Mirror on the Wall.........

THE DANGERS OF THE MIRROR

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL, WHO IS THE BIGGEST LIAR OF THEM ALL?

     It is not uncommon for people when trying to lose weight to quickly get discouraged and give up.  I should know, I have done it about a gazillion times.  The problem is, I begin to workout out and I look into that mirror and get discouraged at the fact that after a week, a fat man is still staring at me instead of someone who looks svelte.  And yes, in case you were wondering, svelte is a word.  The problem with this method of gauging one's success lies in how poor our short term memory is when looking in the mirror.  Our brains are not cameras and we cannot  take a mental snapshot of ourselves on Monday and see the very subtle changes that we made by the end of the week.  This is the very reason that we tend to gain weight in the first place.  We look in the mirror and to our brain we don't look any heavier than we did the day before, even though our pants are fitting a bit tighter.  This same process also backfires on us when losing weight.

Just a Suggestion.  Use your Friends.

     I have found that there are much better ways of gauging your success  when trying to lose weight.  I ran into a teacher the other day that I had not seen for the entire summer.  The first words out of her mouth were, "Have you been working out?  You look really good."  Thanks Brianne, you made my day with that one.  Her last memory of me was the slightly fatter Tony and she could see the difference that I could not see.  Let your friends and family be a barometer for you, especially ones that you don't see very often. 

It Isn't Just For Tailoring a Suit.

 I love my tailor's tape.  I measure neck, chest, belly, waist, hips, biceps, forearms, thighs, and calves.  For me it is fun watching some numbers go down and others go up as I begin to slim down and get stronger.  Lastly, use your bathroom scale. 

Used Correctly, It Can Be Your Friend.

 When using it though, I recommend that you weigh perhaps once a week and at the same time every week and under the same conditions every time.  Put these three together and they will help you stay on track and be less discouraged in your journey.