Why I Broke Up With The Scale

I have been a slave to my scale for literally as long as I can remember. I can tell you various weights I have been at different points in my life (52 lbs – 5 years old; 82 lbs – 11 years old; 170 lbs – 17 years old; 122 lbs – 20 years old; 198 lbs – 21 years old). It upsets me that memories of fun times from these different stages in my life are fading but these numbers are something it seems I won’t ever forget.

                More often than not, I have let the scale dictate my mood for any given day I’ve stepped on it. Down a pound? Happiest girl ever! Up a pound? What the hell?! I hate myself! I’m not even exaggerating these sentiments. Anytime the scale said I weighed more than the previous time I weighed myself, it literally ruined my day. The sad thing is that I understand why and how weight fluctuates from day-to-day but it still hurt me to see an increase (no matter how minute) on the scale.

                The scale measures your relationship with gravity and that is it. Seriously. That is IT. The scale does not show you how beautiful you are, how your eyes sparkle when you laugh, how your hair shines when the sun hits it just right, how your contagious smile can light up the room, how downright intelligent you are, it does not show how you’ve inspired others, how strong and independent you are, or how wonderful and uniquely special and amazing you are as a human being. 

It’s true, the scale can only give you a numerical reflection of your relationship with gravity. That’s it. It cannot measure beauty, talent, purpose, life force, possibility, strength, or love. Don’t give the scale more power than it has earned. Take note of the number, then get off the scale and live your life. You are beautiful!” 

– Steve Maraboli

                I’ve made the decision to throw out my scale. I will not be a slave to this machine anymore. I’m not going to let it take another day, another memory away from me. I will not spend another day hating myself because of a NUMBER. Does this mean that I’m not going to care about my health anymore? Of course not! I’m throwing the scale away BECAUSE I care about my health – my mental health, specifically, in this case. I’m not going to spend any more time fretting over the simple task of standing on a square device that spits out a number that tells me if I’ve pooped lately, how much water I’ve drank, if I’m retaining water,  etc. 

                I know that there are people out there reading this blog post right now clutching their beloved scales in their hands thinking, “Are you crazy girl!? How could you be into fitness if you don’t even know what you weigh!? ” I don’t need to know my scale weight to see progress in my fitness level and feelings of wellbeing. I can see progress everyday with any given program I’m doing just by the improvements I’m making (endurance and/or strength gains), how my clothes are fitting and how I feel, in general. I can’t tell you how many times I felt amazing, like I was succeeding in my fitness regimen, just to step on the scale, see a higher-than-expected number, and feel crushed to my core. That’s not going to happen anymore. I am breaking up with the scale once and for all.

                I know that there may be other people reading this blog thinking , “you will take my scale away from me when you pry it from my cold, dead hands! I NEED to know how much I weigh!” And, you know what? That’s fine. If you can have a healthy relationship with the scale, then more power to you. Personally, for my well being, I don’t like having a scale in my house and I feel empowered with it gone. I feel like a lifelong duel I have had with an enemy is finally over and I, my friends, I have won!

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Choosing Your Guiding Word

The beginning of a new year is often refreshing for some people. It’s the start of a new calendar, a clean slate. Like I’ve mentioned in past blog entries, I’ve never been huge into new year resolutions. I like to create specific goals for myself throughout the year to achieve rather than a vague one at the beginning of the year. For tips on creating SMART goals, click here to view my blog about it. This entry isn’t about goal setting, per se. It’s more of a spin-off from a blog I saw on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago.

                This particular blog  talked about deciding on a “guiding word” for the year. I think that there are different definitions of what “guiding word” can be, many of them containing religious connotations, but to me, a “guiding word” is a word that is used to motivate someone to stay on the appropriate life course, a word used for inspiration in reaching one’s goals and dreams. Having a guiding word is a way to challenge yourself, a way to push yourself, it gives you strength and reflects your morals and beliefs. A guiding word is a word that reminds you where you want to be when life’s other plans get in the way.

The word that I chose to be my guiding word in 2013 is simple. It’s CHANGES. I chose changes because I believe that this year will be a huge year of changes for myself and my family. I chose changes because when I’m having a bad day or bad week, I want to be able to remind myself that changes are coming and if I continue to work hard in making these changes, I will be able to build the life I’ve always dreamed. Don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely no complaints about my life, I know I’m a very lucky girl, but there’s always room for improvement. 

What word do you want to be your defining word for 2013? The possibilities are literally endless. Think of what you want most out of your life this coming year. When January 1^st, 2014 rolls around, what do you want to see when you think back to the past year? Don’t be afraid to think and dream big. Your defining word should scare you a little. Here are some guiding word ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

Clarity

Hope

Dream

Fly

Faith

Bold

Family

Freedom

Confidence

Infinite

Positivity

Inspired

Organize

Strong

Forgive

Creativity

Success

Learn

Serenity

Changes

Reflection

Resolve

Peace

                What word or words did you choose to be your guiding word(s) this year? Now that you’ve made the hard decision of figuring out what you want to happen for you in 2013, how are you going to go about achieving that? What events need to happen or what decisions need to be made to make your guiding word come to fruition?

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Resolve to be the best YOU this year.

                Welcome to 2013, folks.

Did you make any resolutions? Why or why not? 

I know that there have been years where I’ve not made any resolutions but this year I’ve made a resolution to make monthly goals because I think it’s important to keep yourself motivated throughout the year not just in January because it’s the start of a new year! I tried this method in the later months of 2012 and it seemed to work rather well for me. I would take some time one of the last days of the month, a half hour of my day, and write down all of the things I want to accomplish over the next 30 or 31 days. It’s been effective for me because I like to be able to see my goals. I will use pretty paper or markers and make the goal sheet aesthetically appealing and then stick it somewhere I will see it often enough to motivate me (like on my fridge). I also am a huge sucker for to-do lists (and, subsequently, crossing things off my to-do lists) so I like to make some of my goals with numbers behind them so I can cross off the numbers as I accomplish my goals. For example, take a look at my goals for January:

I plan to do weekly crafts with Melina (my daughter) and try new recipes weekly, hence why the numbers “ 1 2 3 4 “ are written behind those goals. When I complete one of those goals, I’ll cross off #1 and so on and so forth.

I know some people are blatantly against the idea of New Years resolutions simply because of the amount of negativity that resolutions sometimes get due to their often-high failure yet. But, in all honestly, whether you make a resolution on the 31^st of December, 1^st of January or in the middle of any given month, ANYTIME is a great time to set a goal. We all know that a resolution is just another way of looking at goal setting so take some time later today, tomorrow or RIGHT NOW and set yourself some goals to kick in the face this year!

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