Way, way back in January 2013 I set aside my scale. It was an exhilarating blog moment! The freedom! The subversiveness of it all!
I fended off worried comments from others about where it might lead. I drove out the thoughts that said not weighing myself meant I would gain weight. I resisted the temptation to step on the scale after 3, 6, 9 months, even a full year, just to ‘see’ if I should be worried.
And then I started Precision Nutrition’s Lean Eating program. And besides the monthly photos they had weekly measurements that included, you guessed it, a weight measurement.
At first I thought I could handle it. That weekly weighing wouldn’t make me feel like crap. Or even that it wouldn’t make me feel better. My hope at the time was that my year of not weighing myself might have helped me feel neutral about weight as a measure of anything. And for awhile it did. Maybe even for the duration of the program.
But now? Now! Ugh! As the number on the scale began to creep up again this summer, so did the usual obsessions. I won’t go into detail because petite women who hate their bodies and think they’re fat are tiresome. I know. But oh how awful it’s all become again.
So three weeks ago I packed it up and swore off it yet again. It’s not just that I feel horrible about gaining a bit of weight. I’ve done that many times before and survived it. It’s that I feel horrible about caring. It’s against everything I believe in to think that the scale tells me anything about who I am and what I’m about. And yet I have allowed the old bullshit to creep back into my head.
It’s become so loud that when I went shopping with a friend in Chicago a few weeks ago I consistently tried on clothes that were 2 sizes too big for me and when they didn’t fit properly I thought the clothing manufacturers were purposely putting smaller numbers on larger clothes (there is actually some evidence that this has happened over time). I felt convinced that the sizing was off and I didn’t actually take the smaller sizes I ended up having to try on if I liked something.
So the scale must go. What useful info did I ever think I’d get from it anyway? What’s wrong with going by how I feel, what I’m doing, whether I’m getting faster and stronger? Or sleeping enough? Or eating in a way that nourishes me and feels good?
And in any case the last time I ditched the scale I lived happier and didn’t gain any weight. Didn’t lose either but I spared myself the daily r weekly judgment about how ‘things’ were going.
No thanks. It’s time to say good-bye to my scale again. And hello to taking care of myself in ways that make me feel good. Feel free to join me. Chances are that for at least some of you out there the scale is doing you no good either.
You have inspired me to join you! I have just returned home after a lovely two week holiday in Zante and my last days were spoiled by the angst of getting home and getting on the scales. But now, I don’t think I’ll bother – here’s to exercise and feeling good without the worry of what any thing (or body) says!
Awesome! It’s so nice to have company. Let me know how it goes for you. Enjoy the freedom!
I threw mine out just last week. It was the same scale I’ve had since I decided that anything over 115 was worrisome when I was 16. (I’m 5’10”). Although my relationship with it improved over the years, it was never a positive thing, never. So screw you scale and don’t let the garbage lid hit you on the way out.
I threw mine out in 2013. I occasionally get the urge to weigh, but I stop myself. It is irrelevant.
My body feels good. It moves well.
I’m still struggling with eating enough. But most of the time I comfortable enough in my skin that I don’t even think about it.
That’s a huge change for me.
One of the best things I ever did in my life was ditch my scale. It’s still on my bathroom floor. Now, I just use it as something to flip off while I pee (because occasionally I forget my phone, and I get bored.) I keep daydreaming ways of destroying it. Maybe taking it to a shooting range…. sledgehammer…. dropping it from the roof of a tall building…. Anyway, good for you! <3
And once again the universe has offered me perspective in the form of…your bring-me-back-to-reality post. I was feeling badly about gaining 3 lbs this past week, which I knew I did because I ate 4 Hershey bars in a mad craving spell, but just had to make the indictment stick by stepping ont he scale at the gym yesterday. Gym = good Scale = bad
Wow, I think this post took all the words out of my mind! Its so sad that we feel the need to step on the scales. If only looking in the Mirror was the confirmation we needed, life would be so much more easier.
Thank you. I am ditching it again
Are you doing PN right now? I’m in this January’s coaching group! 🙂 How great!
I finished PN in January (or was it December?). I have mixed feelings about it: some good info but mostly I think it’s over-priced and like any program encourages repeat-business, which is evidence that it doesn’t really work unless you commit for the rest of your life. In that respect no different from weight watchers or what have you. So I’m not a big fan and I detest the photo contest.
I like the mental part of it – I’ve been very tough on myself and over-restrictive on the past and have gotten better at listening to my body.
Interesting concept. I’ve recently started my very public weight loss journey and I’ve considered ditching the scale too, and measuring my progress only by pictures and how I feel. Obsessing over the scale is an awful habit I experience myself. It would be amazing if I could quit cold turkey!
I confess I haven’t ditched my weigh scale. I weigh myself 2-3 times per month. And the scale is by the toilet.
I see it daily. But honest, it’s become like wallpaper, I don’t notice it
I used to live with two skinny girls that had a scale in the bathroom – made me feel like crap. And I am really just a healthy girl with no reason for concern. Since living on my own I swore never to have a scale and I’ve now kept it up for 9 years! Love it. I do step on a scale occasionally, if I see one at my friends’ house or something, but not having one at home allows me to go to bed happy, not worrying about 1kg added or lost. Best decision of my life, and I am still the same weight as I was 9 years ago which proves that there is really no reason to keep one. No reason at all. Keep it up!
I have been a stable weight until since 2011 after most of my life spent in hospitals. my wiieght was stable for 3 years . I ate what I mostly wanted and the scales stayed at a point I could live my life. I exercise a lot too to focus on a fit and healthy body. In the last 4 months my weight has gone up annd it has put me on the biggest downer. I take it all out on my partner. I stop it from letting me go out. I don’t understand why and with the amount of exersise I do. I have put on weight. I have started cutting back on all my pleasures. I love food and I feel so much resentment at my scales. Why now? 3 years of a stable body and now it decides to fuck with me. I’m getting married in June 2016 and my dress fits like a glove (I bought it in 2014) . I know I should throw away the scales. I can’t handle not knowing. I know they are un reliable but they have been a constant in my life. Everyone I know says I am in the best shape of my life. I don’t know if a gym body is what I want. Does that sound crazy? I just want to b happy and I on’t want the scales to have power over me anymore.