I knew I would have to pay the piper for that visit to IHOP. Oh yes, I tried to put it off with all of my strength training and daily power walks. But today the piper was determined to collect.

This week I was up 1.4 lbs.

Let’s be honest. It’s not just my trip to IHOP. I also ate delicious Indian food…and some pizza…OK a lot of pizza. Not exactly low carb fare. I tapped into both my weekly PlusPoints allowance and activity points – and then some.

Yet, I’m not panicked or upset. In fact, I’m proud of myself. Not for going off program. I’m happy I was able to face the scale knowing what I ate.

I used to be afraid of the scale. If I blew my points for the week, I would just skip my Weight Watcher’s meeting. I just couldn’t face the scale. But I found out the hard way that if you skip once it gets easier to skip another meeting…and another. Soon, I’d no longer go to the meetings and I’d be packing on the pounds.

I no longer fear the scale because I understand that it wasn’t the scale that I was afraid of. It was the self-doubt that would creep in. I’d be down 25 lbs, go up 2 and start thinking I’m a failure. Didn’t matter that I lost way more than I gained. I couldn’t see past the current reading on the scale. In any other aspect of my life, if I got knocked down, I’d get back up, dust myself off and keep moving forward. But when it came to my weight I never could see the forest through the trees. I’d just throw myself a big ol’ pity party (with lots of ice cream).

Well those days are gone. Now I’m determined to step on to the scale every week. I know I’m human. I will not always make the right food choices. And that’s OK, provided I learn from my mistakes.

So what did I learn from this week? Besides IHOP, Indian food and lots of pizza in one week isn’t smart.

1. Woohoo I’m down 66.6 lbs.
2. The scale is not my enemy.
3. I’ll have a better weigh in if I continue stay on program.

That scale is going down next Saturday!