If there is one thing I have learned over the past few years, it is just how little I know. In the area of health and fitness in particular, there is always new research being done, lessons to be learned and assumptions to be disproved. It can seem at times that the more I learn, the less I know! That being said, there are a couple of things that I do have a degree of certainty about.
The first thing is that more often than not, the scale will not behave in the way the think it will. Let me give you an example. As many of you know, I weigh myself each morning. This is purely for information and really is more a ritual now than anything. For the last several weeks my weight has been in and around 59kg. While getting below this weight might be nice, it would require a large amount of effort. I definitely am not about to make this a priority right now, so as long as I can maintain my current level, I am happy enough.
Two weeks ago, I underwent a colonoscopy. The procedure itself is very straightforward. The preparation for it, however, is anything but. I had to fast for 24 hours prior to having it done, and the night before I had to take a preparation to essentially clean me out. The morning of the procedure I literally had nothing left in my system. I was curious about the impact of this and so decided to weigh myself before leaving for the hospital. I honestly expected to see some ridiculously low number. Imagine my surprise then, when I saw 60kg on the scale. Having spent an entire day fasting and purging my body, I had put on a kilo! My husband even jokingly asked “God, what do you actually have to do to lose weight?”
Please don’t misunderstand me. I was not one bit concerned about this “weight gain.” Let’s face it, I had more pressing matters on my mind that day, but I did find it funny. Here I am, with all my nutrition training, having spent years managing my weight, and I can still be blindsided by the bathroom scale. 24 hours, and two McDonald’s meals after the procedure, I was back to normal weight, and in fact, weighed in slightly lighter than usual.
The scale is definitely a powerful tool, but she is also a fickle mistress. If you, like myself find yourself getting a reading so off the wall, it literally couldn’t be possible, just brush it off. These blips can happen for all sorts of reasons, and there really is little point in agonising over it. It’s also important to remember that it is the overall trend of your weight that matters, not a single reading.
The second thing I have come to be certain about is that, for most of us, how we see and feel about our bodies, is usually a long way away from the reality of the situation. We humans are complicated creatures. We have all sorts of biochemistry and hormones, which not only impact how our body behaves, but also effect how we feel about it. Some days we wake up feeling that we look great. Other days, for no apparent reason, we will wake up feeling fat, sluggish and generally like a whale-blob! I have even had times where I have experienced both in the same day!
There are two reasons why I think this happens. Firstly, we simply don’t see ourselves how we really are. I honestly believe we all suffer from a degree of body dis-morphia. We all have certain delusions about ourselves, be they positive or negative. Some people think they look fat, when they are perfectly slim. Some others think they should win the X Factor, when in fact, they are completely tone deaf! I don’t really know what the answer to this is. The only advice I can give is to be kind to yourself. Stop negative self talk COMPLETELY. Life is hard enough, without being your own worst enemy.
The other reason why I think the body and brain have a disconnect, is simply because the brain takes longer to realise that change has happened. When I was putting my weight on, I was in complete denial. Of course, I noticed that my clothes were no longer fitting (damn tumble dryer) and that I was more padded than I had previously been, but I was always able to explain it all away. My light bulb moment came when I was getting ready to go out one evening. I had laid a pair of jeans out on the bed. When I came out of the shower, with my guard down, I actually saw them, as if for the first time. I was horrified by how enormous they were. I knew that I needed to do something.
When I began to lose weight, it again took a long time for my brain to catch up. It didn’t matter what the scale said, or how many people commented on my weight loss, I just didn’t believe it. Ironically, it was another pair of jeans that made the penny drop. Similar to before, I had them laid out on the bed. Even though I had worn them before, this day they looked to me, impossibly tiny. My brain said “there is no way they are going to fit you.” My body, however, had the last word!
It’s not surprising that this disconnect occurs. Your body really just goes with the flow. It responds to the inputs and outputs in a very predictable way. When we take in more fuel than we need, over time we put on weight. We lose weight when we do the opposite. There is no escaping this, our body is designed to do this. Our brain however, is a different beast. When you have spent years, or even decades seeing yourself in a certain way, it can take a long time to reprogram this self image. If every time you look in the mirror, you expect to see a fat person, that is exactly what you will see, regardless of the reality.
The advice I give to anyone going through this, is just be patient. Your body knows what to do, even if your brain is struggling. Trust the process, control what you can, and know that eventually your jeans will show you what’s what. Be well xxx