Embedded

Ok, life is busy! I hate saying this for many reasons, but mostly because when something slips through the cracks, I feel like I am making excuses because there were a hundred different things going on. The only thing not slipping through the cracks these days is my weight.

Bottom line is, I visualized this post a week ago and I am now getting down to business. I have been absolutely remiss and I am in negotiation with the evil little monkeys that have taken residence on my back and are weighing me down! Gone are the guilty pleasures of lunch out, murder-mystery novels and leisurely shopping jaunts.

Basically, everything I just stated works into being "embedded." I am embedded in 100 different projects, events, chores, work, habits and thought processes. Clearly, I am embedded in excuses as well!

Let's look at the dictionary definition of embedded. According to dictionary.com (my search engine of choice) embedded is to; "surround tightly or firmly; envelope or enclose or to incorporate or contain as an essential part or characteristic. Or, to fix firmly in a surrounding mass and to enclose snugly or firmly. "

The irony is that this word is a verb, signifying action, but many times it is as complacent as falling asleep in an easy chair while reading a good novel. The word embedded can be used in several different contexts. For example, you can be embedded in your beliefs, ideas and ways of thinking. Or, you can simply be embedded in your favorite spirit, food, genre or muse.

To get to my point, fat is deeply embedded in our bodies. It burroughs into our storage system and it is no easy task to penetrate and annihilate these holding tanks. Yes, unfortunately our body has a special storage system just for fat, yet it is also a necessary component of our daily diet. The kicker is that when we don't get enough fat, our bodies hoard it like forest animals in the winter. This is why yo-yo dieting is so dangerous. Because, when you take something away from your body, it goes into protection mode and starts collecting the fat from various foods and putting it into storage. This not only makes maintaining your weight difficult, but it also makes shedding these pounds twice as hard.

I have a love-hate relationship with the scale. I love, love, love it when the magical numbers I am looking for appear in front of me. However, when the little lever tips up or the numbers are visually unappealing, it can send me to the refrigerator for "food" comfort. Scale progress is subjective for many reasons, but most of all because our bodies change so much throughout the day.

It is OK to look at the number, yet it is far more important to gage weight loss progress on how you are feeling about yourself. By this I mean, how your clothes are fitting, keeping a food journal and eating/drinking in moderation. You see, muscle weighs more than fat, and when you start exercising in earnest, many times, you gain weight. This can throw you for a loop if you are weighing in on a daily basis, and it can send you into a mental spiral, especially if you are not seeing numerical results in your favor!

The bottom line is that a scale is not always the best way to measure weight loss -- it is the easiest, yet can prompt three steps backwards, instead of 3 steps forward, if you are not seeing favorable results. The moral to this story being; after exercising, go with your gut (pun intended), and be what you wish to see. Keep a pair of "skinny" jeans close at hand and travel to your closet instead of the scale.