I was at my darkest point, the lowest of low and then suddenly out of nowhere, a light began to emerge. Yanking out the final piece of laundry and a long missing shoe, I could now clearly see under the bed, all the way to the other side! Mission accomplished. And if the truth were known, it was the first mission I’d undertaken, let alone accomplished in about 18 months. I certainly didn’t set out to clean under the bed and if I still had a cleaning lady, she’d be so fired. I couldn’t believe what was under that bed. For crying out loud, did you really think that I’d believe all that crap had accumulated in a mere 18 months? I think not. Anyhow, back to how I got into that position in the first place. I thought I’d try to do a few sit ups, nothing strenuous, just a few ab crunches, you know strengthen the “old core.” But once I got down there I got distracted when I found a library book that I’d been searching for since last Christmas. Yeah, the book that made them revoke my card. My last plastic card, which I may add, had no limit and that I thought they couldn’t take away, was revoked. Crap. Ah, such is the life of the underemployed. They may take my plastic, but they will never take away my dignity! [  Read full article here ]

There is a scale out there for everyone. At DietsInReview.com, we thought we had seen it all, with scales that upload your weight online, to even a chair that doubles as a scale. Turns out we haven’t seen it all. The Quantam Scale, which was featured on The Tyra Banks Show and The Bonnie Hunt Show, does not show you your weight. Yes, you read that correctly; it will never show you your actual weight.

When stepping on the scale, it will simply show you how much you have lost or gained, but not those three dreaded numbers.

To start, the scale secretly records your weight on the first use. Each time the scale is used from that point forward it will only show you the amount lost or gained. This will help those who struggle with seeing their actual weight each time they step on the scale and focus more on the positive feelings they will have when the weight loss is shown.

As with all reviews on scales, I have to reiterate that a scale should not be your sole means for tracking your successes on your way to health and well-being. But these tools can certainly help. [ Read this article from the source ]

Feel like you’ve lost your drive to get into shape? Now’s the time to review your routine, examine the results and be honest about what’s holding you back. Whether you’re not getting enough water or you find food journaling cumbersome, here are five useful products to help you get back on track.

Excuse: “I get so depressed about my weight that I’ve stopped stepping on the scale regularly.”

Busted: The Quantum Scale ($59; QuantumScale.com) shows your progress (-2, -5 pounds, etc.) instead of your weight, so you’ll be motivated to keep moving toward your goal. [Click here to read from the source.]

Quantum Scale Only Displays Your Weight Loss

You’ve decided to actively work on achieving your weight loss goals, but you’re dreading stepping on the scale to see just how much damage has been done in the months that you’ve been AWOL from your weight loss program. Why does it seem emotionally traumatic to come face to face with seeing that number on the scale? Having to see that number that you don’t like on the scale – whether it’s 150 or 350 pounds – is so scary that it stops people from ever beginning their weight loss journey in the first place.

The Psychology of Weight Loss and Scales

The Quantum Scale is being touted as the dieter’s dream – step on the scale after beginning a weight loss program and it only displays your progress. And the premise is an interesting one. Advertisements claim that health and wellness experts support the view that maintaining a positive outlook is important in not only losing weight, but developing a consistent focus on weight loss (or even maintaining weight loss). The idea is to remove the negative psychological stimulus (i.e., the current number on the scale that you don’t like!) to replace it with feedback on how much you have accomplished on your weight loss journey. The difference is akin to focusing on how far you’ve come compared to how far you still have to go to reach your ideal weight. [Read full article here]

The Quantum Scale is a scale that….ready? Never Ever Shows Your Weight! Quantum Scale Secretly Records Your Weight and Only Shows a Loss or a Gain from the Time You Start Your Diet. Quantum Scale is the revolutionary scale that you’ll actually want to step on! Never showing your actual weight, the Quantum Scale displays only how much weight you’ve lost or gained providing a motivational boost that both encourages and informs you. Staying positive and feeling good about your weight loss accomplishments is what is truly important. [Click here to visit source of this article]

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The Dreaded Weigh-In

By TARA PARKER-POPE

For many people, the worst part of the doctor visit is getting on the scale.

