that lovin' feeling

no, i'm not referring to love of other human beings.  although, we know i'm pretty big on that.

i'm talking about love of yourself.  of your hot bod.  and about how the way you feel about yourself as a whole impacts the way you view said hot bod.

i attended a networking and educational seminar yesterday and it reminded me of several things.  

the first - don't plan to eat healthy at business outings where the meal is planned for you.  stromboli isn't necessarily high on my list of fav lunch items.  

next - even if you eat stromboli (or anything else that's not particularly figure-friendly) for the occasional splurge, you're not going to wake up in the morning having gained 50 pounds.  (if you do, please consult your physician immediately - something is terribly wrong with you)

finally - don't believe everything you hear.

the message of the day was, "measure what matters - what you measure will improve".  i'm not saying i don't trust this speaker.  he is a highly intelligent businessman who has used this line of thinking to find success in the workplace.  what i didn't buy into was his suggestion that it can also be implemented in your every day life.  he used a specific example regarding weight.

the speaker suggested that, by weighing yourself frequently (a la the dreaded bathroom scale), you're bound to lose more weight on a diet than if you're not weighing yourself.  that measuring, in this instance, matters.

i'm not saying that measuring doesn't matter when you're dieting.  i think it's good to keep tabs on how you're growing or shrinking.  but i think there are healthier ways to go about it that do not include a bathroom scale.  my favorite method: do i still fit into my clothes?  if the answer is yes...we're lookin' good.  if the answer is no, put in some extra effort.

the number on the scale only tells you how much you weigh.  period.  it doesn't reflect the difference between your actual body mass versus water you may be retaining (did you consume low-sodium protein all day or were you a carby salt fiend for the day?), or the lean muscle versus fat that may be contributing to that number on the scale.  honestly, it doesn't tell you much of anything, but it can make you feel a whole lot of awful.

measuring caloric intake, body fat, and calorie expenditure is a good idea.  it helps you to figure out what's actually going on inside that hot bod of yours.  but submitting yourself to the torture of the scale is, in my humble (not) opinion, a source of undue stress and emotional strain.  don't do it.  (for more info on body fat and healthy measurements, click here)

i used to weigh myself every day.  sometimes multiple times a day.  at this point in time, i think we all realize that our weight will fluctuate throughout a 24 hour period.  lower in the morning, higher after meals, you never really know what you're going to get.  personal scales vary from the scales at the doctor's office, and those scales will vary from the scale at the gym.  they're unreliable.  so stay the heck away.

in my experience, "gaining" a few pounds on the scale threw me into a frenzy.  i worried about what i'd been eating, my activity level, and hid myself from the public until i found something to hide my "fat".  two hours later, a pee or two, and i'm back to normal.  was it really worth the fuss?

i started working out and lifting heavier weights.  weight goes up.  does this indicate i'm getting fatter?  no ma'am.  it indicates i'm gaining muscle mass.  so chill the fuck out.

i threw the damn thing away a few years back.  the scale, that is.  i literally tossed it in the dumpster and didn't shed a tear.  i now ask medical providers not to provide me with my weight, and instead prefer to measure myself based on what my favorite jeans tell me.  or my belts.  or my boyfriend (although, we know lovers are just about as unreliable as scales...).

warning: you can't even trust yourself.  

that's right, i said it.  the way you feel about yourself is absolutely not an indicator of your physique.  just because you feel "fat" doesn't mean you're heavier.  if i'm having a bad day, i often times allow those feelings to eff up my self-perception, and i feel fat.  bad hair days somehow often turn into "fat" days.  sleepy days miraculously transform into "fat" days.  stressed about work days often morph into "fat" days.  what a waste of time!  i throw on my favorite jeans, and what do they tell me?  "amy dear, you're doin' just fine."  trust the jeans.  do not trust yourself.

if you ask friends or family to tell you if you look heavier, what do you expect them to say?  of course they'll tell you they can't tell a difference, that you look great.  and maybe you do.  but are you actually going to trust them?

if you're worried about your size, drop the concern for (a) what others see and (b) what the scale tells you.  try the jeans theory.  you won't be disappointed.

(and fyi - even if you gain 5-10, the majority of the world won't even NOTICE.  so relax.  you're hot.)