Yes, you read that title right, I am going through a break-up right now. This break-up feels great! It is liberating! Yes, there are moments that are hard: those moments when I just want to see it again. There are moments when I walk into the gym and I want to go right there and jump on the scale and check and see my progress, but I am resisting the temptation. As you may have read in my 6 month Body After Baby post, the scale and I have broken up!
I became obsessed with the scale, with a number! I don’t own a scale at home, but every time I got to the gym I would get on the scale to check and see if I had lost even a tenth of a pound. If I didn’t like the number, I would sometimes go potty and then re-weigh myself to see if that made a difference. Why did I do this?
Your guess is as good as mine. Despite how I felt I wanted to see a specific number on the scale. It didn’t matter that I am running faster than I ever have, I can lift more than I ever have, and I feel better than I ever have. I was thrilled that at 5 months after having a baby, I could fit into my smallest jeans, but those emotions were immediately deflated the next day when I hopped on the scale and didn’t see that number. The scale was taking away all the positive feelings I have for myself and it was time that came to an end. I am done letting the scale make me feel differently about myself: I know what I am and how I feel.
What if the scale read something other than a number? What if the scale read how you really felt about yourself? What if the scale started spitting out positive statements of how you should feel about yourself? If that were the case this is what my scale would read:
Breaking up with the scale does not change much for me: my health, fitness and nutrition will still be a priority. I am confident with what I see in the mirror and I will let my own image be my gauge, not a silly scale. Taking close notice each day of how I feel is the best thing I can do for my health and my fitness. When I feel fast, I am fast. When I feel strong, I am strong. When I feel healthy, I am healthy.
This also goes for the opposite. When I start feeling slow, weak, tired, unhealthy and my pants start fitting a little too tight it will be time for me to reevaluate my choices and make some changes without hopping on the scale.
Does this mean I will never get on the scale again? Absolutely not. For the time being, we are breaking up and the our relationship will forever be changed. Once a close friend I visited with each day, the scale and I will become acquaintances: an acquaintance I may run into every couple of months, visit with shortly and then forget we even had an encounter.
I am more than a number on a scale- so are you. I am done letting the scale define me. I am done letting the scale erase how empowered I feel after a tough workout, reaching a goal, or putting on a favorite pair of pants. My body is strong and I am confident in that statement- the scale cannot tell me otherwise. Try it with me- start with 1 full month of not stepping on the scale!
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