polarspage.blogspot.com

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  5. Do you take measurements? If the scale is giving you that much issue, then I would only go by measurements. Like you said, your pants are looser, so there may have been fat burning, which the scale is not intelligent enough to tell you.

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  6. The scale can certainly be nasty. I have a love/hate relationship with mine. The looser fitting clothes is the best indicator! Cheers, Rick

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  7. Looks like you have a beautiful place to walk from the pictures. If your clothes are loose and people notice that you're trimming down, I'd say throw that scale to the wind. Isn't it fun to be in smaller clothes no matter what the scale says? I like the thought of walking on Tomorrow is Another Day Street and hope it finds you feeling happy and much better.

    Jackie
    www.midlifemyway.blogspot.com

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  8. Pesky scale!!! If your clothes are looser and people are noticing, you know you're doing something right. LOVE the photos!!!!! Chin up and have a great weekend. (sooo happy that the orthotics are helping!!!)

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  9. You know what Ish? Who cares what SOD thinks? Clothes are looser, people are complimenting, what more do you need. Not a stinkin' scale, that is for sure.

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  10. I am with you on the fairy-taleitis. That is probably the biggest issue I have with my healthy living. I have to fight the urge to "reward" myself with food after I've had a great workout. Luckily, it's a life-long process we're on--we have a long time to get it right! (Hopefully)

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