Saturday, October 17, 2009

Argh!!

So because of my anxiety I function best following strict routines. Some of them are silly. But they help me feel better. They give me a strange and calming sense of control. I'm going to share one of them with you. By sharing this with you, I am revealing to you how truly neurotic I am.

So each morning, my alarm goes off at 5:00 am. I roll over and turn it off. It goes off again at 5:15 am. This time I turn it off and get up. I'm not sure why, but that extra 15 minutes of sleep gets me up.

Anyway, I say my morning prayer and head straight to the bathroom to pee. I drink 96 ounces of water each day, so I always wake up with a very full bladder. I have to stop drinking at about 6pm to avoid waking up in the middle of the night to pee. (I'm sure this is WAY more than you wanted to know, but guess what. This is my blog and I can write what I want). :)

So I pee, then step on the scale in the nude. I know it probably sounds silly to some of you, but for me, this gets me the most accurate weight reading. I'm not so much concerned with the number on the scale. Just the difference in the current number and previous reading.

And for those of you who think that I shouldn't be weighing myself daily I think I've explained myself before. I am only allowed to get upset at the number on the scale on Monday morning. My weight difference from Monday to Monday is what counts. However, I like to track my weight daily to see how my eating that day affected it. I make myself aware that some days I'm eating a little less, some days a little more, and some days I intentionally splurge. On the days I splurge I like to see how much I really splurged. Or on Fast Sunday I like to see what kind of a difference that made. Even though it doesn't matter. Like I said, I'm neurotic.

The morning ritual goes as follows: Wake up, pray, pee, weigh in, get dressed in work out garb, make and eat breakfast, check blogs while I eat breakfast, read my scriptures, and then workout.

Why am I telling you all of this when you probably couldn't care less? Because:

So, as of Wednesday I was down to 170.5 lbs from Monday's 172. A whole pound and a half! I was actually really surprised by that since I've been at it for a few weeks now and I generally start to taper off to just a pound or two a week. I thought maybe because I had bumped up my workouts this week, that had been the difference. I didn't plan to continue that way for long, but it was exciting!

Because I had been doing so well early in the week, I didn't feel guilty for eating one of those ghost cookies Wednesday night for FHE. So when I had gained half a pound the next morning I knew that it was probably a result of the minor splurge the night before and it didn't bother me at all.

I ate really well and worked out hard that day. And woke up the next morning with another half pound gain. This time I was confused. I wouldn't have been surprised if the number had stayed the same, but I had actually gained weight. That didn't make sense to me with my workout and eating.

I decided not to let it bother me because it wasn't Monday. If Monday's number wasn't a reflection of my hard work I would just have to take a much closer look at things.

Then this morning, I woke up, prayed, peed, stepped on the scale in the buff, looked down to see the number...and it was blank. Stupid scale! I thought the battery must just be dead. It hadn't been replaced in over two years.

In case you were wondering, true love is running to the grocery store for a lithium battery for your neurotic wife at 5:30 am.

So Jason came home, changed the scale battery, and nothing. It wasn't the battery. Must be the scale. The thing may or may not be under warranty, but I have no clue what I did with the warranty and it wasn't that expensive anyway. So Jason ran back to the store and bought me a new scale. He really does love me. :)

So he brought home the new, more expensive scale. I read the little manual. This scale actually had a few added features. It was better than my old one! So I stepped on. 173.6 lbs. Huh? That can't be right! I didn't gain another 2 pounds in one day! I was really, really good! I even enjoyed a movie at the theater with my husband while he ate candy and popcorn and I chewed my gum!

Well, maybe there's just a difference in the scales and if I just weigh myself tomorrow morning I'll be down from this new number. Fine. I can live with that.

So, I took my hair out of my ponytail and took off my wedding ring and stepped back on the scale, just for fun. 172.4?! Now, my ring is beautiful, but it's not the hope diamond! Geez! It doesn't weigh an entire pound! (But can you imagine?!) :)

I put my hair back up and my ring back on and went back to the scale. 173.4 lbs. Stupid scale isn't even consistent. Different number every time I stepped on. I repackaged the scale. Jason's returning it later today.

So I have no idea how much I weigh today. Which isn't a huge deal. It just would have put my mind at ease because of the weird numbers earlier in the week. But I feel super off today. Like, it's already almost 10am and I haven't read my scriptures or worked out. I've been too busy looking up bathroom scales online.

Any suggestions? Anyone have anything they really like? Or know about a type that will give me an accurate, consistent reading? I want something nice, but I'm not willing to spend more than $50. (Although I'd really love to buy one of those industrial scales they have in doctors' offices for a few hundred!)

By the way, I'm not completely obsessed with my weight. I know it probably seems that way because I'm posting about it all the time and because, well, as you can see/read, I'm super neurotic. But I'm mostly normal. It's just a lot of hard work and I need to be very aware of my health in order to reach my goals. Just try not to judge me too harshly. :) Thanks!

9 comments:

Jane said...

That's a horrible story! I'm so sorry! We love our bathroom scale. It shows weight, percent body fat, percent muscle, and percent water. It is Prodeux model. We bought it at K*Mart in Rock Springs for around $30? Matt says it was more like $20...but I think it was 30. Anyway it's awesome. It has a glass top and just looks classy.

http://www.prodex-hk.com/PEV-165E.JPG That's a picture of it

Hilary said...

That stinks! I weigh myself everyday too. It's nice to see how your habits the day before affected your weight. I have no idea about a scale though. Ours is a piece of junk. SO inaccurate. The one above looks pretty nice though. Or maybe you could get the same type you had before if you really liked that?

Rebecca said...

Hey I know the feeling! My LAST scale did that to me right after I bought it, and it was like $45! So we went and got the Weight Watchers one, the glass one that they sell at costco, it is PHENOMINAL! it has YET to be wrong, I had to know my EXACT weight every morning, so far, 6 months later this one has not failed me.

Rebecca said...

Oh and it was only $29.99 btw

Rebecca said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brianne said...

That is so strange about the whole scale issue. I would say go to Costco. They have great stuff and they're also the best at returns if you aren't happy. Both Mark's parents and my parents have the weight watchers scale and they love it.

Linda@CraftaholicsAnonymous said...

Sooo not cool that scale was broke. But kind of a funny story! Jason must have gotten you a serious rock for your finger!! lol

Jason & Kelli West said...

I got a great scale from costco. it always is right on with the doctors. I love your posts by the way. You are such a fun writer. And your husband is so nice to go and get a battery and then a new scale. I hope you find one that you like. keep up the great work!

Gail said...

Hi. This is your long-lost VTer. :) Jewel weighs daily as well. I don't have one. She says I should get one for when she visits. Reading your story, I think I get that better now. Not that I'm going to buy one, however. But if I ever change my mind, I'll know where to check back to see what to get! ;^) P.S., you're beautiful. In more ways than one. (Possibly more ways than you know.)