To Weigh, or Not To Weigh: That Is the Question

It’s early morning and Lucy is making the first of many treks to her scale, which will determine how she feels today, as it does every day. Across town, Sally eyes her scale with contempt…she hasn’t stepped on it in ages and has no intention of subjecting herself to its lies. To weigh, or not to weigh: that seems to be the question for these two people but the reality is, they’re two sides of the same coin – one that gives an inanimate object an inordinate amount of power in their lives. The power to artificially prop them up or inadvertently derail them, depending on what number shows up and when.

For many people, losing weight comes down to wanting to control the scale, whether they admit to this or not. These people don’t realize the significance the numbers on the scale hold for them nor the attachment they have to them, so when the numbers don’t show up as expected, the scale takes on the omnipotent role of defining their success or failure at losing weight.

The fact is, the scale is simply one of many tools available to inform your weight loss efforts. The operative phrase here is “to inform”, and not “to judge”, if you wish to have a healthy perspective on using this tool. That means stepping on it regularly enough (eg. weekly) to identify your typical weight loss/gain patterns, but not so frequently (eg. daily) that you become preoccupied with normal water/digestive fluctuations.

Are you currently avoiding the scale? There’s a good chance you’re in denial and not looking at the truth of your situation. Are you currently obsessed with the scale? There’s a strong possibility your quality of life is suffering and you’re not developing enough trust in yourself. Both of these are flags for inner work with respect to your weight loss efforts. A life coach offers a non-judgemental environment in which to explore your relationship with the scale as well as help you develop alternatives to measuring and acknowledging your progress.

And this progress should be supporting no more than 1-2 pounds of weight loss per week to be deemed real (ie. not the result of a fluctuation or an extreme). Which leads us to another important consideration in maintaining a healthy perspective in using the scale and that is “the scale is always the last to know”. Weight loss tends to happen in waves and since those waves don’t always peak or subside in synch with your weigh-in day, neither your indulgences nor your extraordinary efforts will always show up on the scale in the week expected.

Before you start thinking you’ve outsmarted the scale or been ultra diligent for nothing, keep in mind that your body has its own wisdom and the results of your behaviours will always show up on the scale, eventually. Your responsibility is to be consistent in your efforts and remain unattached and non-judgemental about the scale’s outcome during this catch up period. Being unattached doesn’t mean you don’t care — indeed, you can still care deeply — it just means you will no longer feel the false sense of achievement nor the sting of disappointment when an outcome doesn’t match your expectation.

At this point, the scale can take on its rightful role of truthfully conveying where you’re at in your weight loss journey… no longer holding your mood, your motivation or your self-esteem for the ransom of a few pounds.