Miz Fit Comment

After reading this over at Miz Fit, I felt like I needed to comment. I felt like it turned out to be too big for a comment... :) So here's the long version.
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Not that I disagree with the point of the post in any way shape or form, or even the comments, but sometimes a GOOD scale can provide some useful information.

My wife and I decided that this year was the year of taking care of ourselves. We've both lost about 40 pounds, and while I'm essentially at my goal weight (despite what you would think weight loss and marathon training don't seem to go well together (for me at least)), she has more to go.

We would weigh in weekly with our old scale. The old fashioned dial kind. It was too inaccurate. And frustrating. To much dial twisting. And moving around. And on and off. We got a good digital scale and weigh in daily. ONCE a day.

We both attribute our weight gain over the time we've been married to the fact that we DIDN'T own a scale. We finally got one when we got our Bernese Mountain Dog, because we needed to track his weight as he was growing. Even that didn't make it click how much we had gained till Dec of 2007. Because we just didn't use it.

We both track our food and exercise as well as weight. For my wife daily weight tracking meant she saw when the 7 week plateau FINALLY ended. (How is that even possible anyway, calorie deficit and workouts for 7 weeks, and no weight loss.. .grr.. (Some nice body fat changes (according to the scale. :)) which may explain it, but still...)) Also, it meant that we now know what effect T.O.M. has on her weight loss. Brief plateau, sometimes some weigh gain, 3 days after it stops all of the weight, including newly lost weight, drops off. For her the scale is just a check point, a tool, but a useful one. Seeing muscle definition, and body shape change, and old clothes not fitting anymore, and moving furniture without help are bigger and more important deals than the number on the scale. But the number on the scale helps keep her motivated, too.

For me, as I train for my first marathon, I have been able to learn that I gorge on carbs 3 days after my long runs (not a scale thing I guess. :) (Wonders of obsessive food logging)), and scale related, that I gain 2-3 pounds 3 days after a long run, and keep it on for 2-3 days, then it drops off again. It also helps me make sure that I'm eating enough (a little more weight loss would be nice, but I need the nutrition more than I need to lose the last few pounds), or not too much (Even obsessively tracking calories, it's a little hard to keep up with the hunger caused by 40+ mile weeks (I track runs, but not day to day stuff like the 1.25 mile walk to and from the bus daily, the zoo, etc...))

Don't let the scale rule you, rule the scale. If you need/want to use it, let it provide you information that contribute to your goals and your mental well being. When it becomes a weight (heh) around your neck, ditch it and use a tool that does help you.