Lose the Scale. Gain Some Confidence.

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Scale You’re up 2 pounds, you’re down 1 pound, you’re down 3 pounds, you’re up 1 pound. Does this sound familiar to you at all? OK, perhaps it’s time you take a break from the scale.

Yes, the scale, can at times, be a tangible way to mark your progress, which can be reassuring when you’re really working hard toward your goals. However, it can also be a great source of “let-down” if you don’t feel like the numbers going down quick enough, or if you happen to make a small step back (possibly due to hormones ladies!) for a few days. For some, this can be frustrating enough to give up all together.

A Few Reasons to Step OFF the Scale

Your Weight Can Fluctuate Daily! Perhaps you ate a lot of broccoli yesterday and now you’re bloated. Maybe you drank a whole bunch of water. Or, maybe it’s that time of month. Plus, did you know, that if you were lifting weights, you could be experiencing post-workout swelling? Daily weight changes are completely normal, so weighing yourself everyday may just bring unneeded stress into your routine.

It’s Not the Only Marker of Improved Health. There are so many other benefits of exercising and healthy eating, and when you’re paying attention to nothing but the scale, you may fail to see all the other great improvements in your life. Examples: Increased energy, improved sleep, improved mood, and increased strength and mobility.

What to Do

Get rid of the scale in your house, or at least put away where you don’t see it every day. This is especially true for those of you who step on the scale the first thing in the morning before you do anything else. Is that how you really want to start your day? Instead, start your morning off with something positive, such as telling yourself how awesome you feel after that Spin class yesterday!

Write down a few other goals, that are fitness related, but not necessarily weight related. Such as being able to do a new move in Yoga, getting strong enough to do a chin-up, or maybe jog for 2 miles without stopping. These are goals you know that may take some time, but they will help you focus on the long-term, as opposed to the short-term results.

And of course, there’s nothing wrong with checking in once in awhile. Set a day of the month, or week (if you can’t wait a month, just don’t do it every day) to weigh your self. You may also want to consider using measuring tape and measuring your the circumference of your waist, hips, thighs and arms instead, because as you lose fat and gain muscle, it may be more noticeable using these measurements, instead of your weight.