Things They Never Told Me: Don't Give The Scale Power

When people ask me how long I have been interested in health and fitness, I laugh. The truth is, I have been "interested" in health and fitness for well over 10 years. The hubs and I have a running joke that we are professionals when it comes to the business of weight loss. I know more about nutrition and fitness than almost everyone I know. I can look at a plate, and usually without even asking questions about how something was prepared, I can guess how many calories are in the entire plate, or each of the items on the plate, with some fairly legitimate accuracy. When one flirts with the idea of a weight loss program for as long as I have, those kinds of things just become second nature. It's just a matter of applying them. But that's a different story for a different day.

What I really want to focus on is the fact that I have been "trying" to lose weight for as long as I have. Over the course of the decade plus that I have been on diet after diet, and fitness plan after fitness plan, one things has remained a constant: the scale.

I have always had a super unhealthy relationship with my scale. It has always been the same cycle, every time. And the scale has always been the root of every weight loss failure I have ever experienced in my past. It has happened so many times that I can easily recount it for you. And I would almost put money on the fact that I am far from the only one. Here we go:

I'm utterly motivated. I start out doing REALLY well. My food is on point. My water is great. I'm working out routinely. My scale drops DRAMATICALLY. I'm seeing as much as 1-2 pounds of weight loss per day, for at least a week. I'm even more motivated. I continue on a wonderful path. Suddenly, I'm no longer losing as quickly as I was. In fact, I'm starting to see little gains on my scale. Nothing large - but a couple tenths of a pound here or there. The scale begins fluctuating: down one day, up two days, down one day (but not as far as it was two days ago), up three days. Lather, rinse, repeat. I decide that I have been super dedicated to this "lifestyle" for a solid few weeks, and I deserve a cheat meal (which is usually a meal out, and laden in salt). The next morning, the scale is up something crazy like four pounds. I tell myself it is just salt, and I will lose it in the next day or two. A week later, I'm still not back down to where I was before my cheat meal, and I'm ready for my next cheat. The scale goes up even more. I miss a couple days of working out. Water gets slack. I cheat again. The scale is now almost back to where I started. I try to buckle down, but see very little progress in the scale. I get more and more discouraged and little by little make choices that eventually lead to my giving up. I'm now back where I started, and typically even higher. 

The problem with the above scenario? I gave the scale too much power. I put every ounce of measurement of progress into what that stupid scale said. I gave up on my body, based solely upon what one inanimate object told me. I fully accepted that what the scale said was a full reflection of my progress, or the supposed lack thereof. The single most important difference in my journey now is the acceptance of one simple fact:

THE SCALE IS JUST A TOOL.

The scale is an important tool. It can be useful in telling you many things about how your body is reacting to foods that you eat, or the overall direction that you're heading. But it's just a tool. It does not show the whole story. It won't reflect how much more energy you have. It won't show how your digestion is improving. It won't implicate your cholesterol decreasing, your blood pressure getting better, your heart becoming more effective, or any other improvement on the inside that are direct results of your improved lifestyle. It doesn't account for water retention due to muscle gain, which directly results in faster fat loss, and henceforth making you thinner faster. It doesn't measure your waist. 

Adopting a weight loss plan is so much more than seeing a number decrease on the scale. It's about extending your life. It's about improving your daily living. It's about being healthy. It's about seeing many changes in your world. What the scale shows on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis is only one tiny portion of your journey. There are so many things that you should pay attention to other than what your stupid scale says. 

All too often, we get to the point that we place our entire world in the hands of our scales. We base whether we are having a good day or a bad day, or whether our journey is successful or failing based solely upon what we see each morning. Don't give your scale so much power. You deserve so much more than to allow an inanimate object to dictate how you feel about yourself. 

The greatest thing that I have begun doing with this journey is writing down any accomplishments that I have on a day-to-day basis. I fit into a certain pair of pants. I had an amazing run. I woke up feeling energized. I slept really well. I found a new delicious recipe. I came to a new realization. My blood pressure was improved at the doctor's office. I got a compliment from someone I bumped into. Whatever it is, big or small, I write it down. That way, when my scale makes me feel like I'm stalling, I can easily look back and remember that there are lots of changes happening, and the scale is only a small portion of my story. 

Your scale is a tool. It's JUST A TOOL. Don't give it all the power. Take that power back. You're amazing. Don't you forget it.