What the Scale Can't Measure

Picture taken in August 2011

It's weigh-in Wednesday.  Isn't everyone excited to know how the week has been?  I know I was.

Here it is!  +1

No, you don't have to rub your eyes or question if I made a typo.  I am, indeed, up a pound on the scale.  I am not surprised, considering I was curious how my week was shaping up and checked my weight on Saturday.  On Saturday I was up 3 or 4 pounds.  So, this is a huge improvement, right? 

This has forced me to consider the question, "How should I respond when the scale isn't showing the results I love?"

Thinking on that led me to the path of thinking on things that a scale can't measure.  Like my post about my joints not hurting anymore.  We don't step on the scale and see, "Congratulations, your inflamed joints are being healed."  It would be nice if the message was so loud and clear, but for results that don't show on the scale, it takes more careful attention to our bodies and our emotions and our minds.

For example:

The scale won't tell me...

• That I am comfortable in pants and shirts that were formerly too tight for me to either get on or been seen in public wearing.
• That my hair no longer has a greasy shine to it, even after I just washed it.
• That I am sleeping like a rock and feeling rested during the day.
• That I have more stamina and no longer require my mid-afternoon snooze to make it through the day.
• That my mind and heart are fixed on Christ more as I walk through my days.
• That wild horses couldn't drag me off my plan--no, not even vacation or holidays.
• That healthy, lean & green food tastes better than processed, sugary foods.
• That there are more than one reason to do this and all of them have their place: freedom from sin; optimal health; and vanity.  The scale appeals mainly to vanity, because look at all these other results!
• That I can be satisfied on so little food because of it's amazing quality and composition.
• That my cravings are all-but gone.

Let's see...I'm sure I could keep listing more and more.  And I will.  In the days ahead.

So you may be thinking, "Are you discouraged by your weigh-in?"

Not at all.  Our weights will constantly ebb and flow, even when we're doing exactly what we need to do.  That's all I'm responsible for--doing what I know is right.  And I've done that.  And THAT feels good!  And this perspective reveals a very huge heart-change, which also can't be measured on a scale.