Results (What I Learned About Scales)

Do you see this beautiful scale?  It's nice and thin (like I want to be!) and sleekly black too (oooo, sexy!).  It's also fancy-schmancy because it does more than your average scale.  It provides the following:

1. Body Weight
2. Body Mass Index
3. The percentage of your body that is water
4. The percentage of your body that is muscle
5. The percentage of your body that is bone

And it does even more, but that's the important stuff.  That's why I paid $70 for this beautiful, know-it-all scale.  (Now if only is praised me when I released some weight!)

Today I learned something important:  THIS SCALE IS A PIECE OF JUNK!!!  

When I started my eating plan 14 days ago, I weighed in and was pleased that their scale actually had me weighing in five pounds lighter than mine at home.  Ye-haw!!!  I certainly wasn't going to question a good thing, you know?

When I weighed myself on Sunday at home (my usual weigh-in day), I was so ecstatic to see that in 10 days I had lost 9 pounds.  So I was walking into the doctor's office feeling pretty fine.  I figured I would see a 10-12 pound release and maybe even 14 if I was lucky.

I stepped on the scale with pride and confidence.

And it said I lost FIVE pounds.

WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?  NO FREAKIN' WAY!!!!!!!!

I wanted to cry.  I wanted to (briefly) give up.  I thought I had been doing so well.  I didn't understand.  Good thing I was in the doctor's office because I was ready to go down some big-time chocolate.

Then the doctor came in and enlightened me.  Here is the breakdown:

I had a release of 5 pounds with a gain of 6 pounds of muscle, resulting in a net loss of 11 pounds (2.5% of my body fat).  Now THAT is even more exciting than losing 11 pounds straight, is it not? Yeah, baby!

I was shocked (yes, SHOCKED) at the gain of muscle because I had only been to Curves two times in the 14 days of this eating plan.  I told Doc this and he said, "But you are eating quality protein."  Well!  I knew protein was important but I had NO IDEA it could do THAT!!!!!

So the morals of this story are:

1) Your fancy scale (and mine) that does everything but sing and dance is still likely crap.

2) Protein is so much more important than I ever knew.

Til next time!