The Number on My Scale

Today I had a reality check. I hardly ever weigh myself. I just don’t. I do little checks with myself: the way my clothes fit, or don’t fit, my energy level, or lack of it. I am pretty in touch with my own body and so I just know how my skin is feeling and how it is fitting around my body – it’s just kind of a thing females know, you either feel “on” or a little “off.”

Over the past two months, I have been really focusing on eating well and practicing what I preach in the fitmixer boot camp. I have been eating six times a day, and listening to my hunger cues. I have also been switching up my workouts and totally going out of my comfort zone with doing some Crossfit type workouts and mixing it up with our fitmixer boot camp workouts. Basically, just having a different approach to my fitness regime.

Okay, so going back to this morning. I brought out the scale my husband keeps in his bottom drawer (no idea why it’s there, maybe it’s an out of sight, out of mind thing) anyway, brought out the scale, put it in the middle of our bathroom floor, and reluctantly put one foot on it, and then the next… YIKES!!! I gained a few pounds since the last time I checked (which was quite a while ago, but still).

So what did I do? I did what most women who gain a few pounds immediately do. With supersonic speed, and pretty much all in the same second, I gave myself a lecture: called myself chubby, reviewed every piece of candy and slice of cake I have eaten in the past two months, vowed to skip three meals a day, promised to workout for three hours a day, and pretty much broke every rule of good common sense and logic a Registered Dietitian and intelligent person has – this literally happened all in the same nanosecond – not lying, totally true.

A few minutes later, I came back down to logical Earth (yet still living in this vain world) and re-evaluated. It took a minute; actually, it took me a couple of hours of sorting through logic thought vs. three-pound weight gain emotion.

Here’s what I came up with after allowing my better self to speak. I have been eating well. I have been giving my body the gift of nourishment with good, healthy food. I have been hydrating my thirsty self with water and delicious fluids. I have been focusing on toning my muscles and exercising my heart. I have been enjoying food and giving myself a treat once in a while for a job well done after the gym.

When it comes all down to it, I have been doing exactly what I am trained to do as a Registered Dietitian, and my body is in a healthy place. This was a reality check for me. My body wanted those few pounds so that it can preform in its optimal state. It feels good. I have more energy. My cheeks are fuller (on my face…and actually, probably everywhere). My muscles feel toned. I haven’t felt deprived. I FEEL FULL OF LIFE, not empty, or hungry.

Wow. What a gift. I totally did a 180 with my thought process today and let myself embrace the good things I learned on the scale rather than allowing a NUMBER to reflect how I should feel about myself. Something to think about…. are you letting the scale determine your fitness worth?