A handy bit of perspective

[annathepiper]

I was all set to bitch this morning about the scale going right back up to 170 this morning (post-sushi and post-birthday-cake), a situation which was quite frustrating given that I read 167.5 yesterday, but I got handed a bit of perspective at the bus stop downtown. I saw a tall, thin woman standing next to me, and first noticed that like many folks going about their business downtown, she was nattily dressed in a nice sort of business-y way: gray jacket, dark slacks, scarf around her neck. She had what looked like a resume portfolio tucked under her right arm, but something about it looked off to me.

Then I noticed her right arm was gone beneath the elbow. At first my brain thought it was just a trick of my vantage point and that she must have just had her hand curled around to the front of her. But no. It was actively gone. The right sleeve of her jacket was pushed up to just above where her arm had been lost, presumably so as to not let it dangle sloppily down beside her.

As I got on the bus I thought about that. And I realized that if I were that woman, I could still work; as I learned in the summer of 2003 when I broke my arm, I can type quite adequately with one hand. I could still write. But I wouldn't be able to play my instruments. Not a single instrument in my possession could be played with just one hand.

I can get these pounds back off, probably even by the end of the month, as long as I keep judiciously to my Plan and go very carefully through what's left of the cake. That woman, however, won't be getting her hand back.

It's times like this that affirm for me why I am agnostic rather than atheist. Call it what you will--God, the Universe, Fate, Fortune, the vagaries of life, whatever--there just comes every so often a sign that you've been handed a clue. And in this case, it's a clue I deeply appreciate. With the exception of half of my thyroid, I've still got all the body parts with which I was born, and they're all in reasonably good working order.

All things considered, a couple of post-birthday-cake pounds really aren't all that bad.

Comments

[firni.livejournal.com]

Yes. *snug*

[neutronjockey.livejournal.com]

Always pick the same time of day to weight yourself ie mornings before breakfast are best. I wouldn't be surprised if just after the sushi you gained a couple of lbs, rice loves to retain water. Give it a couple of days and I'm sure you'll be back down, you can't put on lbs of fat overnight contrary to popular belief.
-=Jeff=-

[mamishka.livejournal.com]

I highly encourage you not to get all bent about the scale fluctating up and down by a few pounds. There are -lots- of factors that can shift your weight that have nothing to do with gaining or losing it. Water retention, muscle gain, and of course there is the wackiness that is your menstrual cycle. More important that you focus on how you feel and how your clothes fit and look rather than little numbers.

[janne.livejournal.com]

I like doing a hackersdiet style recording of daily weight, myself. Charting the trend minimizes the trauma of temporary weight gains -- just keep an eye on the trend rather than the daily semi-random weight recorded and everything is much calmer.

[kitchengrrl.livejournal.com]

perspective=good

The only reason why I weigh myself daily is to keep track of how food is affecting me. There are days, like your sushi and cake day, when I can predict that the scale will tick up the next morning. When such gain is predictable (and even when it's not) I don't get bent out of shape.

Looks like you and I have very similar goals and baselines. I'm right her with you, sister! Don't sweat the small stuff, and a one-day 3 lb. weight gain is super-small, as the bus stop taught you. :D

[cafiorello.livejournal.com]

Is that this? http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/

Yeah, you should always take a running average rather than a daily weight. (I would've said 3 days; these guys suggest 10.)

And it's not the rice in the sushi that's the problem for most people, it's the soy sauce! Sodium is not your friend.

Cathy

[damara.livejournal.com]

Happy belated birthday!

[annathepiper]

Thank you! :)

[annathepiper]

Thanks for the link, Cathy!

And hrmm, I hadn't thought about sodium in the soy sauce. Certainly I've had reason to become aware of sodium in soda as of late, even diet soda, but I hadn't made the soy sauce connection.

[annathepiper]

Thanks for the words of support, babe, they're much appreciated! Intellectually I know that a person's weight WILL fluctuate on a daily basis; I've known this for a while, actually. But I needed the reminder. :)

[annathepiper]

Traditionally, I have never actually kept serious track of my weight other than an overall idea of where I've been averaging recently. This is mostly, I think, because I'm naturally lazy. ;)

But since I'm already trying to get into a mindset with this like unto my mindset with my word count, perhaps keeping track wouldn't hurt. And it would give me data to chart the trend, as you suggest. Thanks for the recommendation. :)

[annathepiper]

Intellectually I've been aware for some time that personal weight can fluctuate, yeah. I've watched mine fluctuate often enough. :) But a 2.5 pound wobble is unusual for me--and in this case, I lay the blame squarely on birthday food.

However, thank you very much for the wise words, babe! They are definitely appreciated, and I needed the reminder.

