Like other chubby kids, I was picked on.
There was one bully, however, that persisted.
If you’ve ever struggled with fitness, the scale isn’t just any piece of equipment.
It has the power to dictate your mood, confidence, and self-worth.
If you see an unfavorable numberespecially after a hard weekmotivation tanks.
Don’t get me wrong.
The scale can be a useful tool much of the time.
Visible fitness progress can be slow, and it’s natural to rely on one main metric.
Weight variance: A value that adds or subtracts from your weight.
Variance can be brought on by a number of factors, including:
Glycogen stores.
This amount depends on your current consumption of carbohydrates.
For every gram of carbohydrate that your body stores via glycogen, it also stores three grams of water.
If you are carbohydrate-depleted, you will be at the lower end of your variance.
Water retention/depletion from sodium.
If you suddenly consume more sodium than you are used to, you will likely retain water.
Conversely, if you suddenly consume much less sodium, you will release water.
Women willretain water during their cycle.
For this reason, it’s best for women to only compare weight from month-to-month.
Your scale weight will obviously fluctuate based on how much (or little) you’ve eaten and drank.
Because of scale variance, you might’t just compare any two scale measurements to get to gauge progress.
Your weight will fluctuate depending on both the time of day andtime of the week.
For these reasons the scale can be incrediblyhigh maintenancewhen it comes to gauging accurate progress.
In short, you had the perfect week of dieting.
The scale should reflect that, no?
you’ve got the option to be at a caloric deficit for weekswithout the scale budging.
Hell, you might evengainweight some weeks.
This is when the scale ceases to be just a household item.
Instead, it becomes a living creature that manifests the relationship between you and your body.
Whether we like it or not, our weight carries emotional baggage.
Being unable to change it, despite doing everything in our power, can make us feel powerless.
Consider an employee negotiating their starting salary with their boss.
Their boss is willing to pay anywhere from $60,000 to $90,000.
I have a personal experience with this, havingonce weighed 160 lbsbut beingleaner now that I’m 190 lbs.
From what I’ve seen, nearly everyone anchors at their desired weight.
They fixate on (even obsess over) it.
They let it define them.
I am aware that it’s irrational, but that fear is still there.
It’s healthy to have goals, and it’s healthy to strive towards improvement.
You might find that you’re happier at a different weight or, hell, even look better.
Remember, you are not your weight.
How to Treat the Scale
So how should you treat the scale?
I’m not saying not to use it, because most people should.
I used to think the correct way to deal with the scale is to treat it objectively.
I’d tell clients “just don’t be emotional.”
Whether we like it or not, for many (including me)weight is an emotional thing.
Really, let’s look at this objectively.
You should probably flip them the bird and dump them on the curbside.
Sadly, most people shouldn’t ditch the scale entirely.
It can be helpful, especially when it comes tocreating a positive feedback loop at the very start.
Instead, you have permission to give it a giant f**k you.
Images bySAJE(Shutterstock),Emily Bell,lynnmarentette,Jenny Kaczorowski, andChaparral.
