I was thrilled on weigh-in day this week to see I’d lost another pound. My delight was short-lived. My bubble burst when I discovered my daily point allowance had dropped another point.

Compared with the women I know on Weight Watchers, I can’t complain. I still get 43 points per day, plus 49 extra points every week, and whatever activity points I earn from riding my bike, walking the dogs, or mowing the yard.  The point is I still get enough points to support my ice cream habit.

The general trend, however, is disturbing. When I started Weight Watchers, I got a generous 46 points every day. Yes, I’ve lost almost twenty-two pounds. But my progress has cost me three points.

And that’s not all. I needed to buy either some suspenders or several pairs of pants. Fearing a camel toe, I opted for the new pants.

I weigh myself several times each and every day. First, I weigh myself right out of bed, before coffee or any ablutions. I’ll weigh myself again after a good ablution and after my bike ride. Throughout the day, I’ll step on the scale any time I find myself naked in the bathroom. I also weigh myself before I go to bed, just to see how much weight I need to lose over night.

Thanks to all this weighing in, since we started Weight Watchers we’ve burned through several bathroom scales. The first was one we’ve had for years. To make it work, I had to remove and reinsert the battery. The smallest unit was a half pound–not the kind of accuracy I need, so we dumped it.

The second scale was from Weight Watchers. It even allowed you to track weights for up to four people. The smallest unit was .2 pounds which made for much more reliable weights. The problem was that I could weigh myself several times in a row and get results that varied by as much as five pounds. Not good.

This weekend we got scale number three. It’s similar to the Weight Watcher scale, but appears to be far more reliable. Guess that means I won’t be using the best of three attempts any more.

In a perfect world, losing weight would translate into bonus points. Being rewarded with another point or two every few pounds would mean more ice cream. That’s what I call motivation!

But instead, the more weight I lose, the fewer points I’m allowed. Eventually, my ice cream addiction will be in jeopardy. That’s what I call a disincentive!

Most weeks, I use about half my weekly points. That means the 50 to 100 activity points I earn every week go to waste. As my daily point allowance drops, I can see myself using more of my weekly points and eventually, tapping into my activity points. One thing for sure. There will always be ice cream in the freezer here in…

My Glass House