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HomeBattle of the BulgeThe Professor’s Pledge: Stop Scale Creep in ...
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The Professor’s Pledge: Stop Scale Creep in 2020

Alan pledges to march this number right back down in the New Year!

By LMQC Battle of the Bulge blogger, Alan Sivell, St. Ambrose communications professor, RAGBRAI-er, pizza lover, and longtime weight watcher.

It’s time I took my own advice.

I was reminded of this recently when I stepped on the scale and saw a number I hadn’t seen in 5 years.

I’ve been crowing about The New Me for almost as long as I’ve been writing this blog.

Not anymore.

The weight I saw shocked me. I realized I hadn’t been doing what I preach.

Here’s the background:

Five years ago, I finally assessed my physical/health/eating goals. I was tired of stepping out of the shower and every day thinking that I needed a change in my lifestyle. And every day I did nothing. Every year, in fact, since the kids were born (and that was 25+ years ago).

I got tired of worrying about my weight. I wanted that head space for creative thoughts!

I knew I couldn’t do it alone. I’ve tried that. Many times.

So I signed up for my former student Josh Paul’s Biggest Loser challenge and wound up losing almost 30 pounds over 3 months. It helped me change my eating habits, along with my grocery store shopping purchases.

For almost 5 years I kept 25 of those pounds off. I didn’t need to get on the scale. The clothes I bought for the The New Me fit. And kept fitting.

Until recently. The shirts and pants were just a bit snugger. I noticed it around Halloween. Luckily, it was cold. I wore sweaters. Around Thanksgiving, I looked at the scale, but didn’t get on. My rationale was that I had just had a cup of coffee. Water weight.

A month later, I got on the scale.

Yikes.

That’s when I decided I needed to do a bit of reflection. And during that reflection, I admitted to myself I had eased up ever so slightly on the habits that brought me to the first sustained weight loss success of my life.

I wasn’t buying ice cream. I wasn’t eating dessert. I was still working out 5 or 6 days a week.

But …

I haven’t been as strict on my portions as I had been. My afternoon snacks sometimes slipped from a few almonds to a few handfuls of Chex Mix. Rather than chewing mint gum while I cook, or rinsing with mouthwash just before I cleaned up after dinner, I was tasting the food.

Nothing egregious, but apparently it mounted up.

So I’m assessing where I’ve been this past year, as far as my diet is concerned. And I’m making a plan – not in my head where it can float away at the sight of cookie – but on paper.

It’s time to take my own advice. Stay tuned for how!

Meet Battle of the Bulge blogger, Alan Sivell. Alan is a communications professor at St. Ambrose University and a former reporter for WQAD-TV who has exercised – and dieted – his entire life. Read Alan’s other blog posts.

 

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