(Day 462 / -154 lbs.) It's Not A Tool Kit, It's An Arsenal

"Arsenal" may be a tad strong. Eloquence was never my forté. How about this: "Stuff I use on a daily basis in my effort to lose weight and increase my fitness level." The thing is, with 10 pounds to lose during the next 5 weeks, I may well need an arsenal.

I'm a guy who likes to develop a routine and then stick to it. Once I've figured out what I'm going to do I continually work on refining each step in terms of effectiveness and flow. The internet and a tremendous collection of individuals with similar interests and aspirations has been a tremendous help in refining many areas of my life in providing inspiration to supplement the limitless information that has helped me achieve many of my personal goals.

What I'm fumbling about with here is that, as far as my "tool kit" or "arsenal" is concerned, I consider the internet and more specifically a subset of diet and self-improvement bloggers to be my "tool crib" or "weapon depot". OK, OK- it's first the place I go to get the information and stuff I need to lose weight better... and stuff. Talking good (er, speaking well) will top my list of goals in the near future. You're welcome.

Moving on...

Besides the internet, there are several things I use daily that have been indispensable in my efforts. That's what these next few installments are all about. Here we go with tool numero uno:

1. Scale
Not just any scale but the kind you'd find at the doctor's office. I'm talking about the mechanical beam one with the little weights that you slide to the left or right to make the little needle on the end go up and down until it's centered just-so. Now, you can get any kind of fancy-smancy digital-laser guided-fat-sensor-audible-warning-and-wifi-ipod-dock-sock-warmer scale you want but I believe there's nothing like old-school beam, weights and fulcrum for accuracy and dependability. Electronics may get sketchy and springs may lose their... er... springiness but gravity remains constant (gravity remains constant- get it? Ha! Sometimes I just nerd myself right-the-hell-out).

Here's a something you can do with it: Weigh yourself at the beginning of the week then decide on an achievable goal (future weight and date by which you will achieve it). Continue to step on the scale every day before you work out EXCEPT BEFORE YOU DO, set the scale at your goal-weight. You won't know your exact weight but you'll know whether or not you've achieved your objective. Rather than a number, the objective becomes making that needle drop. It's now a red light/green light, visual kind of thing. If the needle stays perched at the top, go hit the machines; if it drops below center, grab a donut. (OK, I'm kidding about the donut.) Once the needle hits bottom it's time to set a new goal.

The balance beam scale isn't all that exciting but it is something I use every day. Tomorrow I'll introduce a device that is as powerful as it is awesome.