According to legend, it’s physically impossible to discuss fitness or nutrition with someone – anyone – without mentioning the scale!
Okay, so that may NOT be true, but be honest, it comes up in MOST health conversations and it’s a piece of hardware that plagues us all. It brings us some of our highest highs and our lowest lows. Somehow this small piece of equipment has evolved into one of the most controversial topics of health in the world… and all you do is stand on it.
Because it is so widely recognized as the staple piece of equipment for measuring change or progress in a fitness/nutrition/health program, it has been given more power than it ever intended to receive or should be allowed to have. Too often and easily, we misplace stock of our progress in the number that a scale spits back at us – some to the point of letting it become their main focal point of self-worth, which is very unhealthy.
The scale must be taken down a peg or two and we must remember what it truly is. The scale is simply a tool in our belt of measuring progress. It is not an evaluation of who we are or what we are about or the efforts we put into our body. It is literally a measure of your weight – right now, at this very moment. Which means it is meant to change and fluctuate over the course of weeks, days, or even hours! There are so many factors that impact how much we weigh at a given time, including:
-Time of day
-Hydration
-Hunger
-Stress
-Amount of sleep
-Daily activity
-Hormone levels
-Did you just poop or are you backed up? (yes…this can really cause fluctuation)
And so many other possible factors that could throw off your weight. Any number of these could cause it to go up or down at any moment.
These are reasons why it’s crucial to remember that the number on the scale is simply another tool in our belt as we move forward on our health journeys – regardless of the target you’re shooting at.
Take stock of your success beyond the scale and celebrate each victory you reach on our journey to a happier and healthier you.
Increased Energy Levels
Combining regular exercise in any form, with nutritious whole foods, and managed sleep/stress levels come together to boost your energy to levels you could only dream of. Your body wants to move and by moving, it creates energy. That’s why activity when you’re doing it, may be tiring, but the release of hormones, the blood pumping in your muscles and breath firing in your lungs takes us to a higher level of energy beyond the exercise and carries through to our daily life activities.
Fit of Our Clothes
When I was embarking on my own transformation journey and started seeing results, one of the best, but most frustrating results was that my clothes fit better… then loose… then too loose. It wasn’t a bad problem to have for my self-esteem, but my wallet wasn’t super happy about it (but I’ll take that trade off). My sister would even give me grief because I was wearing “skinny” jeans and they were PRETTY tight, I will admit. But as I told her then – I wear them not just because I like the look, but because I couldn’t wear these before! I’ve gotten questionable looks from my friends I play hockey with when we won our league championship and the prize was a t-shirt and I asked for a Medium… because I knew it fit a little snugger, but I wanted it because it wasn’t a Large or X-Large which I had to wear for about half my life. We all know what it’s like trying to find clothes that fit – both up and down – but there’s something about slipping on a t-shirt that A) used to be too loose and now you fill it out with those big strong muscles; B) you have to change out of because it’s now a parachute; or C) was one you’ve been avoiding because last time it was JUUUUUST a little tight but you try it and it fits PERFECTLY!
Injury Pre/Re-Hab and Prevention
We are flimsy skeletons of bones connected by thin tissues that are protected by meat and skin and we live in a crazy world that is trying to hurt us all the time. Injury is a step away almost always. Regular exercise and nutrition can not only help prevent injuries that may potentially occur, but it can also help correct imbalances or problems you’re experiencing to eliminate pain all together. How many people do you know in the office or family or friend circles that occasionally complain about lower back pain and you know are more sedentary people? Chances are you’ve seen those people try and try to stretch the pain away or talk about chiropractors, pills, massages, heating pads, etc… everything in the world to mitigate the pain… except exercise, nutrition, lifestyle changes. What people don’t realize is that most general lower back pain can be resolved by strengthening the area directly – purposefully working those muscles to get stronger – rather than stretching it. I have seen this happen with a number of clients – one of whom had been seeing a chiropractor weekly for 3 months prior to working with me, and within our first month, has yet to go back to them (it’s been over a year we’ve worked together). Fixing an injury or even preventing one you can see coming is a huge victory that often gets overlooked though it should be given much more spotlight.
Relieving Reliance of Medications
Maybe the most highly overlooked success of following a proper fitness/nutrition/health program is its ability to relieve us of reliance on many medications. Type-2 Diabetes, Blood Pressure Meds, High Cholesterol, Anti-Depressants, etc. Working on your health can have immense benefits to relieving of you of reliance on these medications as you physically get your body in a healthy position, internally you’re healing problems of hormone imbalances and toxicity levels that plague our society today.
The scale is a useful tool in measuring progress, but it has been given too much power. Don’t let it rule over your journey to happy, healthy, fruitful life by holding your focus to it’s number and remember to celebrate all of your victories along the way – especially the non-scale victories such as increased energy; better fitting clothes; injury prevention; and relief of medications; along with a whole host of others.
I shared a little story about better fitting clothes, if you’re comfortable – please share a little anecdote of your success beyond the scale below in the comments and let’s hype the hell out of each other!