By: Nancy Howard, SparkPeople Blogger
1/21/2009 9:50 AM   :  483 comments

See More: motivation, weight loss, healthy living, poll,

Ah, the scale, a tool that does nothing more than tells us what we weigh--bones, muscles, skin, hair, organs and everything we as humans are comprised of. But for such a small and inanimate object, it sure does hold a lot of power. Power, that could easily shift my mood from being up-beat and happy to downright disgusted and miffed just by the digital display in the teeny tiny window in between my feet.

If the number was what I expected or was more than I expected, it was a GREAT day. Nothing short of winning the lottery could make me feel any happier or elated. But beware if that number stayed the same, OR worse if it went up, especially after what I considered was a great week. You know the week where you log every morsel you consumed, worked out for hours on end, drank your water, and got plenty of sleep, only to discover that what you did was all for naught, or so it seemed.

Sound familiar? I think most of us, when we aren’t trying to change our lifestyles or lose weight, don’t put a lot of emphasis on the scale, if we even bothered to weigh at all. But the minute we decide it is time to change our ways and lose weight, the scale, at least for me, becomes the be-all, end-all for success. That was until I learned to let it go.

Two years ago after I was on a very long plateau (one of many, I must say), I became quite frustrated that the doggone scale was not moving. My trainer/running coach at the time prompted me to take on one of the biggest challenges in my life and that was to say sayonara to my scale. Yep, toss the puppy right in the trash and promise that I would only use the scale at the gym in his presence.

What? Here was the one tool I was measuring all my progress, the one that could make or break my day, the one that had been a part of this journey at the time for 18 months, and he wanted me to throw it away? How on earth would I know how well or badly I was doing?

Chad went on to say that the scale is only one tool of many to measure one’s progress. But for many, especially those who do not have a lot of weight to lose, it can become a source of great frustration, many times causing us to feel every gain as a failure and every loss as a success. And by giving up this one tool I slowly learned this was not the case.

Looking back I can see how obsessed I became, not so much in the beginning of my journey (I didn’t even weigh myself for the first six weeks) but the closer I got to my goal weight. The more determined I was to reach that magical number, the more I found myself stepping on the scale, sometimes several times a day, to see if the number had moved. Once again, sound familiar?

The more I educated myself through reading the articles in the SparkPeople healthy lifestyle center the more I understood that the scale only measures our weight and not our health and fitness. Just like you cannot look at someone and determine their health or fitness, nor can you step on the scale and do the same. Embracing a healthy lifestyle is a life-long journey filled with lots of challenges, but having the courage to meet them head on will allow us all to continue on the journey to healthier living. When we focus on how we feel, how much more energy we have, what we accomplish, and how we tackle life’s obstacles, the scale carries little or no importance.

You may be wondering what I did with my scale. Well, it was given a fond farewell and now if I NEED to know my weight I use the one at the gym. But more times than not, as long as my clothes fit well, I don’t care about the number. It is, after all, only a number--it does not determine my self worth or define who I am. I will no longer allow a thing to determine my happiness or success. My happiness and success comes from me embracing me today and the healthy habits I will carry with me for a life time.

Could you, would you, or should you give up the scale? What fears do you have giving up your scale? Do you measure your success or failure according to what the scale reads?