It sat on the floor, covered with hair ties and dust. My nemesis — the bathroom scale.

I cleaned off the clutter and moved it to its proper position, took off my pyjamas (because you never know how much extra weight the pjs will add) and step on the scale. Momentarily my gaze strays around the bathroom, noting that I really should clean more often. And by more often I mean at least once every three months. The digital scale flashes zeros across its screen as it calculates my weight and mentally I revert to sage game show philosophy: No whammies. No whammies. No whammies. Stop!

Big … sigh … of … relief.

My weight is not so bad after all.

I’ve been lighter and I probably would ideally like to come down 6-7 pounds, but this current number is completely fine by me. I feared it would be much worse. But this morning I was brave. I got on the scale for the first time in six months. I love the quote from Eleanor Roosevelt which reads: Do one thing every day that scares you.

A big check on that already for today. That is, until I go to the Buffalo Triathlon Club open water swim workout today and battle rain, wind, waves and dead fish. What would Mrs. Roosevelt say about doing TWO things a day that scare you?

Getting on the scale this morning is part of today’s task, which is getting my body fat calculated. Why you may ask? Good question. The plan is to give the numbers to my coach so that he can look at them and we can formulate a solid daily nutrition plan. I have a 70.3 race coming up next month and an Iron Distance race in September. This means some pretty intense training and in order to perform the way I want to, eating properly is a key ingredient. And something rather easy to do.

Coach Peter Pimm has an excellent article about nutrition and athletic performance on his website. I’ve always been interested in nutrition. And the more I train, the more interested I become in feeding myself the right way.

Important notes on my nutritional adventures:

First, I have no delusions of grandeur. I don’t think that attention to my diet will bring me a podium finish or necessarily make me faster.

Second, I’m not going to become obsessive about my diet. While I may track what I eat to get a general sense of what I’m putting in my body, there will be no compulsive calculations of carbohydrates. There will be denying of vitally important food groups — like cake, ice cream and a glass of chilled, crisp white wine on a hot summer day.

Third, I will not be defined by numbers. This may be the most challenging of them all. Women often have unique relationships to their bodies. This topic, and its many offshoots, is a doctoral dissertation in itself. The short version for purposes here: My weight and body fat percentage are merely measurements. Those numbers, well, they are what they are. The numbers don’t define me. I bring my own definition to the numbers. People will still love me but more importantly, I will still love myself.

So I gleefully ask the bathroom scale, the calipers and the mathematical formulas to bring it.

It doesn’t matter what you say. It only matters what I do with the information. And what I plan to do is continue to make myself healthy and strong.