Don’t Let the Scale Keep You From Reaching Your Goal
Do you see this thing right here? Did you know it’s a known liar?
This thing has a list of crimes a mile long. It has been known to:
Derail people
Ruin a day
Negatively affect mood, self worth and determination
Make folks think they’re not doing good even when all other signs say they are
Send people into a junk food binge
Talked some into giving up
Impact self esteem
etc., etc., etc....
Do you know what this thing doesn’t do?
It doesn’t:
Accurately measure progress
Determine your success
Show that you’ve reduced your blood pressure or a1c
Show that you’ve reduced or gotten off meds
Determine your worth or kind of person that you are
Show all the health improvements that you’ve made
Show all the bad habits you’ve ditched
Show your tenacity and strength
Show all the things you’re now able to do that you once couldn’t
Y’all this thing just is not a good measure of progress! I hear everyday “I know I shouldn’t but I just can’t stop checking everyday (and for some several times a day!)” “
It’s a habit I can’t break” etc etc.
Y’all no one is putting a gun to your head forcing you to step on that scale you CHOOSE to do it!
If you do it and it’s causing frustration and disappointment - PLEASE STOP! There are so many other ways that tell us if what we're doing is working besides stepping on that scale and we often miss those important signs because we are too focused on the number on that darn scale!
I often see people frustrated and ready to quit just because of what that hunk of metal and glass (plastic?) tells them. Even when other health markers have improved. That’s when stepping on the scale becomes more of a hindrance than a help.
There are so many things that affect that number on the scale that have absolutely nothing to do with fat loss or gain. Anything from hormones, to water retention, to a recent meal, to whether or not you’ve gone to
the bathroom. In fact your body can naturally fluctuate up to 5 pounds throughout any given day. Even when that number goes up it doesn’t mean you’ve gained FAT!
Now if you can step on the scale and just treat that number as information- and not have it affect your day or negatively affect your mood or motivation - then that may be fine for you but more often than not that’s not the case.
So what are some good ways to measure progress?
Pictures - you'd be surprised at the difference you notice in before, during and after pics that you tend to miss to when you see yourself on a daily basis!
How your clothes fit
I actually liked how it felt when my clothes started to get baggy. It was my little reminder that what I was doing was working ;).
Take measurements
Its so fun to see those inches lost accumulate.
Start a list or journal of all your non-scale victories
I often find these changes here much more exciting than the loss on a scale. The nsvs are often where you see the real life changing things happen!