Scale Obsession

How many times a day do you weigh yourself?  Once? Twice? Five times?  Are you obessed with what the scale tells you?  Do you base your mood and self worth on the number on the scale? 

Today there is a discussion on ObesityHelp.com about letting the scale dictate one's mood for the day.  The original poster is in tears this morning because of the number the scale gave her today. She knows that she's letting the scale have power in her life that it doesn't deserve and knows it's an unhealthy obsession... but she can't seem to stop herself from feeling bad about that stupid number.

My dear friend Nikki gave a bit of advice that I feel is worth repeating.

Right now you are letting the scale tell your story. Maybe not in how you act but in how you feel. And that’s just not accurate nor is it healthy. So stop doing it! Doing things intentionally to make us feel bad is a part of our old thinking. Our new thinking, that we are working toward, should be something more like “I do what I need to do to be health and when I am healthy I am better at being happy.” See the distinction?

And for those die-hard scale huggers out there, I am not saying weighing every day, in and of itself, is evil. If you can weigh every day and not let it affect your sense of self worth or progress, fine. Go for it. But the scale becomes unhealthy when, in our minds, it becomes the sole determinant of our success.

Thank you Nik for your words of wisdom.

~Pam