It's Wednesday!!! For some of us (me) Wednesday brings great joy and excitement because I know I'm going to allow myself to have a treat(s) today. I will blog about this concept later - right now I want to talk about the emotions that Wednesday (weigh day - whatever that day is for you) brings for some people.
Fear, sadness, disappointment, regret, guilt, shame, anger.....these are all emotions that one little instrument can bring out in us in a matter of seconds, that dreaded scale. I totally understand these emotions and have felt many of them myself, but today I want to try to turn this all around. Today I bring you this challenge: DO NOT LET THE SCALE DEFINE YOU. Because it doesn't.
The only thing that scale tells you is the measurement in pounds of the mass of muscle, tissue, water and skin that happens to be holding your bones together for that minute. Yes, that MINUTE. Our bodies change constantly based on hormones, hydration, stress level, physical illness - there are hundreds of things that make the needle go up and down on that scale. You could weigh at 8 a.m. and see a different number than you would at 5 p.m. of the same day. You could weigh at 8 a.m. every day and see a different number from day to day.
The scale is just a tool. And I know it's hard to remember that when we're using it as a basis for a competition. When that is the ONLY tool that decides whether we "win" or "lose". And honestly, it's a shame that there isn't another way to gauge a competition, because that SCALE - that little piece of metal that has no purpose unless it's being stepped on - should not be the one thing that many of us hold so important in our lives. It does NOT tell our stories. It does NOT reflect who we truly are or what we are truly striving for.
Today (or any day) when you step on that scale - use that number SOLELY for the purpose that it has, to guide you and help you know whether you're still on course or way off track. As disappointing as it can be when you're trying to lose weight and you stand on the scale and it shows that you're at the same place you were last week - remember what a positive thing that is. Because you are still on track.
That scale doesn't show all the healthy meals you've eaten in the last week, all the workouts you've put in. It doesn't display the fact that you've built muscle and fought cancer and made your heart a little healthier. THAT'S the kind of scale we need to have for our heads. We need a scale with big neon lights that flash "Nancy lowered her cholesterol this week by choosing whole grains!" Or "Fred jogged for two minutes on Tuesday without having to stop!!" THOSE are the things we need to remember. Those are the reasons we are on this journey. And THOSE are MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than a little bitty number that's not even going to be the same tomorrow. Because tomorrow, Fred will be jogging for two minutes and five seconds....and he will be a winner.
The scale IS a tool...and I don't mean in the handyman form that you carry in a toolbox and use on a daily basis for getting work done. I mean a tool like what a frat boy would call a jerky college professor. "What a TOOL!"
ReplyDeleteI am predicting this week that I will have no gain, no loss. It feels like that kind of week. But I'm good with that. If after 8 weeks I've lost some and kept it off...then I know this eating lifestyle is a habit I can handle for the long run.
Okay, I lied, I won't be "good with it", but I will be by the end of the day...let's admit that when we don't see the right number of the scale we do allow ourselves to throw a little pity party. But you gotta' remember, once the party is over, there is still work to be done. So move along, my friends!