Tag Archives: Bathroom scale

A Hiccup on the Challenge

8 Mar

It’s unfortunate that my challenge mission was interrupted on Monday. A minor hiccup because work was on a tight deadline. And as much as I wanted to do gym to rid myself more of the guilt than anything else, we couldn’t finish the artwork and get home on time. Oh well…

But I don’t feel so bad because this whole week, I made super healthy lunches for the both of us. Lots of greens, bell pepper, baby tomatoes and chick peas (and tuna was added for two days subsequently). The salad lunch was oil-free, fibre-loaded and enough to fuel us until dinner time.

It may be only a few days but I do feel better and not so heavy. I am sure if I keep at this for another week or so, coupled with gym and golf, I will shed (the pounds) effortlessly. A positive sign and on track on my challenge to lose the extra weight piled on me by the bathroom scale.

The Challenge Begins

26 Feb

Last Monday, we finally went back to gym after almost a month’s break. Thank goodness I did not feel sluggish after so long. The past month there were all these reasons to skip gym – valid reasons though – M2 leaving for Ireland, preparing for Chinese New Year, leaving town for the Reunion Dinner and all. But now, with all these out of the way, there’s no more reasons to miss gym anymore.

And last night we hit the gym again because last Friday, Saturday and Sunday was packed with dinner dates, making me guilty, so all the more not to skip.

The determination to want to lose that awful added weight made me rather pumped up. And like last week, I used one ten-pounder weight for some of my routines, a big jump from my usual two four-pounders.

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My serious ten-pounder

Although gym session is only once a week, I think I am off to a good start on the challenge especially with the solid program that my trainer has drawn up. Besides working out with her, there’s also golf to burn some calories too. I just need to stay more disciplined with the food intake, after all there’s a whole list of things I avoid due to Endometriosis, then I will do fine. I hope…

Today I am sore to the core and it will be worse by tomorrow. The challenge is on.

The Chap Goh Meh Challenge

19 Feb

Today is Chap Goh Meh, the 15th and final day of the Lunar New Year. And as always, the family will have a big festive dinner to mark this occasion.

Then after this obligatory dinner, I have decided to do a bathroom scale challenge on myself. Instead of staying aghast with the recent bathroom scale horror, I will work on losing that 15lbs that was added on me. Forget about accepting the initial results with a pinch of salt or not trusting the device, I give myself three months to prove Newbie wrong.

With no more big festive meals lined up, the challenge will be more manageable but still a tough one because the New Year cookies are still aplenty to tempt. Losing 15lbs is a lot…

So stay tuned with me on this! Gotta stay focused and disciplined.

The Bathroom Scale Horror

11 Feb

Horrors of all horrors! Just when I thought Newbie the new bathroom scale was more reliable than Trusty, I have been given the shock of my life! All this while, BOTH scales have been lying to me.

Over the weekend, I downloaded a health & fitness app, Yunmai to sync with Newbie. Newbie being a Yunmai Mini 2 – the same brand as the app, is a digital scale that has bluetooth ability to pair to a smart phone for data analysis. Measuring from inside out, it can calculate body mass, body fat, skeletal muscle, bone mass, right down to water and a whole lot more, not just the weight. A state of the art bathroom scale indeed.

To my aghast beyond belief, the app gave me an extra 15lbs!!!

Goodness gracious me. How is this even possible when three days earlier after returning from hubby’s hometown, I stood on Newbie, the same scale, no less and there was no increase in my weight. I couldn’t possibly have piled on so much in three days after that! Somehow something has gone awry shocking me with this horrid reading.

The next day I decided to read up on reviews for Newbie and discovered that while it’s a good scale, one should apparently take the measurements with a grain of salt because it tends to show a slightly higher reading! Wow. This is especially evident when compared with a scale of another brand for weight and fat percentage measurements.

The reviews are comforting and good to know otherwise I should just forget about stepping on a bathroom scale. Ever. Again.

The Bathroom Scale Dilemma, Part 2

31 Jan

I’ve come to conclusion why Trusty, my old bathroom scale is behaving the way it behaves – it’s just not sensitive anymore. Newbie – the digital one, being new and far more superior with its ability to show up to one decimal point, makes the difference very glaring.

When there’s nothing to compare to begin with, it’s not an issue and sometimes, the weight shown on Trusty is even dismissed. But when there’s another to compare and there are differences, consciousness kicks in.

It was very obvious one morning when I stood on both first thing in the morning. Then after putting on my clothes, Newbie showed an increase of 1.1lbs – the jeans and shirt has some weight after all. But there was no increase on Trusty. Then on another morning, I stood on both with a full bladder to see the numbers before emptying the bladder; Newbie showed a decrease of 0.4lbs but no difference in Trusty. Hmm.

At that point, I got suspicious of the sensitivity, so I had to try with another situation to confirm. The test: standing on both first thing in the morning and then later, after a Roti Canai breakfast. Again, Trusty did not even budge while Newbie showed a 0.5lbs increment. Double hmm…

I guess I’d have to take Trusty’s reading with a dose (not a pinch) of salt. So with the bathroom scale dilemma resolved, it’s timely given that Chinese New Year is just around the corner and there’s all those gastronomic occasions coming up. Every little morsel may not show on Trusty but definitely will on Newbie.

The Bathroom Scale Dilemma

3 Jan

It’s a constant battle with the bathroom scale. We have the trusty old one for years and I swear by it to have a constant.

