Week One - Day Five - Saying NO to scales.

Today has been a great day. I had lots of energy and I'm sleeping so much better. I've also felt a nice calm feeling which was achieved by pushing myself rather than just doing moderate, long term cardio. I've done a lot of reading on the benefits of HIIT ( Hight Intensity Interval Training). More on this next week, I still have some reading to do about it.

So I came home to look for some recipes, I was shocked at the amount of weight loss themed books and calorie counters I have. I decided the best thing to do was take them down to Vinnies for someone else to fret over. I see all these books as a way to place the responsibility with the author, especially when i find myself not following their advice, or hearing a repeat message that was in the last book. How many times have I heard myself say, "this isn't a good program, that won't work for me". This was a wake up call. By relying on these books to give me the answer I don't really take control and make my own decisions. Doing what feels right for me really is the most important rule. I know exactly what needs to be done to shift fat from my body - it's my body after all.

If everyone with a weight problem listened to their own body then its a big shift to being more responsible for what happens to it. Education around weight is of course a positive move, but there are so many titles and diets and plans - it's all designed to complicate and confuse. I mean if you ask someone skinny about why they are skinny? They don't really know, they haven't thought about it, they don't need to. Perhaps they trust that their body will regulate itself.

In saying that, another problem for me is the propensity to jump on the scales every few days - a major weight loss regulator used by many. I'm not sure if it's a habit or if I'm genuinely concerned - they sit in the bathroom so I tend to step on them. But what do I feel when the scales look back? Well most of the time i feel shit. I've even laughed at the thoughts in my head that say, "no sorry, i disagree with that number". I'd love to know what is and isn't working, but, i don't think the scales are going to do that for me. My new measuring tools are going to be people's comments, my clothes, how hungry i am, how well i sleep and how my body feels. Perhaps also measuring my belly once a week as that's the most dangerous form of fat for guys and probably the best indicator as to whether you're turning into a rolly polly pudding.