What the scale does not say

Numbers, numbers, numbers! Oh how one step on a scale can determine how you feel about yourself for the rest of the day! Whether it's a number you were expecting, or a number that makes you want to run and hide, or a number that allows you to pat yourself on the back, that number has a powerful influence on your self-esteem, self-image, and self-worth. Though an irrational thought, I do wish these things called scales did not exist. Through my experience, they have caused more harm than good. I hold my breath when clients step on the scale. I myself avoid the large thing that sits by the sink in the bathroom. It rarely makes me feel good about myself. I have weighed between 140 - 155lbs since I was in junior high. In high school and college I weighed at least 145lbs and wore a size 10/12. Now, in my early thirties, I weigh 152lbs and wear a size 6. I am a muscular girl. I am fit and healthy. However, on those mornings that I CHOOSE to step on the scale hoping that I have re-visited the 140's, I quickly forget that I am FIT AND MUSCULAR, and end up feeling FAT for the rest of the day.

How ridiculous! Right? But it's absolutely the truth my friends. Even if the number did dip below 150 on a particularly good day, I get this knot in my stomach. Why? Because now all I think about is keeping it below 150. What stress and anxiety, not to mention and unhealthy, non-productive thought process that produces nothing but irrational behavior.

Simply put, it's just a number. There's no closed caption or fine print that explains exactly what that number means. NO! It's just three numbers, and what a powerful effect each one of them has on our psyche.

If I was to redesign the technology of the scale and how it measures our weight, here's what I would write in fine print underneath the number on the scale.

* The weight of our clothes that we are wearing when weighing ourselves
* The weight of our bones, muscles and organs
* Body Fat composition
* How much water we are retaining at that given moment
* The weight of the food we just ate prior to stepping on the scale
* If the weight workout we just had yesterday is causing our muscles to retain water, inevitably effecting the number on the scale
* The actual amount of weight we have gained during our woman cycle
* The number of pounds that stress, fatigue, depression, and anxiety has caused us to gain that week

Are you starting to understand my frustration with the scale and the number that we allow to determine our personal value and worth? Are you beginning to understand that there are several variables that effect how much we weigh?

Here's what I would like you to focus on:

* BODY FAT COMPOSITION

Women Men

Athletes 14-20% 6-13%
Fitness 21-24% 14-17%
Acceptable 25-31% 18-25%
Obese 32% plus 25% plus


* WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE MEASUREMENTS

A high waist circumference and a high level of abdominal fat puts you at risk for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease.

A high risk waist circumference:
Male: waist measurement over 40 inches
Female: waist measurement over 35 inches
Sourced from WebMD

Though the scale is a tangible measure of your weight loss efforts, it can be quite misleading, daunting, confusing, frustrating, and it is only one way to measure the progress of your exercise game plan. Let's give less meaning to what the scale says and focus more on the personal improvements we have made by making fitness a lifestyle every day.

Here's what I would like you to focus on: Improvements in these categories

* Exercise Consistency
* Cardiovascular endurance
* Muscular strength
* Nutrition
* Physical and emotional health
* Coordination
* Balance
* Flexibility
* Mental Clarity
* Stress

So the next time you step on the scale, remember that it's a small part of the fitness equation affected by several variables that are not described to you in full detail. It's just a number!