Last month when I was at the hospital to do my annual medical check up, the clinic’s scale added five unbelievable kilos to my weight. Of course, when I came home, I measured that against our trusty scale to reassure myself that is not the case.

But now things have changed…

Trusty’s accuracy is questionable and does not seem to be so trustworthy after all because there’s a new bathroom scale, a Christmas gift. And this newbie, a digital one, is more accurate down to a decimal point. Because of Newbie, I discovered to my astonishment that Trusty has been ‘lying’ to me all these years!

Newbie shows that I am actually two kilos less than Trusty. I had to blink when I saw the numbers. Eh? The hospital scale showed five extra kilos, now I am two kilos less?

I know I am not good in mental calculation but I can’t be that bad in my Math when I converted the pounds to kilos and vice versa to be sure. Such conflicting numbers. Which bathroom scale should I rely on now? Hmm…

 

BathroomScales

Trusty and Newbie

I Ain’t Heavy, I’m Just Obese!

4 Dec

Yesterday, I was at a new hospital for my annual checkup. The doctor whom I see annually has relocated to this new establishment and as such, being a new patient there, I had to register. He’s a good friend as well as being our doctor, hubby and I would consult him on health matter wherever he practices.

To get my record started up, my vitals had to be taken. And as I stood on the weighing scale, the reading showed an additional five kilos, I was horrified!!! I’m like, “Whh-aaattt?!” Not only I am heavy, I am obese! Just earlier in the morning, I stood on our bathroom scale and the reading was definitely five kilos less.

How could I have put on five kilos when I fasted the night before and during the hour-long journey to the hospital with a rumbling tummy, obviously empty and hungry? A discrepancy of a kilo or two may be possible but five? Unbelievable. Or has my bathroom scale been lying to me all these years? Hmm.

I’d like to believe the clothes are the culprit here. But then again, are my clothes that heavy? They’re Uniqlo jeans and a Liz Claiborne shirt, both light material and comfy wear. I did not remove my shoes though but the light weight Skechers can’t be that heavy too. Maybe I shouldn’t be too upset about the whole thing because I know I certainly ain’t heavy nor obese.

Readjusting the Diet

10 Apr

Now that my health problems have been resolved, I don’t see a need to avoid a whole list of food as I had been doing earlier. Although I have lost 4kgs/8.8lbs up until today, I like the way I feel and weigh now. So when readjusting the diet, I hope I won’t be putting back the pounds again.

Last week, while recuperating at home, I reintroduced hot chocolate and wheat cereal and it was okay but I somehow stayed away from coffee, I don’t know why. Maybe because I have gotten used to drinking the decaf Earl Grey which is nice.

Although the Endometriosis diagnose was mild, I shouldn’t totally avoid but just consume in moderation in case there could still be some reaction to certain food. I am still a little paranoid and should learn to get rid of this; life should be meaningful and goes on smoothly.

Hmm… Maybe I can go back to eating onions again? Or have a nice cold beer? That will be so nice!

What Can I Eat? Part 2

29 Mar

It has been seven weeks since I last drank a cup of coffee or had a glass of alcohol. Yes, I am keeping track and I am very proud to say I have not had any withdrawal symptoms. In other words, the Infectious Colitis did me good in a good weird way, losing weight, shaping up and feeling lighter.

Although I cannot eat a whole lot of things for fear of a negative reaction and suffering the consequences later (remember the onions and turnips episode?), there were a couple of instances I could not resist chocolate.

I ate some several weeks ago and this was the only thing I caved in. I am okay skipping my cheeses, dairy, wheat, fried and spicy food but resistance to chocolate was futile. Sucker.

So when I discovered I could be having Endometriosis, suddenly the staples that I relied on (tofu, soy sauce, white bread, eggs and tuna) had to be eliminated, I was aghast. What can I eat then? The list of food to avoid is so long! Apparently, these food (plus beef and those to avoid for Colitis) do cause some imbalance and reaction. And the outcome is worse; sigh… so I better not chance it. And the chocolate indulgence has stopped too. But avoiding soy sauce is the hardest because of the food I am used to eating.

Two days ago, I stepped on the bathroom scale. Hmm… down another 0.5kg. It’s not that I am not eating, I am but small meals despite the limited choices. Honestly.

I rely on white meat to appease the protein urge. Vegetables and fruits have to be moderate, not excessive because I need to have the right balance. A high-fibre diet is bad for Infectious Colitis but good for Endometriosis while a low-fibre diet is bad for Endometriosis but good for Infectious Colitis. See the dilemma?

Coincidentally, the abdominal cramps struck last night albeit less intense due to the restrictive diet, so I am glad I am seeing my O&G doctor today at the hospital. Most likely I will be admitted for a laparoscopic surgery to get to the root of my problem. From there, we will then decide what course of action to take to resolve this once and for all.

We Say Goodbye

8 Jan

After almost a month being home, our firstborn M1 returned to the US on Saturday evening. It had been simply a wonderful month, spending quality time together as we did so much or sometimes nothing at all. We had our family vacation in Hong Kong which was really fun.

And we enjoyed a sinful gastronomic journey covering her To Eat List; I think we managed all on the list. Needless to say, my waistline expanded and I gave up standing on my bathroom scale.

But how fast time flew by. My heart broke a little when we hugged her and saw her into the Departure Hall at KLIA as she headed back as a Junior turning Senior for her final year. Sniffle…

Fast forward to today—a Monday but a Sunday for her—she finally arrived, surviving the 3-leg journey with an unavoidable ten-hour layover in Hong Kong. I feel a sense of relief now.

Have a great year ahead M1!