Maintaining a Healthy Relationship with your Scale

While weight is by no means the best marker of progress, it is the most commonly used. It’s simple, accessible, and reveals the trend in your body’s composition.

But for some, stepping on the scale and weighing in can be upsetting, disappointing, or addictive. Here are some tips to maintain a healthy relationship with your scale if you decide to track your weight:

– First, nothing says you have to track your weight! Health comes in many sizes and you can observe your progress by noting how you physically and mentally feel, how your clothes fit, your resting heart rate, measurements, bloodwork, before and after pictures, progress in the gym, habit tracking, and more.

– Acknowledge that the number on the scale is simply data. It does not define you. It is not a numerical value of your worth, health, or fitness level.

– Accept and understand that it is perfectly normal for your weight to fluctuate, and that your maintenance weight is a sliding scale of 5-10lbs up or down. Just because you see a 2lbs increase does not mean it’s time to diet.

– Depending on your comfort level, consider weighing yourself daily at the same time. Record the weight every day and take a weekly average to even out the daily fluctuations and get a better understanding of your trend.

– If you find yourself obsessively weighing multiple times a day, it might be time to take a break from the scale. Put it somewhere out of sight and rely on other markers of progress, or try weighing in only once a day, then once a week, once a month, and then maybe not at all.