The Numbers Game

Women are very sensitive when it comes to two numbers, age and weight. Ask for the later and you might not get the real answer. Check a lady's driver's license and I bet she weighs a few pounds more than it states. How do I know? I've done it! The irony is I am now ten pounds less than the number I fudged about. We tend to become fixated with numbers on the scale and not necessarily because it's where we need to be. Other factors are a part of the bigger picture.

 For example, not too long ago I had my body fat/weight measured at a local supplement store and, much to my dismay, all measurements were displayed on a huge TV above the computer. For a second I almost changed my mind and then figured no one else would care about my number only their own. I was asked my goal weight and without thinking immediately blurted out a number. It was the one I thought I should weigh because it sounded like a good number for my height. As it turns out I aimed too low. I would lose too much muscle, and to my surprise, I was eight pounds off. To be honest, I was happy I didn't have as far to go as originally thought. As I waited to talk about supplements I caught the numbers of the girl after me. She was a yoga instructor and in great shape. I was surprised to see she outweighed me. If you put us side by side you would definitely peg me as the one who weighed more. She was the same height but lean and muscle makes a big difference. This was an eye opener. I had been looking at my weight all wrong. It didn't determine how fit I was it merely told me where I stood. Instead of picking a number because it's low, or just sounds good, find the number combining all the important factors appropriate for you. Generic numbers can throw you off and discourage you. However, even when you have figured out the right goal weight try to not lose sight of the bigger picture.

 Recently, I realized I had been caught up with numbers again, this time frustrated by those dreaded last ten pounds. Instead of letting it get to me I looked outside of it, into my diet and exercises. I saw what could use improving and decided to put my efforts into making those changes. When you find balance with diet and exercise the numbers tend to fall into place. When I focus on the overall goal of living healthy it becomes easier and less stressful and you can't put a number on that.