How often do you weigh yourself? How often do you feel shitty about yourself after weighing yourself?
Something that a LOT of people struggle with is obsessing over the scale. I remember how often I weighed myself when I was struggling with an eating disorder. I would hide in the bathroom and look down at that number like it defined who I was.
Even people who don’t struggle with eating disorders can struggle with obsessively weighing themselves, feeling bad about themselves due to a number, or putting all of their worth into the number on the scale.
Even though I don’t struggle with an eating disorder anymore and I have a much healthier body image than I did when I was struggling, I can still have days where I put too much thought or worth into the number on the scale.
If this is something that you struggle with, I would encourage you to stop weighing yourself. I know that this can be a very hard thing to do, and I’m not saying that you should never weigh yourself again, but if it’s something that you are obsessing over, you need to make a clean break. Have someone hide the scale from you or throw it away. Whatever is going to keep you from finding it and using it – do that. When something is an obsession, it is very hard to back off or stop obsessing over it without completely stopping. I think that I stopped weighing myself for about 2-3 years in order to build a healthier body image and a healthier relationship with the scale. Now when I step onto a scale, I may still feel bad about myself for a little if it doesn’t show what I want, but I know that the scale does not define me as a person. The scale does not define you. The scale does not determine your worth.
If you’re working on losing or gaining weight or any type of health goal, it can be so disappointing if the scale doesn’t show the progress you’ve been working towards. I understand that. I’ve been there more times than I can count, and I want you to know that you’re not alone in feeling that disappointment. A lot of times when this happens we can start to beat ourselves up, question our food or our plan, and start to blame our food or our workouts. I want us to rethink this.
There are so many factors that go into your health. There are health conditions, diseases, viruses, genetics, stress, lack of sleep, metabolic rates, food intolerances, etc. It is not just one thing that determines your weight loss/gain or your health goal. Stop looking at just your food and your exercise as affecting your health – everything affects it.
Instead of blaming food, remember that you are worth SO much more than your health goals. You are not worthy or enough because of your size or your weight or your muscles, you are worthy and enough because you exist. You are worthy and enough because you are here. So stop finding your worth in the scale. Stop finding your worth in a number. Find your worth in who you are and you’ll find your freedom too.
Food is your friend, not your enemy – so go throw out that scale!
Abby Horst
A podcaster, wife, health/wellness coach, beach lover, and musician. She specialises in nutrition education, meal planning, and developing sustainable habits. She passionately works with her patients to help them build healthier and happier relationships with food, exercise, and themselves.
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