Also, as I have since posted, I refuse to feel guilty about pounds gained off my birthday cake, DAMMIT. :)

[annathepiper]

I generally always do weigh myself at the same time every day--i.e., right when I get up in the morning. (Though, granted, 'when I get up in the morning' is variable on the weekends!)

As I have posted to others on the thread, yeah, I know about personal daily weight fluctuation. I think what threw me for a loop this time was that this was a bigger fluctuation than is normal for me, and I lay it squarely upon the sushi and the cake. ;) But you're absolutely right, I'm expecting to fluctuate right back down again after my system burns off the rice. Thanks for chiming in. :)

[annathepiper]

*snugs back* Thanks!

Perspective..

[(Anonymous)]

It's what I call backing up and looking at the big picture..often, things aren't anywhere near as bad as they seem,and,more often than not, it's fairly easy to change them for the better.Having worked in two hospitals,I've seen people in horrible shape that seemed to be handling it very well...which made any problem I had seem very minor in comparison.
Weight is generally averaged anymore..over a period of two weeks,according to a friend of mine,who is sort of moral support for his sister,who has to lose weight for medical reasons.(diabetes management/heart condition)
I'm not physically perfect, but in listening to other people 10 years younger or more, I seem to be in good shape,and glad of it.
You know, I wouldn't have guessed you weighed 170...I would've pegged you at 150. Have you done the muscle/fat percentage thing? What is the normal daily fluctuation? I would guess a couple pounds. Scott

Re: Perspective..

[annathepiper]

Weight is generally averaged anymore..over a period of two weeks...

Depends on what source you're quoting. Elsewhere in the comments on this thread, I've seen suggestions for taking the average over three days or over ten.

You know, I wouldn't have guessed you weighed 170...I would've pegged you at 150.

I carry my extra weight very well. Most of it is in my stomach, and I wear loose clothing, so one generally can't tell.

Have you done the muscle/fat percentage thing?

Um, no. I don't know what that is or how to calculate it.

What is the normal daily fluctuation? I would guess a couple pounds.

Also as mentioned in comments elsewhere on this post (you might want to start reading the comments on my posts as well as the actual posts themselves :) ), a person's weight can and will fluctuate on a daily basis. I don't know what's considered 'normal', but from what others posted, a couple of pounds is not terribly unusual. However, for me specifically, it is. I don't usually fluctuate more than half a pound or a pound at most on a day to day basis.

Re: Perspective..

[(Anonymous)]

I'm at work, and sometimes there's a waiting line for a particular computer,and I occassionally skip reading all the posts..I'm not sure how the fat/muscle ratio is calculated,or measured(I would think you'd need to do this in water,since fat floats better than muscle,but there may be some other way)but I have heard others on diets mentio it.A half-pound isn't much..a large glass of water weighs that.
I*think* the two-week average is doctor-recommended,but it may well be specifically for diabetics,since the person involved is diabetic, but the type that can be controlled by losing weight(no insulin shots required).Scott

[janne.livejournal.com]

That's the one. The Excel sheets needed a tiny amount of tweaking, but are highly satisfying to the geekly mind. Never mind rewarding oneself with flowers or a day at the spa -- there's nothing like a nicely macroed graph :D

Re: Perspective..

[annathepiper]

I'm at work, and sometimes there's a waiting line for a particular computer, and I occassionally skip reading all the posts...

Maybe you should save my LJ for when you're home, then. :) I'm just sayin'--generally on LJ where you see a post with a lot of comments on it already, it's a good thing to read what's been said already so you don't duplicate something someone else might have already suggested. It's sort of like being on a mailing list, where it's wise to read all the posts on a thread before you actually reply to someone's posting.

I *think* the two-week average is doctor-recommended, but it may well be specifically for diabetics, since the person involved is diabetic...

I'm not diabetic; if this is a thing your friend had recommended to her specifically because she's diabetic, this isn't terribly useful to me. If you get a chance to verify this one way or another, let me know. :)

And at any rate... my actual weight is not really the issue for me. The reason I was originally frustrated is not that I was back up to 170 per se, but rather, that I'd fluctuated that heavily in one day. As long as I continue to exercise and my weight continues to adjust itself accordingly, I could honestly care less what my average weight is across 3, 10, 14, or 158 days. :) The thing that motivates me is the forward progress, not necessarily how MUCH progress I make--the same with my word counts for writing.

Fluctuating back up that hard in one day made me feel kind of like I'd suddenly lost, oh, say, 700 words out of a chapter. It felt like backsliding rather than actual progress. :)

[annathepiper]

Heh. Maybe I ought to check this out. I HAVE used Excel to track my weightlifting numbers. :)