Rude Awakening: The Scale Doesn't Lie

I've never been gifted in the numbers department. I'm a word wizard; I leave the math to others. So when I was signing up for NutriSystem this morning, I didn't let the fact that I was at the office and a long way from a scale deter me from finalizing my profile.
The program asks you basic weight-loss questions about gender, height and weight before allowing you to pick your chosen program. I was in a hurry and knew I needed to spend some time on customizing my meals, so I sped through the perfunctory questions. When it came to typing in my weight, I just guessed.
Hmm...the last time I weighed myself, I was 170 -- 25 pounds above my "fighting weight" of 145 (which I weighed a year ago). That was two months ago -- before a handful of food-laden and booze-filled vacations and business trips. That's before I had to start digging out the size 14s from the closet. Recalling that when at the mall earlier this week, the 14s were a little tight for comfort, I decided I must have put on a little weight since that last weigh in. No worries, that's why I'm signing on to NutriSystem, right? As for guessing my current weight, I thought 175 sounded reasonable. After all, it's possible I would have put on 5 pounds in two months -- people do that all the time.
Since part of my NutriSystem challenge involves accurate detailing my experience, though, I figured I owed it to the D360 community to be precise. So as soon as I got home tonight, I hopped on the scale....then I hopped off, sure that the number was wrong.
After a quick check to make sure my keys and cell phone weren't hiding in my pockets, I stepped on the scale again. The digital display flashed for a moment before revealing its judgment -- 182.3.
182.3?!
Where on earth did that number come from?! Sure, I knew I had been a little lazy this summer, ate a little too much, drank a little more. But not to the tune of gaining almost 40 pounds! It had to be a mistake…four more attempts proved that the only mistake I made was living in denial all summer.
The only thing I can say is how grateful I am to get this wake-up call now – before I had packed on even more weight. I only wish it was sooner.