Ma'am, please step away from the scale...

I am obsessed with those little digital numbers.  Okay, so they're not so little, but they are getting smaller. Regardless, I have to confess to being a serial weigher. I don't just step on the scale daily.  I step on it multiple times a day wondering, "Gee, where am I now?" as if magically the number is going to be 40lbs lighter within 12 hours of my last foray. It's not rational and it's definitely compulsive, but it's what I do. 

I'm actually not sure what this obsession is all about. I think it's part wishful thinking, part accountability and part masochism. I remember the first time I did Weight Watchers in my early twenties I didn't own a scale. Every week I didn't know what the scale would say until I stepped up. It was actually really lovely. Buying a scale was like Eve taking a bite of that apple — it opened my eyes but eliminated my innocence. And I picked the juiciest apple around - not just a scale, but a scale that measures your body fat.  Talk about TMI!

So, the big question now is how to rein in my scale obsession while still remaining accountable. The reality is, if I'm tracking my points truthfully, I know how my week has gone.  There's no mystery there. Stepping on the scale over and over is part ritual and part sheer meanness.  As much as I want to quit cold turkey, my truth is that I'm addicted. So, it's going to be a matter of baby steps. Maybe for this week I'll just make it a morning habit.  Or maybe, I'll find the courage to step on it tomorrow and stash it away for a week. Maybe if I just move it onto a shelf or into the laundry room behind a box or two, the sheer effort to get it out will perhaps deter me.  Or, maybe I need to enlist Charly's help to hide it. My self-control only goes so far.  I need some serious intervention.

You know, the idea of a week where my mood isn't determined by a digital read-out is really  appealing....