Scales For You

Sometimes it’s funny what we treasure or collect.  Many of us collect so many treasures that we don’t have a place to keep them.  One of my friends retired and was going to reorganize her collection of treasureable junk, but couldn’t decide where to start or how to accomplish it.  I told her to leave it in the boxes in the closets and when she dies, her children will dump it.  There’s a lot of truth in that concept, because often, our children don’t treasure our keepsakes and souvenirs that we collected over the years.

I wonder if my children will treasure my pocket scales.  They’re neat because I can stick them in my pocket or purse, get them out in the restaurant and weigh my food portions.  Some dieters may not feel it is necessary to be that particular about food portions in restaurants, but when my work keeps me away from home a lot, I can’t afford to leave my diet at home.  These handheld scales are one of my usable treasures.  Many of my treasures are not usable, just treasured.

Why is it that every time I need to go on a diet, every program says, “Don’t think ‘diet’”? What am I supposed to think? I need to lose weight. Is that not connected with going on a “diet”?

Maybe I need to rethink the entire thing. Maybe I could think “withdrawal”. Withdrawal from food! That should help me feel better! I’ll get some pocket scales so I can weigh the food I’m not going to eat! On second thought, I think I’ll just go on a “diet”.

Numbers are very precise.  If you don’t believe me, reverse two numbers in a phone number and see if it works.  Or let the bank run a check through the bank as $425.32 when it was supposed to be $25.32.  Just one number can make a big difference!

Scales need to be precise, also.  Whether you’re measuring in grams, ounces, pounds, or pennyweights, you want the same item to weigh the same amount each time it is placed on the scales.  If it doesn’t, you can’t depend on the results, whether you’re cooking, measuring medicines, or weighing yourself.  Escali scales are accurate and precise.  Check them out.

I’m having a large group of people come to my house on Friday for lunch.  I’ve been trying to plan a schedule of work so I won’t have so much to do on Thursday and Friday.  I made a list of all the cleaning chores I want to accomplish, then I made a grocery list so I want forget any items needed when I get ready to prepare the food.  I’m also writing down the parts of the food preparation that can be done Thursday and the part I will have to do Friday morning.  I’m trying to “leave no stone unturned.”

Why don’t I carry out this same planning process concerning the weight I need to lose?  I could plan healthy menus for a week, make a grocery list, decide how far in advance the different foods can be prepared, and even plan for a meal or two out in restaurants.  A pocket scale will fit into my purse and can be used in a restaurant to measure my food portions.  Restaurants always seem to put too much food on a plate.  By asking for a carry-out box before starting to eat, the excess food can be taken off the plate, thus avoiding the temptation of overeating.  I can still “empty my plate” and not have to feel guilty.

Life is somewhat like a rollercoaster!  We go up and down the hills, around the curves, sometimes slowly, but sometimes so fast it almost takes away our breath.  Then we go again!  Sometimes, it’s fun; sometimes, it’s scary; and sometimes, it’s even boring.  Sometimes, we think we want off, but then we realize, we don’t!  It’s a lot more fun and enjoyable when we’re with friends and family; in fact, it’s not much fun at all when we’re alone.

In the midst of this rollercoaster ride, somehow we gain excess weight.  We know, deep in our heart, that we need to measure our food portions to avoid overeating, but how do we accomplish this while on the rollercoaster of life.  We need a handheld scale that will fit into our pocket or purse to take along on our ride.  It has a stainless steel platform for easy cleaning.  It can be used in the kitchen at home, in a restaurant, or in the cafeteria at our workplace.  Problem solved!

We took our cat and chihuahua to the vet this morning for their annual check-up.  That’s always a lot of fun.  The cat is an indoor/outdoor cat that weighs almost 11 pounds and still has his claws.  We have to put him in a pet carrier and the vet has to be extremely quick to avoid those claws.  The chihuahua wants to see everyone, especially all the cats and dogs that come in while we wait, and he always manages to use the vet’s floor for a bathroom before I can stop him.  I guess he’s marking his territory.  Life is fun, isn’t it?

