Why I Said 'Goodbye' to the Scale
This morning Kyle mentioned that our scale doesn't work anymore - it took me a minute to even remember where we kept it, I didn't remember seeing it after we moved close to a year ago. He sent me a link to look at a new one he had picked out (#amazonprimeprobz), and I told him to go for the gold without even looking at it.
Normally I like to do a little comparison shopping before buying a gadget for the house, but I haven't stepped on a scale (unless at doctor's office) for over two years - and preventing that flat little number machine from influencing my mornings has been a hugely liberating feeling.
At this very moment, I have no effing clue what I weigh.
I could give you a ballpark of what I think I weigh - but in the past I used to know the exact number on any given day - and that number meant something to me, not to mention had a pretty major effect on how I felt.
It actually even went so far as to effect how I saw myself every morning - if the number was high, I saw more fat on my body and vice versa.
One of the craziest parts of all of this is that I accepted that this mental torment I regularly put myself through was a normal part of everyone's day.
What's up with the ritual of stepping on the scale in the morning anyway? Does the quantification of how much our body weighs mean anything about how we actually feel? Or what kind of person we are?
Also, can you imagine if every morning when you woke up, you invited some random stranger into your bathroom to tell you how you should feel about yourself today? "YOU'RE 2 LBS HEAVIER THAN YOU WERE YESTERDAY, CASEY. GOOD LUCK SQUEEZING INTO THOSE SKINNY JEANS. BETTER SKIP BREAKFAST!"
Hell no! We'd have to be batshit crazy. But it's exactly what many of us do every single morning with our scale.
Unless you're in some type of competitive sport that has an emphasis on weight, I don't really see what good can come of this daily routine.
Obsessing over our weight takes away our ability to feel what it's like to be in our bodies. It also causes us to be enveloped by a fearful mindset - which ultimately causes stress, and wreaks havoc on our health.
If we attach our self worth to a number, we've clouded our ability to wake up in the morning with a fresh slate - gauge our energy level, assess our strength, or think about what type of breakfast would make us feel great.
We replace our innate ability to know how healthy or unhealthy we feel at any given moment with the qualities that we associate with seeing a specific number on the scale.
The truth is, our bodies are engineered to know when something is off - if we're carrying some extra pounds around, it's going to tell us - whether it be with pain, inflammation, low energy levels, or some other cry for help - but we as a culture have unconsciously decided to tune out the wisdom of our bodies in favor of numbers.
So many of us spend our days counting calories, pounds, steps, etc. without checking in with ourselves throughout the day to listen to what our body is saying to us.
We'd rather get information and confirmation about how we're supposed to feel and how healthy we are from a device and other outside sources than really get present within ourselves and listen to what our body needs.
Most people associate their scale with health - but in my opinion, it just gives us another way to label ourselves and one another.
Overweight. Underweight. What do those words even mean?
If all bodies are naturally different shapes and sizes - how can there be an ideal weight? We've oversimplified our vision of what characteristics the "ideal" body should have.
Our self worth and body image shouldn't be determined by what number we see when we look down at our feet in the morning. You can love the number on the scale, but feel like total crap - and what's the point of that?
If stepping on the scale in nervous anticipation is part of your current morning routine, I have a fun little experiment for you. A "Scale Cleanse", if you will. Here's the deal:
- Move your scale from it's normal resting place (store it somewhere out of sight to limit temptation)
- Keep a notebook and pen next to your bed
- When you wake up in the morning, scan your body and listen to what it's telling you, jot down a few notes about how you feel
- After your notes, write something genuinely kind to yourself (don't skip this part!)
- Pause for a few moments throughout the day to be present within your body, assess your wellbeing, and listen to what it needs (before meals is a great time to do this)
- Pull out your notebook before bed and repeat your body scan ritual, reflecting on how you feel after the day
My hope for this experiment is that it helps some of you amazing humans break free of your abusive relationship with your scale. I want nothing more than your focus to be on how much love you can give yourself throughout each day - to tune into what your body needs, and respond accordingly.
Because you're beautiful, and amazing, and so much MORE than a number.