This morning, that is. If you heard something that sounded like a girl, an angry girl, yelling at a bathroom scale in the wee hours of this Wednesday morning, it was just me. There might have also been something along the lines of “well, I guess this is not Super Wednesday, now IS IT?!” and, possibly, there was some murmuring like “This cannot be the product of an extra tablespoon of peanut butter!” Because I am super rational at 4:00 a.m.
The reality is, I’ve put in more running miles in the last nine days than I had in the previous fourteen. In my mind, that should not equal numbers moving up. It should mean good things, or what I consider to be good, anyway. It takes me a minute, though, to figure out things like this. For all the years I’ve been running and training I still haven’t learned. It seems as though all logic and memory escapes me and I think, crap, I am never going to win this battle.
What I know, though, is that with increased training, weight often increases. There are a lot of reasons for this, the first being when you begin demanding more of your body, it instinctively holds on to all the energy it can. In my case, that energy translates to COMPLETE FAT ASS. Oh, wait, excuse me! I just drifted back to 4:00 a.m. for a second. Anyway, the other reasons vary from water retention to, gasp, hormones. Yes, this is more true for women than men but even so, the extra effort we expend on increasing miles directly effects the chemistry in our bodies and how we feel. In other words, this is an adjustment period.
You have to give your body time to catch up with your mind. You have to give it time to get a handle on the work load, the demand, and the routine. When I remember this, I’m fine. When I remember this, I know that it’s actually healthy. It’s not bad. And, to get even a little poetic about the human body, my human body, I might even say that it’s an amazing thing. Our bodies will do what we ask of them, we just have to be reasonable. We just have to give it some time. Meanwhile, don’t worry so much about the peanut butter toast and, for goodness sake, put the scale away for a week.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
i hate the scale. not because i don’t like number it tells me, that is solely my issue and not its fault, but rather because it can drastically change my mood from good to bad so damn fast.
glad to read you’re past that 4am freak out.
First of all: You are winning. Life is a journey.. and You are a Winner.
I appreciated your sharing… February and March are usually good times for shaping up for me.
I want to shape up my mind, here, and get to it. So maybe we can start a trend. (Getting ready for spring, or something like that?)
I bought a new scale last night. It was the first one I’ve owned in years. I feel I need it to keep me honest. But I told Magoo to hide it from me and let me use it once a week to monitor my progress, or lack thereof.
It is discouraging when you feel like you are on a roll and have done so much… and the numbers just don’t illustrate it! The body does catch up; the trick is not loosing momentum while you wait!
Exactly how much time do we give the body to catch up to the routine? Cuz I’ve been at it for a month and all the scale does is go up in weight. I’m beginning to think that the people at the gym calibrate it so to ensure repeat customers. And if I hear one more person say that muscle weighs more than fat I’m going to scream! So yeah….how much time??
I have noticed that I always weigh 2 lbs more after a workout than before. Obviously I am putting on a pile o’ muscle in a short period of time.
I do feel better knowing I’m not the only one, though.
Strange. I weighed myself for the first time since summer and I’ve lost 15 lbs. I had no idea where it went.
And this is why my bathroom scales are hidden away for moments of bravery and not just the every day. Get rid of them for sure, it is so much more about how you are feeling. Don’t let the scales determine that! Have a good day!
Do you really think the body catches up? I’ve been running for almost two years. I lost some inches. The only pound I lost is due to the sickness a couple of weeks ago.
Perhaps it’s only my body. It has this proclivity, to exasperate me. I think your girl on the scale can relate.
I hate the battle of the bulge and the moving scale…mine has hated me since May…May, I was happy with my weight…now, just yesterday, while running, a good feeling run even, I let the thought “I hate my body” drift in…
yep, put that scale away. You are exercising, you know you have to be in good shape, what does it matter what you weigh?