Any talk of weight loss or health will instantly put the dreaded image of a scale in people’s minds.
It’s been drilled into us that the number on the scale is the be all end of all of our health and self image.
But that way of thinking is exactly what ensures that most people fail at weight loss and managing their health.
The scale is nothing but a number and that number is only a reflection of how your body is reacting to a whole whack of elements that day.
Your Weight Changes More Than Your Mood Swings
Depending on the day, your body is working a whole lot of different things – things are entering, exiting and being processed at varying degrees at all times.
And guess what?
All of it will cause your weight to fluctuate!
This includes how much fluid you drank, what you ate, how much sodium you consumed and more. If you weigh yourself in the morning and then at night, your weight will be different.
You can even weigh yourself before and after a workout and there will be a difference!
Guess what else you can add to the list of things that make your weight fluctuate? Try stress levels, hormones, medication – oh and if you’re a woman – your menstrual cycle.
You will drive yourself crazy if you rely on the scale everyday. You are so much more than number!
Habits
A great way to get your focus off the scale is to switch your mindset to your habits!
Instead of making your weight loss about getting to a number on the scale, make it about adding and keeping healthy habits.
Here’s some you can start with:
Have competition with yourself to drink more water today than you did the day before
Add fruit and vegetables to as many meals and snacks as you can
Eat smaller portions more frequently throughout the day (instead of only a few giant meals)
Get up and move that body – go for a walk, break out some dance moves, take the stairs, etc...
If you incorporate and focus on healthy habits you will see a change on the scale but more importantly you will also see higher energy levels, reduced cravings, being more comfortable in your clothes and feeling stronger.
These changes will spark that fire within to keep adding better habits to your everyday and the scale becomes all that it is – just a number! It’s great to monitor long term progress so you can weigh yourself weekly, bi-weekly or monthly if you really want to track it.
But for your everyday, stick to watching your habits and watch how much better you’ll start to feel.
Want to add some fuel to that fire? Reach out!
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