What’s your relationship with the scale like? How much power do you give it? How often are you weighing yourself? And – if I may be so bold – why do you weigh yourself at all?
Here’s why I’m asking. A scale is a tool that gives you information. It’s data, and like all data, it has the potential to be useful. If you use it in a way that serves you and your goals.
I work with a lot of women who aren’t helped by the scale. They’re held hostage by it. The number that it gives them makes or breaks their mood, their motivation, and even the way they feel about themselves. Some of them step onto their scale religiously, and others avoid getting near it because they dread how they’ll feel if they see the “results.”
A scale is just a tool. The weight it gives you is just a number. But it’s ruining a lot of days.
Do you use a scale? How do you feel about stepping on it? Are your feelings impacted by the numbers you see? Does your weigh-in change your day?
When it comes to weighing yourself, I’m a firm believer in defining an approach or a policy that serves you. I know there is no one right way that fits everyone. Interestingly, I meet a lot of very smart women who have never defined the relationship that they want to have with their scale.
If you own a scale, I highly recommend you take the time to decide how it can best serve you. How can that scale help you truly be and feel your best?
Are you someone who benefits from a monthly weigh-in (and if so, be sure you know how you benefit), or do you feel and function better when you don’t encounter the scale at all?
Many people use a scale to monitor their weight, and, there are many fit, thin, healthy women who haven’t weighed themselves in years.
Are you reacting to your scale, or are you in charge? What policy do you want to have with your scale?
One client asked her husband to hide her scale for a month. She wasn’t ready to let go of it right away, but not feeling tempted to “check her weight” every time she entered the bathroom was the start of taking her power back. And the positive impact of this amazed her.
Instead of observing her body from the outside, and evaluating her success by a number, she became more attuned to the signs and signals that she got from living in her body. She stopped taking judgment from a number, and eased up on the judging she was doing of herself. Not surprisingly, a cycle of overeating (because she had “gained weight anyway”) and yo-yo dieting (because the number on the scale was “too high”) got better too.
Are you ready to take your power back from the scale?
Another client decided to make this an area of focus, and she’s taking it one week at a time. On the day she decided NOT to weigh herself, she emailed me to let me know how it’s going. In spite of fitting into her “skinniest jeans,” she was curious about the pull she still felt to step on the scale “and check.”
“Why has the number never been low enough, this weight is good, but a couple more pounds would be better? Why do I allow weight to be part of my self-worth, even though I know it’s not? I don’t have a hypothesis yet but I know for certain that I am happy today and it doesn’t have anything to do with a number. “
We held a virtual celebration and labeled today No Weigh Day.
She’s taking her power back. Want to join her?
Take good care,
