Why You Shouldn’t Worry About The Number On The Scale

For most of my adult life, I have been super focused on fitness, living a healthy life, and being mindful of what I put in my body. Learning more about having Endometriosis has pushed me to be even more conscious about my diet and exercise routine because certain foods cause inflammation and inflammation when you have Endo makes for tons of pain. What I eat affects the way my days go, so I have to keep a diet filled with veggies and healthy foods.  Don’t worry, this is not going to be a post about me living with Endo, but maybe I’ll share more about that at another time. Anyhoo, I want to talk to you all about why you shouldn’t worry about the number on the scale.

The Number On The Scale

To put things in perspective, I do not weigh myself anymore. Now I literally only get weighed when I go to the doctor’s office. This change is a far stretch from the old me who stepped on the scale every single morning after my shower. I don’t feel like I have ever been obsessed with my weight, but perhaps I paid a little too much attention to the number on the scale. In my 20’s I was a cardio bunny, I never lifted weights, just ran outside or on the treadmill and I had a very stick thin body. Toward the end of my 20’s I fell in love with weights, and now, if you follow my journey, you know I love picking up, squatting, lifting heavy things. My body has changed significantly, and I now weigh MORE than I have EVER weighed in my entire life. Do not be alarmed because for me this is a good thing. This extra weight is muscle weight; my body is filled with lean mass which is what I have been working toward for the past five years.

Why The Number On The Scale Doesn’t Matter

Have you ever gone to the doctor to be weighed and they don’t make you take your shoes off? Yep, me too, and once she says the number I just casually subtract 4 or 5 lbs, LOL.

Firstly, if you are anything like me, your weight fluctuates. When I am getting close to my period, I feel like I am carrying several babies in my uterus. When my period is over, life is great, and my belly goes back down to normal. Weight also fluctuates based on what we eat, because no matter how much we try to be healthy, there is pizza, and who can say no to pizza?

When we spend time stepping on the scale every single day, we become fixated on that number. Based on your body composition and level of activity, that number is irrelevant. Remember how I said above, that I weigh more now than I have ever weighed in my life?

What To Do Instead

If you are on a fitness journey of your own where you want to chart progress, take pictures. Pictures are your friend because they truly represent what we look like at a given time. You do not need to share the pictures with anyone, but I recommend taking at least one photo each week to keep up with your progress.

Track Your Progress

Keep track of your progress by keeping a fitness journal. If last month you were able to deadlift 15 lbs, and now you can deadlift 45, you know you have made progress. There is also a chance that because you can lift more weight, your muscle mass has gone up. Do not be alarmed because this is a good thing; just remember to leave the scale alone and don’t spend too much time focusing on the number.

To make it easier, I removed my scale from my bathroom, because out of sight, out of mind.

Wrapping Things Up

1. Don’t focus on the scale, chart your progress through photos and a fitness journal
2. Celebrate the small wins. Whether that means you lose 5 lbs, are able to lift heavier weights, or consistently ate home cooked healthy meals for a week; celebrate!
3. As with any fitness journey, weight sometimes drops quicker in the beginning and tapers off after time. Do not give up!

If you are looking and feeling better, then this is what matters most. While taking progress pictures and keeping a fitness journal all feed into the bigger goal, we must feel good about what we are doing to be successful.

Get my workout look by clicking the links below