Watching the scale

I got on the scale this morning and my weight was four to five pounds more than it has been in the last few days. (That means perilously close to 160 when I have been successfully clinging to 155-156 for quite some time.) My reaction? Panic (just a teeny bit), rationalization, realism. I know I haven't eaten enough in the past few days to gain four pounds, if any. On the other hand, I don't want to write it off as "just water weight" (though it probably is, mostly) without acknowledging that I have had a few indulgences that would eventually make me gain weight if I indulged too often. Specifically....

Thursday night - drinks and appetizer and a chocolate dessert split three ways with friends. Granted, I missed lunch that day (very rare for me), and this was my dinner; and in fact the scale Friday morning was fine. So that led me to....

Friday night - book club meeting and dinner with friends. A combination of a healthy chicken and vegetable stew made by me, gussied up with light Bisquick dumplings, and a piece of cornbread, apple torte and chocolate peanut butter torte for dessert (small pieces, though). Oh yeah, and a couple glasses of limoncello iced tea (with unsweetened iced tea, at least). All very yummy, and still, not a lot of movement to the scale on Saturday morning. Of course, Saturday was the the day....

I ran a 10K! And ran hard. So that entitled me to an omelet and toast in a cafe afterward. And a giant frosted sugar cookie (and I loved every single bite). The rest of my day was pretty much on track. So why did that lead to....

159.6 on the scale this morning! Combination of a few high carb foods, possibly high sodium foods, and the alcohol? I am confident that in the next few days, by eating clean, I will be back where I should be. (I am a little bit paranoid that the olives I ate with my dinner tonight were packed with sodium, though.) Of course I'll be on the scale every single day just to make sure. Weighing myself too often is not necessarily a great thing, but it's better than the alternative, which is burying my head in the sand, avoiding the scale, and letting the weight creep on.

I think the occasional modest indulgence is fine, great, and perhaps even necessary in the balance of things. But I guess the little jab of fear when the scale veers upward is good too, because it helps keep me honest. And away from the frosted cookies.