I'm a Beast, or Musings of a Woman Going Scale Free

So, even though it hasn't really been very long since I've decided to go scale-free, I've already come up with some thoughts on the subject.

Pro:  There is a pressure that I feel has been lifted since I'm not constantly looking at the scale for validation.  I'm looking for other non-scale victories instead, like how my muscles feel, if my clothes fit differently, etc.  No numbers, just little pats on the back.

Con:  I do have a nagging fear in the back of my head that keeps popping up.  "What if this whole scale free month doesn't change anything and I'm at the exact same place where I started.  How much of a failure are you going to feel like?"

I have to admit, this is a huge fear of mine.  I wanted to do this scale-free project because I wanted to get back to basics, which is measuring and tracking exactly what I eat and how many calories I burn.  If I go along with that formula, in theory I should be shedding weight.  However what if I follow this formula and it doesn't work?  What will I do then?

The problem is that I secretly have a number that I would love to see on the scale at the end of this scale drought and even if I do see weight being lost, if I don't come close to this number there is a very good chance I'll be severely disappointed.  I need to get this number out of my head, especially since it's not really realistic, like at all...  I'm essentially setting myself up for a set back if I keep thinking this way with regards to my experiment.

Anyway, in other news, I did have a pretty nice non-scale victory last night.  I was running in the hotel gym when one of my actors and his fiance came into the gym.  I had about a half hour left of my C210K program, so I just let them do their thing and I did mine.  Then, after my cool down I took off my headphones and they both said something along the lines of "How do you run for so long?  You're a beast."

Do you think he meant this Beast?

Literally, he said I was a beast.

Can't lie, that felt amazing.

They proceeded to ask how I came to be able to run for as long as I was (4 minutes with 2 minutes of walking in between for this week of my C210K).  I told them about the "Couch to..." programs and the app I am currently using.  I suggested that they start with a 5k program since they might get frustrated and possibly overwhelmed with a 10k program.  They asked me all sorts of questions and I was more than happy to answer them all for them.

At the end of the conversation, the fiance thanked me and told me she felt encouraged and even excited about the prospect of learning how to run.  I felt good that I had passed on some words of wisdom, and it inspired me to definitely keep at it.   It was just another reminder at how far I've come.  I was that intimidated person, scared about the idea of running a mile, let alone a 5k or 10k.  I was able to accomplish it, and while I was significantly heavier than I am currently.

I can do this.  I can run a 10k again.  I can run a half marathon.  Beyond that, we'll see...