I’m always amazed at how proficient the vet and her staff are with these animals, and the love they show toward them.  Love goes a long way sometimes, toward getting cooperation.  They sat each of these animals on the scale and managed to weigh them without any fuss.  They gave both of them shots, and neither of them even whined.  The cat started getting a little antsy after that, but they had him back in the pet carrier before he could do any damage.  The chihuahua was still in a good mood when it was all over.  It’s nice to work with true professionals.

Sometimes, it seems we just can’t be everywhere we need to be.  Tomorrow, my husband and I each have a first cousin’s funeral to attend at the exact same time in towns that are 20 miles apart.  It looks like we’ll have to go our separate ways in order to honor both cousins and their families. Life gets complicated at times.  Maybe that is why our world has become so portable.  We can take whatever we need with us as we hit the road–even scales.  A handheld scale that will fit into our pocket or purse can be used wherever we are to measure our food portions.  Sometimes, our “eyes are bigger than our stomach” as we fill our plate, and we take out too much food, then feel obligated to empty our plate.  This little portable scale can help prevent this situation, and keep us on our eating plan regardless of our location.  Life is complicated at times, but modern conveniences can help.

Electronics have totally changed our world!  It’s amazing to look back fifty years and see the differences between the appliances, telephones, television sets, computers, games, etc.  The first television I remember seeing had about a 10 inch round screen, and of course, it was in black and white.  Now we see 50 and 60 inch flatscreen television set in many homes, and of course, in true-life color.  The first computer I remember was at a university and filled a large room.  I had to input my data by typing, and holes were punched in a series of cards.  The cards ran through the computer to produce the results.  It took a long time to run any kind of program, and I needed to understand computer language (which I never mastered).  Now I’m sitting here typing on a laptop and can surf the internet to research anything that happens to be on my mind, without any knowledge of computer language.  Remember the old dial telephones.  It took a long time just to dial a number, then you were tied to the phone by a lengthy cord.  Now we all have a cell phone in our pocket or attached to our waist and we aren’t tied to anything.  Amazing!

Bathroom, kitchen, and shipping scales have been vastly improved, also.  Besides being electronic, they are also digital.  This gives a much more accurate and precise reading.  Electronic scales are everywhere–in the home, in the grocery store, in the labs, etc.  Toss out the old, put in the new!  Our world has changed!

Does anyone just sit on the front porch any more?  We’re all too busy.  Our children and grandchildren hardly know what home is.  They’re involved in sports and other activities to the point that they are busy almost 12 months a year, and that’s not counting school and studying.  We live in our vehicles, running through drive-through windows and hurrying to our next appointment or activity. 

Escali makes portable scales for almost any need we have–in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in the lab, etc.  They even make a handheld scale to stick in your pocket or purse to measure food portions in restaurants.  It has a stainless steel platform for easy cleaning.  Our whole world has gone portable.

What a busy weekend!  Our hometown is very small with only one small cafe, a post office and a K-8 school with less than 200 students.  However, this weekend, our little community will be full of bluegrass musicians and dancers.  The Fiddlers’ and Bluegrass Festival, always the third Saturday in April, started in 1956, and has only missed one year since then.  The locals are performing YEE HAW tonight, then a parade starts tomorrow at 10:30, with pork barbecue and barbecued chicken to follow.  The music contests begin at 1 p.m. and continue until everyone has had a chance to perform.  It’s lots of fun, makes a good bit of money for the school, but requires a lot of work and dedication from everyone to make it a success.  Many hometown folks who have moved away, return for the festivities.

How do you watch your diet on a weekend so full of fun, excitement and food.  A pocket scale that you can hold in your hand, can weigh food portions to prevent overeating.  However, I think I’ll just leave my handheld scale at home and throw caution to the wind for this one weekend.  I’ll start my diet again Monday after everyone has gone and the community is back to normal except for the cleaning up.