Day 29 of 100--You are not a number!!

So many times standing on a scale can be a ceremony of negativity.   Comparison, anger, disappointment.  You name the negative emotion it can run through you.   The anticipation of the scale can mingle hope and fear. As you stand there wishing and praying that what you did or didn't do was enough to make the number shrink, even just a little.

I want to say, to all of you that stand in this cycle.   YOU ARE NOT A NUMBER!   The number on the scale is only your relationship to gravity, at this moment and time.  There is no more to this and no less.   Your relationship to gravity has nothing to do with who you are as a person.  It doesn't tell us about your joys or sorrows.  It doesn't even speak of your sense of wit and how great of a friend you are. It definitely doesn't tell you how your clothes fit.  It even doesn't tell you how much fat, muscle and bone you have in your body.  Sure a body weight scale could tell you approximately, but that number is effected by the hydration of your body at that moment.

So what am I getting at?  First, evaluate your scale relationship.   Do you dread the weigh in?  Do you focus on that number and then celebrate with food for positive and punish yourself with food for the negative?   I sure did that once.  I came so wrapped up with the scale that I was weighing multiple times a day at points.   Celebrating and punishing with food because that is how I knew to treat my emotions.   I had to stop this cycle so I stopped weighing for a year.    I then began to pay attention to how I felt and how my clothes fit...Removing the scale from my options for a year allowed me to accept myself and recognize that it is only a tool in the process, not a reflection of who I am.

After you know where you stand emotionally.  Start to look at the scale as information only.  No emotion.  The scale shows the results of the actions you took before you got on it.  So review your actions and then determine your plans for the next week.    Did you eat Ben and Jerry's every night last week.  Hmmm, no wonder it is two pounds up.   Were you sick with the flu for the full week and not eat very much?   That is why you are down 5 lbs (definitely not a recommended weight loss method, very miserable!  These are extreme examples!!)  I am just saying to take notice and figure out what works for you because of the information you gather.  In a weight loss journey we become investigators and figure out what works best for us.  We are not the same as everyone else, so one diet does not fit all.  Through the process of investigating and taking stock of the information our body gives us we will find a way to be healthy, sexy and beautiful and enjoy the process.
Remember no Shame, No Guilt, No judgment.   You don't deserve that.  Be kind to yourself!

I have this hanging above my scale in the bathroom.  

At first I would recite the words as I stood on the scale, now I just know it.   I am me, I love myself, my actions and even that number on the scale.  :)  Acceptance is the first step.   Accept yourself.  And let go of the numbers that tie you down.  Soon you may find you are flying and that you can soar!


How often should you weigh?   No more than once a week unless you are advised to for medical reasons.   Weigh on the same day, Same time.  The best way is right after waking before eating anything and in the buff...or underwear.  Just keep it the same.   Everything changes throughout the day so keeping those variables to a minimum make a big difference.