The Scale Holds No Weight
What to do when you are in conflict with your scale.
Some weeks ago I had a conversation with a client centered around how hard of a time they were having with weighing themselves every day and the power the scale had on them. They would talk about how they looked to the scale for confirmation of the work they were doing, but couldn’t help the degree of emotion suffering they felt when it didn’t go their way.
It was an interesting conversation as over the coming weeks I started to enter into similar conversations with other clients to see if they too shared these sentiments. Surprisingly enough, there began a common theme that many of these individuals really struggled with the process of weighing themselves each day and then dealing with the number they were seeing.
I have been coaching for many years and this is not a new phenomena. It’s no secret that most people find themselves having a general conflict with the scale and in my earlier days as a coach I typically asked my clients to weigh themselves only later in the week, either a Thursday or Friday. I did this for two reasons. One, to minimize the amount of times they actually weighed themselves and thus have these mental boxing matches, and two, to minimize the possible impact of the previous weekend, where most people expand their nutritional habits, and thus give the possibility of a more “positive” outcome once the weekend festivities have cleared a little more.
I felt my approach was a way to minimize the psychological impact the scale may have on my clients, however it was only after talking with fellow nutrition coach and BSL Nutrition owner, Ben Brown, that I realized the potential information that I and the client were missing out on.
So why do we place such high value on the scale?
The driving force behind weighing ourselves often, if not every day, is to obtain an objective measure, a number. It is one of only a few methods that we can perform on ourselves regularly and conveniently to identify the “status” of our body (in this case body mass) at a given point in time. However, most will look at this number in a weight-loss mindset and use it as the reference of “Am I losing or gaining weight?” and specifically looking for it to provide a positive or negative result.
Herein lies where the power of the scale resides:
Emotion > Logic
Where logically the number of the scale is just that, a number, showing body mass at a given moment in time, however most won’t look at that number in a logical, neutral or benign manner. For most, there is a removal of logic and a subsequent substitution of an emotion. Happiness, success, anger, frustration, anxiety, sadness, guilt, shame, and reward among others are all examples of commentary I hear from clients when discussing the result.
By bringing emotion in, it changes the perception of what the number means. For example, in a weight loss scenario, the number going down typically has positive responses, but if the number doesn’t change or goes up, the emotions are mostly negative.
For those of us that have weighed ourselves often (and I am sure if you are part of my reading list this is probably most), you will know how often body mass fluctuates on a daily and weekly basis. Fluid retention, dietary choices, alcohol, digestive changes, sleep patterns, hormonal shifts (such as menstrual cycles), hydration status and so on, can all contribute to body mass changes up to as much as 0–6lbs. Yet knowing this information, we still allow the scale to screw with our head. Why?
When you lead with an emotional connection, you receive an emotional response.
The most common result of keeping an emotional response to the scale is like playing a game of lifestyle ping-pong, just keep bouncing back and forth.
When you remove Emotion you are just left with LOGIC.
This is easier said than done, but once you accept this position, it opens the door to being able to control how you perceive the scale and what you are using it for.
In the weight management field, the scale is a tool, a useful tool, but it’s only a tool to collect data, and by using it so, it allows you to monitor the data over time, judgment and emotion-free.
After my conversation with Ben, I realized what I was missing. I was missing valuable information and data points. Not just in scale numbers, but the ability to match those numbers with every other aspect of the clients life — sleeping, exercise, daily activity, dietary choices, alcohol consumption, digestive regularity, hydration and such hormonal patterns such as a menstrual cycle with females, all providing evidence to what was happening with the body and how it can be contributing to changes in body mass. By only measuring 1–2 times per week I was limiting the information I received, I wasn’t seeing the bigger picture or the ability to truly see trends, and in turn helping my clients see this as well.
At BSL Nutrition, we have our clients track their food intake every day, as well as weigh every day or as often as possible (along with other metrics), not only to highlight changes but be able to utilize the data to make the most appropriate suggestions and adjustments that will allow the client success. More importantly, it also helps up identify patterns — what effect to that client does drinking alcohol, eating certain foods, or menstrual cycles have on their body mass? How long does it typically take for their body to adjust to various decisions? What certain weekly patterns may look like (Mon-Fri, Fri through Mon, Wed through Wed etc).
If you are ever to move past playing mental ping-pong between reacting emotionally to the number on the scale and the decisions you make as a result you need to absolve yourself of any emotional connection to the scale, use it only as the tool it is, and focus solely on the processes that are needed to achieve your goal, because honestly, that’s all that matters.
When you take the emotion out of the scale, you are rather empowered and able to be maintain logic and thus make logical decisions about the steps you need to take. By reacting to the number each day, you are solely focused on having an emotional response, looking for confirmation, hoping for a positive outcome, or frustrated by what you are seeing.
Your fitness journey doesn’t need you making it harder on yourself. Give yourself a break, give yourself control, because when it comes to emotion, the scale truly holds no weight.
If you need help identifying the simple steps you can take right now that will allow you to see the results you desire, reach out and let’s start talking to see if I can help.
Dr. Dan Dodd is an Exercise Science professional and Coach for BSL Nutrition. Dan is an avid writer on nutrition, exercise, metabolism and body composition. If you’d like to receive more stories, subscribe to get these stories and more.
