All about the scale!

One of my new fave Web sites is Whole9, a community based on health, fitness, balance and sanity. Although I embrace all four concepts, it’s the last one – sanity – to which I relate the most.

One of the most helpful articles I have read on Whole9 is why we should take a hammer to our scales. For anyone like me who struggles to lose pounds, this is one habit I am trying to break. What follows are Whole9’s reason why the scale is woman’s worst friend:

1.  Scale weight fluctuates, and over the day weight can fluctuate by as much as five pounds. Seeing the number jump from one day to the next is anything but inspiring. Weighing daily does nothing for the big picture.
2. Scale weight says nadda about health. Plenty of skinny people are sick. Whole9 says that anyone can cut calorie count in half and exercise for two hours daily to drop weight. But does that say you’re healthy? No. Plus, your willpower will run out, you will start eating, and those numbers on the scale will jump up. That number says little about your relationship with food, hormones, digestive health or inflammatory status.
3. The scale blinds you to real results. Here, here! I have been trying to fit into a dress for a wedding. A month ago it fit, but looked horrid. Today, it looks fine, and I’ve only lost a few pounds. But my stomach has decreased inches because of the way I am eating. Plus, I am sleeping better, I have tons more energy, and I am just enjoying life more.
4. The scale keeps us stuck on food. We equate that number on the scale with the food we eat. Actually, a sleepless night can add some weight, but I never step on the scale and blame the higher number on lack of sleep.
5. The scale controls our self-esteem. Using a number to determine your worth – which is what that number means to many of us – is just wrong. A daily weigh-in can determine how the rest of your day goes. A little gain, and we’re angry. I little loss, and we might just eat.

I think it’s time to ditch my scale. Or at the very least hide it away and take it out on the first day of every month.