Dear Reader:

Body weight can fluctuate many pounds each day depending on things as simple as time of day and hydration level in the body. You think about your food in-take... do you consider how much water you drank?

In addition, if you are working out more, you are likely gaining muscle mass. Muscle mass is smaller (denser) than body fat and will make you look slimmer even if you actually weigh the same and perhaps weigh more!

I have lost a dress size since last May and have had dozens of people tell me how I look like I've lost so much weight. The reality is I still weigh more than I did when I wasn't doing core training, isolation work and weight lifting!

I am more physically fit, happier and healthier than ever, so I've given up on caring about the number on the scale, particularly since it categorizes me as "clinically obese" and I'm more fit than most people I meet.

In general, the scale is an ineffective gauge of success as the number it reports in any given moment does not address your overall health and fitness. If your focus is on the scale, the emotional ride may be challenging. If you focus on constantly (re)engineering your body as a life long project, you are bound to be successful.

To begin with, you might want to consider shifting focus to:

• how your skin looks
• how healthy you feel
• increasing agility, grace and ease as you move
• your body strength and flexibility
• your cardio vascular endurance

In general, these provide more valuable information to help us understand what our body is communicating.

I invite you to find assistance in this journey by reading the mindset we teach at Temple of Poi. As you read it, consider "body (re)engineering" your "flow practice" of choice.

- GlitterGirl, spring 05