A necessary obsession

"Don't weigh yourself every day!" Those are the words of advice that have been given to me over the course of the last 10 months. (Wow! This journey has been ten months already... too bad I have rollercoastered through this rather than sailed through). When I tell people that I weigh myself every morning, I am constantly told that it isn't healthy and that I shouldn't do it. That I should limit myself to stepping on the scale once a week, the same time every week, and in the same circumstances (wearing the same articles of clothing, first thing in the morning, after I use the bathroom).

Despite everyone's advice, I continue to weigh myself each and every morning... sometimes 2-3 times before I will finally eat. "You are CRAZY and OBSESSED!!!" I am SURE this is what you are thinking to yourself as you read (and some of you reread) what I just wrote. 'Tis true! Here is why:

Reflecting on my rollercoaster ride, I have found that on days when I do not weigh myself, I tend to eat more and eat unhealthy. This follows another morning of not weighing myself (due to the immense amount of junk I had the day prior), and the pattern continues. I tell myself, "I'll just have one bad week and that will jumpstart a large weightloss next week!) And more often than not, that "one bad week" flourishes into a month, or even more!

When I weigh myself each morning, it motivates me to keep going. I am reminded daily of the diminishing numbers, and on the occassions that the number increases, I am motivated to see it go down the following day. Even if it is only one tenth of a pound, I feel successful. Weighing myself each and every morning keeps me on track. I eat healthier, I keep track of what I eat, I focus more on physical activity, and I feel better about myself.

But why 2-3 times a morning? Well, let's be adults here. I need to make sure I have rid myself of anything in my body that can alter my weight. You might be surprised to find out that you can lose up to an entire pound just from using the bathroom! *I hope I have not grossed any of you out. If I have, I apologize!* So, yes. 2-3 times a morning because sometimes, I'm just not done (hahahaha) and I may not realize it at the moment of the initial or secondary weigh-in.

One other thing you might be wondering is if I feel the same "reward" when I weigh myself on my official weigh-in day - Mondays. Truth is.. I do! I feel that reward nearly every single day as I see my weight slowly going down. Then, when I go online and track my official weigh-in with Weight Watchers, I see just how many pounds I have lost the entire week, as well as in all. I don't like surprises. I'd rather not wait an entire week to go by before I weigh myself, only to be disappointed. At least I am constantly aware of what is to come. There are no bad surprises. If I have had a rough day, it shows on the scale the next morning. If I've had an exceptional day, I'm rewarded with a few tenths of a pound lighter the following day.

I will end here. This was something that I felt the need to share (especially for those compulsive weigh-in-ers like me!)

I'll see you tomorrow for my weekly weigh-in!