The Scale Lies

I mentioned about a month ago that I was joining a gym in an effort to try to lose some weight and to improve the strength and flexibility of my lower back.  Because I'm really tired of being in pain dontchaknow. 

I'm lucky enough to have a couple of exercise buddies ~ my Mom goes with me, as does my son (who can do 4.5 miles on a bike without breaking a sweat - imagine that).  We go twice a week and do a combination of weight and cardio and then one day a week we do yoga to work on balance and flexibility.

Mom went to the doctor yesterday and she has lost 10 pounds.  Woo Hoo!  Yay Mom!  What have I lost?

Zip.  Zilch.  Zero.  Nada. 

Bad scale. Stupid scale.  *#$&@^ scale.  Most of all it's a lying scale.  Because it's wrong.  And because it only looks at one aspect of what I've been working on, I'm trying not to focus on it. 

I know I've started to tone because things fit better.  Bra is looser; skirts and pants are looser.  I have more strength and stamina.  But the best part?  Pain-free days.  Today is the fourth pain-free day in a row.  Oh I start out in the morning with a little twinge, but with a little bit of movement it relaxes.

If you have never had sciatic pain, you don't want it.  It's a burning pain that runs from my left hip, down my leg.  And it's caused by a compression of my lumbar nerves.  It hurts when I walk; it hurts went I sit; it hurts when I lay down.  Sometimes I get pins and needles in my foot; sometimes my leg goes curiously (and scarily) weak all of a sudden.

And, as I said, today is day four without it.  And I chalk it up to the exercise.  I'm building up my abs, which is taking some of the stress off my back.    So I will be keeping it up, regardless of what that scale says. 

Because eventually it's going to go down.  And this is a marathon, not a sprint.

--Contributed by Deb

Comments

[Dawn]

Whoo-hoo! Congratulations Deb. I have mild sciatica, leftover from my pregnancy I think, and I know how it feels. I am also trying to lose weight, not just for cosmetic reasons (although they play a large part) but also to relieve the pressure off my back, knees, and ankles.

But I also know how you feel about the scale. It's been exceptionally slow-going for me, despite my efforts. I'll lose 2-3 pounds then that number will just sit, for weeks, no matter what I do. Like you, I try not to focus on it and instead focus on how my pants are looser and that I can finally wear my non-maternity duds again. But it's still discouraging.

I'm glad you're pain-free. That's a huge milestone.