Anyone who has attempted to lose weight, a considerable amount of weight, knows….the emotional swings that come with it.   So much so that from week to week the pendulum can swing from highs to lows….maybe even more than once in any given week!  Hopefully we will never know the real pain and suffering that comes with having bipolar disorder.…but even as a healthy person — if you allow it — the process of losing weight can get so intense….that your emotions get tied to the scale – and your life can become a game of Chance every time you get on the thing.

But it’s an inevitable part of the process, Diane.  The emotional ups and downs.  Or…is it?  Inevitable, I mean?  I used to think so.  And that’s why my mission (each time I went on a diet) was to MAKE SURE THE SCALE ONLY WENT DOWN!  That way my emotions could always stay UP.  Polarity!

Polarity is typically used to describe electrical charges. These charges are given the terms positive and negative. We encounter polarity in terms of electricity and also in chemistry.  Without getting all technical – the things about polarity that attracts me is the fact that polarity is the situation when two tendencies, opinions, situation, or things oppose each other.  Where they have the condition of having two poles with opposite qualities.  Think of two magnets.    Try and put the two negative sides together and you will “Feel” polarity.  They ain’t goin’ together.  No way.  Same result with the two positive ends.  They have negative polarity, and don’t move together in the rhythm of life.

What I’ve learned about myself is that my emotions and the scale have polarity!  Only when the scale is going down, do my emotions stay up.  Therefore the reverse is also true – when the scale is going up – my emotions go down.  In doodling around with this scientific concept….what dawned on me was….that the scale was the primary object in my thinking.  It was like the Scale was Magnetic North.  The center of MY universe.    What would happen if I turned this idea around.   Used polarity to my benefit, instead of constantly feeling like I was a slave to it, a slave to the game of Chance on the scale??

So after a bit of mental role reversal – here is how the equation lined up, still using polarity!

If my emotions stay/go Up – then the scale will go down.  If my emotions go down – then the scale will go Up.

WOW.  It works this way too!  So why not…forget about the scale.  Let it become the result of my equation, rather than the inputs that I focus on.  Cuz let’s face it – you really can’t have an impact on the scale on a day-to-day basis.  It’s NOT an input variable in the scientific experiment called Weight Loss.  It’s a result.  Or more accurately, a measurement tool of the result.  My weight.

But…what IS an input (for me at least) are my emotions.  I K.N.O.W this about myself.  When I am feeling GOOD – I am Kicking @ss and Taking Names.  So…why not focus on ways that I can keep my emotions high.  Ok ok, not artificially high.   I’m not talking about doin’ drugs or short-term fixes…I’m talking about simply changing the focus on this whole weight loss business, away from the measurement – and toward the goal of making myself happy…..and let polarity do its thang.

One other variable that I didn’t mention that will automatically reduce itself in this equation…is stress.  Yea.  I’ll take the albatross off my neck.  I’ll put down the burden of losing weight…and just live my life focused on making myself happy.

Happy is the name of my Input in my weight loss equation.  Anything that makes me happy (calorie free)….is where I’m going.  That is where I’m going to let my emotions sail Up toward……and I expect that the scale will run Downward..…polarity chasing my weight down.

So there.  That’s as much science as my little brain can handle.

A short list of what makes me happy —

~~  Reading – Meditating – A good night’s sleep – Music – Running – Biking – Spending time with Peter and the girls – Going to the movies – Swimming – Gardening – Walking our dogs – Zumba Toning Class — Taking a Bath – Getting a new lipstick —  A good cup of coffee – a vanilla ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles on Saturday night in the summer.  Hey Weekly Points , WPs!! ~~

I’m certain I will grow this list – and I encourage you to make your own.

Remember polarity!  Raise Yourself UP — and Watch your weight go Down!

Ciao for now……Diane