It's Time To Weigh In...Or Is It?

I used to be just like you...I use to weigh myself daily, sometimes even multiple times a day. It's so easy to fall into the trap of letting that number on the scale determine so many things that have absolutely nothing to do with that number on the scale, like what kind of day you're going to have, whether you are happy, whether you like yourself, how you evaluate your self-worth, the measure of your self-esteem, your confidence level and so on. Did the number go in the right direction or are you left devastated by the slightest change in the wrong direction?

​In my profession, this is a subject that is discussed often with my clients and I've finally decided to weigh in on the subject and give you my answer:  Emphatically, 150%, adamantly NO, please do not weigh yourself on a daily basis. Do you think you are managing your weight better by doing this? Or are you really driving yourself crazy because you can't seem to find the magic, quick fix solution to make that number go down consistently and therefore thinking negatively of yourself?

​Physiologically speaking, your weight can fluctuate as much as 5.5 pounds per day - yes that's per day! You gain fluid from eating, drinking and from your body metabolizing nutrients and you lose fluid from breathing, sweating and from relieving yourself in the bathroom - it varies by person. Now are you sitting down?? Because here's the real deal, as you replace that fat with muscle, you may even find the scale going up a bit (and no it's not because muscle weighs more that fat...that's a myth and a subject for a different blog post). 

​Now let's look at this from a different perspective - do you consider yourself a good friend, mom, dad, sister, brother, spouse, employee? Do you go about your daily life with the intention of doing good deeds, being positive, having an admirable work ethic and trying to help others when you can? Okay, so let's say the number on the scale goes up by one pound or three pounds tomorrow morning, does that change any of those things, does it make you any less of those things - no it does not! Guess what, that number does not make you good or bad, it makes you human. And as you move along your journey to a healthy lifestyle, though that number may be used as a factor to determine your progress, you may also find that your "magic" number changes along the way too. That number is just a small part of the multitude of changes you'll discover as you move through life and your health and wellness journey. 

​It doesn't matter what other people think! All that matters is you, your path, your journey, your goals. That number on the scale does not define anything other than what you weigh physically, unless of course, you let it. Screw the scale and that number, it's about how you feel, your energy level, your mobility, your accomplishments and what your body is capable of doing.

​Whether that number on the scale goes up or down...it's more important to look at the reflection of yourself in the mirror looking back at you rather than the number the scale reflects back at you!