Weighing In

     So, I prefer to measure my success in photos, measurements, signs like my rings falling off, and the small statements I hear at the gym, "Are you getting ready for a figure competition? There's one in 5 weeks. . ." but I also fall prey to the lure of The Scale. I haven't given it up yet, as so many fit gals eventually do, it's still one of my measures of my forward motion.

     I have QUITE the little Scale ritual.

• I wake the morning of a trip to The Scale, and hit the bathroom. 
• I vacate the bladder, and I do my darndest to vacate the bowels. (Shut up, this is a fitness blog, you're eventually going to read a post about POOP, and the occasional mention won't kill you.) 
• I do not eat or drink anything prior to my moment on The Scale.
• I then, having eaten nothing and emptied what I can, strip down to my birthday suit.
• I then use The Scale 

     Don't judge my ritual, but I find if I keep things consistent, it's easier to assuredly keep track of my progress.

     It is so important for my own motivation to achieve small goals I set. My first goal for the year was to get under 150 lbs. on the scale. Hit it today, scraping under at 149.5. I'll take it! As I mentioned before, I'm not one to obsess over the scale, and I'll say over and over how much more important strength is than weight, but it does help as a measure of progress.

     In other news: I just got hydrostatic bodyfat testing, and since June have lost 2.5% body fat (not a terribly impressive figure); lost 5 pounds of fat (again, wish it were a greater number!), and GAINED approximately 3.35 pounds of muscle. The muscular gains are most impressive to me, three pounds gained in about 6 months! Pretty amazing, pretty exciting. So now I have a new baseline to work with, and look forward to my next test.