University of Pennsylvania researchers say they believe some women may be avoiding the doctor just to avoid being weighed in front of other people. They surveyed 482 college-age men and women to determine how sensitive they were to the disclosure of personal information, including their weight.

The study, to be published in an upcoming issue of the medical journal Appetite, showed that women experienced high degrees of discomfort at the prospect of being weighed in the presence of others.

The problem is that many busy doctors’ offices put the scale in a well-trafficked hallway or a common room, where the weigh-in can be witnessed by other patients. The survey data suggest that some women may avoid going to the doctor and getting necessary tests like mammograms if their doctor visit includes a step on a public scale. [ Click here to read the rest of the article ]

The weather outside is frightful, but we’ll keep you looking (and feeling) delightful with these frozen weather finds that are oh-so-chic this season.

Don’t let that stop you from keeping your 2010 resolution to drop those extra pounds. A new innovation called the Quantum Scale ($59, quantumscale.com) promises to be a dieter’s best friend, because it secretly records your weight into it’s memory—but never shows you the number. All you see when you step on the scale is how many pounds you gained or lost since your last weigh in. So now you can focus on what’s most important: developing a healthy lifestyle. Plus, it comes in blue, pink, green, black or orange to compliment your décor. Finally, there’s a systematic way to lose weight without piling on extra stress. [Click here to read full article]

QUESTIONS FOR SUSIE ORBACH

Her Beautiful Mind

Interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON
Published: March 4, 2009

As a British psychoanalyst known for your social activism and literary output, you argue in your new book, “Bodies,” that all of the globalized world — men and women alike — is suffering from a warped sense of beauty.

What I am seeing is franticness about having to get a body. I wish we could treat our bodies as the place we live from, rather than regard it as a place to be worked on, as though it were a disagreeable old kitchen in need of renovation and update.

“Body hatred,” as you call it, has become a leading Western export. Young women in South Korea are undergoing surgery to Westernize the appearance of their eyelids.

It’s supported by their parents. They don’t experience this as a terrible thing, that they’re being passive victims and idiots. They see it as a chance at modernity. Fiji is the country where 11.3 percent of girls were bent over the toilet bowl three years after television was introduced.  [ Click here to read the full article. ]

Millions of people will probably entertain themselves this holiday season by watching TV, playing video games, or surfing the Internet. One thing they likely won’t do is haul the bathroom scale from the bathroom to the dining room and make everyone weigh themselves right after dinner.

Crazy, right? Well, back in the day (the 19th century, to be precise) it was considered quite the amusing parlor game, according to Deborah Levine, an Andrew W. Mellon postdoctoral fellow at Washington University in St. Louis. She studied the fascination with weight and scales as part of her doctoral dissertation, “Managing American Bodies: Diet, nutrition and obesity in the United States from 1840 to 1920 (She’s currently writing a book about the subject.).

During the early part of the Victorian era, Levine says, babies or sick people were usually the only ones weighed. “If you were an adult you wouldn’t have known what your weight was. It wasn’t common information until the railroads started shipping freight, and people started to weigh themselves at train stations on the public scales.” [ Read full article from Los Angeles Times blogs: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2008/12/a-weighty-subje.html ]

Wacky (But it Works) Wednesday: A Scale with No Numbers!

As a girl with a quick metabolism, I’ve basically weighed the same since I hit puberty. As you may know from my introductory blog (hooray!), it wasn’t until this past year that I really dug my teeth into fitness. One day, after about a month of weight training, I stepped on the scale and stared down at the number–surely I must have lost weight; I looked so much thinner! Nope. I had gained weight. 7 pounds of weight! Suddenly, my newfound confidence flew out the window. I knew that I wasn’t fat, and knew that I had gained weight because of muscle gain, but I instantly became fixated on my weight. [ Click here to read the rest of the article from Self.com ]