Throw Out The Scale
All over the country women are setting goals to drop sizes, shed pounds, and slim down in the New Year. Each year, the social media buzz happens, the weight-loss promotions go into full swing, and women are left feeling less than adequate.
Think with me for a moment. What if this year, you THREW OUT YOUR SCALE? Yes! You read that right. I mean it, throw it away, carry it to your garbage can, and never look back.
The number you see on the scale simply shows how much gravitational pull the earth has on your physical body. If you went to the moon you would weigh much less. With all of that aside, making healthy lifestyle changes will greatly impact your life in 2020 and you don't need the scale to show or tell you.
In-fact, women who frequently step on the scale obsess over the number, neglecting to focus on proper nutrition and fueling the body for optimal health. This can actually have the opposite affect, frequenting the scale can actually lead to weight gain, why? The scale does not take into account, exercise, muscle gain vs fat gain and loss, water retention, menstrual cycle, or your healthy nutritional changes. Like I said above, it simply is measuring the gravitational pull on your body.
Dr. Heinberg makes a great observation;
“The scale is a horrible barometer of behavior change, You can do everything right today — you can exercise, you can have great intake that really would make any dietitian thrilled — but then you get on the scale, and you’re up 2 pounds.”
When you see you are up 2 pounds, statistically you are more likely to throw in the towel, give up and fall back into negative thinking patterns which lead to unhealthy actions.
You know if you need to shift your mindset toward food, the way you nourish your body and even move your body. Maybe you find yourself at the beginning of 2020 ready for drastic changes. You desire to accomplish an all out overhaul. You want to change your eating habits, add movement to your weekly routine and loose weight.
I tell my clients, there are other ways to measure your healthy changes.
-How are your clothes fitting, when you need to purchase new ones you know you have shed weight.
-How are your energy levels?
-How are you sleeping?
-How are your moods?
-What does your social life look like?
-How are your relationships?
-How is your relationship changing with your physical body?
-How do you feel?
When you begin to take into account overall healthy lifestyle changes your mind becomes healthy as well. What I see most often in my clients, as we begin working together is an obsession with the NUMBER they are determined to see on the scale or the size they will do anything to fit into. My first objection is to get her to see- are these actually realistic goals for her body. Many women have an idea of what they think their body is supposed to be, when in reality their body will never be happy, healthy or even able to maintain at the point she has set.
Each woman has a set point weight. Her set point weight is within a 5-7 pound region, meaning she can fluctuate between 5-7 pounds in any given season or - any given day for that matter. The TRUTH is, no one ever ways the exact same day in and day out, especially women!
Having a number (that is the only number) you want to weight is actually hurting your health, mentally and physically. Now- if you have a range that you feel your body is the healthiest, then this is real life, realistic and sustainable.
I know I said throw the scale in the trash can, maybe that is extreme behavior too. But, truth be told- The scale is just a tool. That's it, nothing fancy, it's like a wrench you use to tighten a water pipe. You don't grab the wrench every morning, clear your neatly organized baskets from under your bathroom sink to test if the wrench works, and tighten the water pipes. NO- chances are, you would eventually end up breaking your pipes.
I do advise my clients for the first 4-6 weeks of us working together to put the scale away, somewhere that they do not have easy access to it. I don't want it, I want them honing in on nutrition and body love. I want them to listen to their body, understand how it feels, and become radically aware of what is changing and shifting, mentally and physically. Some women need to actually throw the scale away, because it has become her God and the bowing down every morning must stop, it has to be cut off! If I am honest, this is MOST women.
If you asked me what I weighed I could give you a round about range. I don't weigh myself. I know how I am doing based on how my clothes fit, and how I feel, mentally and physically. I don't need my scale to tell me if I am healthy. If I am relying on it to do this, it NEVER will, because weight is not a true indicator of ones health.
Let me ask you a question. If you knew you would never lose a single pound would you still make healthy lifestyle changes that would impact your ability to thrive in the here and now?
The answer to the question above is a good indicator of your true motivation. Your motivation will determine your actions.
I know many women who will never be content with the body they have no matter what size they are. It will never be enough.
As a Coach, I will tell you the battlefield is in the mind. If your mind is solely fixated on a number, you will continue to struggle and be in bondage to food and body image. You will have to come face to face with the raw truth that, you are not truly seeking to be the healthiest version of yourself, but only the thinnest.
So- What if you threw out the scale and for the sake of health rocked 2020!
What if- you determined to be the healthiest version of yourself this year, eating whole foods, moving your body because it is good for her, and doing some deep seeded work within?
Living for- HEALTHY is sustainable! Throw out the scale, and nourish your body with life giving foods, move your body more, breathe, rest, engage, be present and enjoy the gift of life you have in this moment. You are more than a number and size! You are a woman, beautifully created.
xoxo,
Brittany