My relationship with the scale has been as damaged as any relationship can be. I’ve hated that lying bitch (excuse my profanity) since elementary school when she first made me feel like crap.
Let’s face it, we step on her and she doesn’t always reflect our hard work or discount the fact it might be that time of the month. She leaves us either feeling victorious and on top of the world, or so depressed we look for the nearest bakery to sooth our broken spirits.
I exercise. I’m active. I eat healthy 80% of the time. Yet, I’ve avoided the scale like the plague, until this weekend. I had to visit Urgent Care for a back injury I endured on Friday. First thing they had me do was step on the scale. What the?!?! Why?!?!
But I did. I can’t say I was shocked to see what the scale said, but if I’m being honest I was a little bummed. I’ve relied on how I feel from the inside out. I still prioritize that over everything else, but removing the hard, black and white numbers has allowed me to slip a little further than where I really want to be.
Many moons ago I decided rather than let her dictate how I feel about myself I removed her toxicity from my life. I’ve looked to other things to give me a barometer for my physical health, like my clothes. So many of us say…”I just go by how my clothes feel.” Yeah girl, me too!! But the crappy and at the same time glorious thing is, stretchy jeans and leggings have about 15 pounds of flexibility in them.
The number on the scale looks different on all body types. I’ve tried to let go of any preconceived notions what I should weigh. These women are a great example. They all weigh roughly 155 pounds and yet they look entirely different from one another.
Let’s face it, we step on her and she doesn’t always reflect our hard work or discount the fact it might be that time of the month. She leaves us either feeling victorious and on top of the world, or so depressed we look for the nearest bakery to sooth our broken spirits.
I exercise. I’m active. I eat healthy 80% of the time. Yet, I’ve avoided the scale like the plague, until this weekend. I had to visit Urgent Care for a back injury I endured on Friday. First thing they had me do was step on the scale. What the?!?! Why?!?!
But I did. I can’t say I was shocked to see what the scale said, but if I’m being honest I was a little bummed. I’ve relied on how I feel from the inside out. I still prioritize that over everything else, but removing the hard, black and white numbers has allowed me to slip a little further than where I really want to be.
Many moons ago I decided rather than let her dictate how I feel about myself I removed her toxicity from my life. I’ve looked to other things to give me a barometer for my physical health, like my clothes. So many of us say…”I just go by how my clothes feel.” Yeah girl, me too!! But the crappy and at the same time glorious thing is, stretchy jeans and leggings have about 15 pounds of flexibility in them.
The number on the scale looks different on all body types. I’ve tried to let go of any preconceived notions what I should weigh. These women are a great example. They all weigh roughly 155 pounds and yet they look entirely different from one another.
I’ve learned to look at myself in the mirror and focus on the things I love about my body and disregard the things I don’t. This is incredibly victorious in my book and I still will continue to do this. But, truth be told, I’ve ignored some of the subtle signs that my weight was slightly creeping away from me.
I went to the hair dresser a few weeks ago and said to her, “I hate my hair!!” She asked me what I hated about it. I told her I hated how round it was making my face look. Buah ha ha ha!! My hair wasn’t making my face round, the extra LB’s were.
So where do we go from here?
Do we weigh ourselves every day? Do we weigh ourselves weekly? Do we never weigh ourselves and just go by how everything else feels?
I think it depends. I think if we can honestly gage our physical health by other measures and want to avoid the scale at all costs. Yeah! Go for it! If some of us need to weigh in every day to stay on track. Then have at it!
For me??? I think I need to be accountable once a week. Perhaps if I had been weighing in weekly I’d know there was something wrong with my thyroid, and I could have tackled it a little earlier. I’d also be forced to admit my sugar addiction needed a little intervention.
Our weight does not define our health. Our weight does not define our strength. Our weight does not define our beauty. I believe these truths above all else and I hope women everywhere will also believe this too be true.
For me, I do need the scale to keep me a little more honest. Just like I’ve learned to change the way I look at myself in the mirror, and I’ve learned to change my relationship with food, I will learn to change my relationship with 'just the messenger' who doesn't always tell the whole truth, but usually has good intentions.
I went to the hair dresser a few weeks ago and said to her, “I hate my hair!!” She asked me what I hated about it. I told her I hated how round it was making my face look. Buah ha ha ha!! My hair wasn’t making my face round, the extra LB’s were.
So where do we go from here?
Do we weigh ourselves every day? Do we weigh ourselves weekly? Do we never weigh ourselves and just go by how everything else feels?
I think it depends. I think if we can honestly gage our physical health by other measures and want to avoid the scale at all costs. Yeah! Go for it! If some of us need to weigh in every day to stay on track. Then have at it!
For me??? I think I need to be accountable once a week. Perhaps if I had been weighing in weekly I’d know there was something wrong with my thyroid, and I could have tackled it a little earlier. I’d also be forced to admit my sugar addiction needed a little intervention.
Our weight does not define our health. Our weight does not define our strength. Our weight does not define our beauty. I believe these truths above all else and I hope women everywhere will also believe this too be true.
For me, I do need the scale to keep me a little more honest. Just like I’ve learned to change the way I look at myself in the mirror, and I’ve learned to change my relationship with food, I will learn to change my relationship with 'just the messenger' who doesn't always tell the whole truth, but usually has good intentions.
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