If the Pants Don’t Fit You Can’t Acquit

September 30, 2008  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on October 2008 There is one number, other than my age, that I feel like I have tracked my entire life. Truth is, it’s probably not my whole life; I can only remember back to about 8th grade. But I do remember what I weighed then, and it was too much to fit into the cool pair of pink chinos that I wanted to wear. It was then that my tracking, and evaluating, and judging based on a number began.

From that point on, I think I can tell you with a confidence level of 95 percent what I have weighed during any point during my life. Getting on the scale and “measuring” what it says has just been a way of life.

If things are going well with the diet and exercise program, it’s a pleasure to step on that little machine. If things aren’t, well then, guess what? Maybe I’ll save myself a good morning slap on the face and just skip it.

There are, of course, rules for making the numbers look their best. Always weigh first thing in the morning, at the same time, and on an empty stomach. Weigh before you shower, as your body soaks up moisture in the shower. OBVIOUSLY before you put on lotion. If you need to trim your nails, you can cut yourself a little bit of slack. Take your glasses and jewelry off. Naked is a given.

If you need an excuse, it’s easy enough to violate one of these rules so you have an out. Weigh in the middle of the afternoon—after two meals and 12 cups of coffee. Your brain will tell you that is worth about five pounds. Similarly, a pair of pajamas can easily be seen as weighing about three pounds if that’s what you need the math to work out to be. There are days I wonder just how weight-penalized I am for having long hair. Maybe a short ‘do would finally get me to my goal weight. OR you can skip stepping on the scale all together. That, my friends,

is a sign that you are getting ready to careen out of control. Ignoring the bad news usually just makes it worse.

This issue is all about numbers retailers use as benchmarks to run their business.

The scale, the tape measure, and the body fat calipers if you will.

How are you measuring your success? Are you building in excuses for your set of numbers?

The economy is a big one. You guys know that one, so I won’t bore you with all the gory details. Weather—good or bad—is frequently thrown in as a qualifier along with written order reports. “One time only’s” often gloss over an unpalatable number at the end of the page. All these things are justified to be sure, but the number is still the number.

There are excuses you can make, and stories you can tell yourself to feel better, or, you can always just quit watching numbers you don’t like—but either way, eventually your pants don’t fit. That’s the blessing and the curse of a concrete thing such as a number. There’s really not much wiggle room in it. It reflects the truth.

Ignore it at your own peril.

Because I know, from many, many years of experience, the more you get on the scale, the better you do. And, no matter how much you want it to be so, your fingernails don’t weigh 10 pounds.

Think about it.