It’s day 7 of the Love Your Food Series! Can you believe it? Today we have a very special post from Giselle Schroer of My Healthy Happy Home. As a kick-butt stay at home mom, Giselle keeps it real and inspiring every single day. We hope you enjoy her scale tale and are encouraged to follow her lead as she steps away from the number so many of us have come to dread. Be sure to also read days 1-6 of our Love Your Food series too!
by Giselle Schroer from My Healthy Happy Home
For years I would judge how my day was going to go, based on the number that showed up on my scale that morning. If it was higher than normal, I would avoid eating certain foods, workout harder, and at times, skip meals. If it was lower than normal, I would splurge on a treat, maybe take a day off working out and eat a little more. I didn’t pay as much attention to the way I was feeling or the way my clothes were feeling; instead, I just focused on that number.
Then I had an awakening. I realized that I’m a woman that a woman’s body is a crazy, hormonal, miraculous thing. I realized that as I gained muscle, my weight went up. However, at the same time, I lost inches. I realized that my weight fluctuates based on where I’m at in my monthly cycle. When I’m ovulating, I retain water and weigh a good 3-4 pounds more. When I’m menstruating, I tend to weigh 2-3 pounds heavier. If my muscles are sore, the number goes up. If I drank alcohol or ate high sodium foods the night before, the number goes up. Discovering these things about my body helped me to understand why that “important” number fluctuates on the scale so much. While realizing these things has helped me to step off the scale, I only wish I would have figured them out sooner. I’m 32 which means I’ve spent way too many years focusing on a number rather than on what really matters. How I feel.
Now that I’ve finally broken up with my scale, I pay more attention to the way my clothes fit rather than worrying about some number. I focus more on the way my body feels and the changes I see in the mirror. Guess what? I feel better! I don’t stress anymore about what number is going to pop up every morning when I step on the scale. I eat pretty much the same way everyday (healthy) rather than judging my meals based on my daily weight. I live life instead of dwelling on a number because that’s the way it should be.
So come on ladies, get off the scale! Focus on what really matters, how you feel. Everyone’s body is different, but all women have hormones that will more than likely effect that number on the scale. So to base so much of our lives around a number, is really quite silly when you think about it.
Day 7 Homework: Instead of measuring your success by the number on the scale today, grab a piece of paper and write down at least one reason to celebrate your hard work today! Maybe its feeling your best or simply eating a meal you know your dietitian would be proud of. Share your praise-worthy moment with us on Facebook or Twitter!
I love that this post was included in this little series. I broke up with my scale back in October, and haven’t looked back since. There would be days when I would feel GREAT about my body, then get on the scale and see some “high” number and let it consume my day, rather than enjoying the positive body image feeling I had before weighing myself. Then there would be days where I would feel pretty badly about myself, yet the number on the scale was a much “lower” number than I anticipated. I learned how arbitrary those numbers are, and stopped letting them rule my day. I wouldn’t go back to the old method even if you tried to pay me.
Thanks for sharing Jess! Breaking up with your scale is hard to do, but I think its incredibly liberating. Especially when there are so many other great ways to mark your progress.