Quit Harping on the Scale, Jennifer!

Posted By elissa on Mar 11, 2010 | 2 comments

I get health and fitness e-mail updates from the Washington Post, so I can’t help but be aware of columnist Jennifer LaRue Huget’s “Me Minus 10” quest to lose 10 pounds.  She’s using her column for motivation, which is cool, in a way. Nothing like having a nation-wide audience to help you stay accountable. 

She’s apparently following Brian Wansink’s advice, and starting with small, do-able lifestyle changes.  This is all well and good, and is in line with recommendations I’ve made in the past. While the changes LaRue Huget chose to make are a little odd, it’s still early in the game.  Ultimately, the idea is to make permanent, healthy lifestyle changes, so there’s a point to even pointless objectives like “…stop[ping] after every treadmill mile to do jumping jacks or squats.” I’m not sure what this is realistically supposed to accomplish, but hey – it’s good practice at goal setting and implementation. More power to her.

But – while she’s cut back on some of her indulgences – there’s no indication that she’s actually cut calories below a maintenance level (or is establishing a significant deficit via exercise).  So what’s with the obsession with the scale? Her column both begins…

Me Minus 10 got off to a rocky start two weeks ago: No sooner had I pledged to lose 10 pounds than I got, first, a GI-tract malady and then a wicked head cold (both now resolved). Neither helped me mentally or physically. Nor did learning, upon purchase of a new scale, that I have 12, not 10 pounds to lose to get to 135.

And ends with it…

I’m happy to say that these changes are going mindlessly well. Still, the scale hasn’t budged. But neither has my resolve.

Well, duuuh.  What on earth was she expecting from chewing gum, changing her cheese preferences and adding a few minutes of calisthenics?

The small changes are nothing…it’s what they add up to over time that’s important. If she stays on track, eventually she’ll be exercising regularly and making healthier eating choices…. which will be a great big step in the right direction for maintaining her ideal weight once she reaches it.  But she doesn’t seem to grasp that ultimately, the scale ain’t gonna budge very much, in the absence of a sustained calorie deficit. Simply not eating a calorie surplus isn’t enough, however much of a sacrifice it may seem. So she will be doing herself (and her readers) a favor if she gets real, and stops fretting over this aspect of her program.  She’s made a start in the right direction, but needs to travel a lot further down the path before the desired changes will kick in.