Last weekend, I got together for lunch with my three closest friends from grade school who I reconnected with on facebook.
We were commiserating on the tardy arrival of spring. I mentioned that 10 pounds had settled on me this winter.
I realized belatedly that, during that 7 minutes of winter when we actually had sun, I shouldn’t have said out loud, “How beautiful! The snow looks just like sugar!”
Comments like that come back to haunt you. My body took it literally and added one pound for every additional week the “sugar” lasted.
Anyway, at lunch, Sue and Donna told me about a new phone app that helps monitor health and activity. It’s called My: My Fitness Pest. Well, of course I went right home, and downloaded it.
Funny that for the goal, it didn’t offer “get ready for class reunion” for either a weight loss of physical fitness goal, so I simply chose “lose weight.” I also picked the ‘slow, steady, and remotely realistic one-pound-per-week’ goal. My calorie count to achieve that? 1870 calories per day.
“Hey, I can do that!” I congratulate myself.
Day one, I judiciously fill out my diary with meals, amounts of food and activity. I don’t even cheat on meal choices…much.
The app sends friendly little reminder judgments: ‘Don’t forget to enter all your food. Just because those pretzels are thin and gluten-free doesn’t mean they’re calorie-free.’ ‘Are you getting up to walk around, chair potato?’ ‘You’re not drinking enough water to hydrate a plant, Ms. camel.’
After completing the diary for the day, I’m thrilled to receive the congratulatory note: “Congratulations! If you keep on like this, in five weeks, you should have lost at least 9 pounds! Don’t forget to record your weight tomorrow!”
I’m excited to step on the scale next morning. I came in 365 calories under goal, I walked around the city for a half hour in addition to the regular dog walk, I watched a bike race (doesn’t that count?) and I danced two hours at a Tango party the night before.
I step on the scale to discover I’ve gained 1.2 pounds.
I’ve really got to watch what I say. If an innocent comment like “I need to beef up on my exercise” can inspire me to gain weight, there’s no telling where I may end up a year from now!
Out on a Limb 