Paralyzed By Its Power

by Kris Pitcher

These must weigh a 1/4 pound!

She felt anticipation and then doom as she woke from slumber. Wishing she was still asleep her feet hit the floor. She thumped down the hall in her socked feet and flipped on the bathroom light. Emptying her bladder she looked at her thick socks. I should take those off first. Reaching for her nightgown at her hips she drew it over her head and dropped it on the tile floor. She sat hoping to empty a little more.

It loomed in front of her. "Health O Meter" it read in blue letters. She'd gotten the professional model after many years of struggling with home models she didn't trust. She started to pull up her underwear and dropped those to the floor too. What if it's heavier than last week? Feeling the cool tile under her feet she thought of the cookie she snuck in the work-room.

Standing now unclothed in the bathroom she glanced in the mirror. Is my butt fatter this week? Just get on the scale already! What if it's better? She felt almost paralyzed, wanting to know...but not wanting to know. She knew if it was worse than last week it would just prove she was weak.

I did all the right things. I mostly stuck to my plan. I did all my workouts...my feet are cold. I feel sick. Crap! I hate you scale! This is stupid - I'm getting on it!

Does this sound like your morning? A lot of us struggle with the scale. We let it dictate what kind of a day we're going to have. We let it tell us if we've been "good", or "bad". We let it determine if we are the right number. It can send us into a tail spin, or on a binge. How did it ever get this kind of power over us?

It is time to take back your power. The scale doesn't measure anything but your body weight. It doesn't measure your body composition. It doesn't measure your hydration. If you have a problem with the scale, get rid of it. That's right, get rid of it. If you are on it more than once a week (like several times a day) get rid of it. Cold turkey sister! You need a break.

Over the past month I have made significant changes to my body composition. The scale does not show it. If I only took into account what the scale said, I'd be beating my head against the wall...on the floor in a fetal position eating brownies. But I'm not, why - because I'm smarter than the scale. It's time you got smarter too.

I've changed my body composition to the tune of a loss of 4.5 lbs of body fat over the last month. My weight however has stayed the same. It's actually fluctuated, but mostly remained the same. Huh? That's because I am pushing weights like crazy to build lean body mass. I'm getting smaller, leaner, and my body weight (on the scale) is staying the same. Stop letting the scale run your life.

Do the things you know you are supposed to be doing for your healthy lifestyle. Know you will have times that are "dynamic", when you have to adapt. It's ok, remember we do healthy things for a lifestyle, for a life time. Take your power back from the scale right now. Don't wait a minute longer.