Exfoliate the Scale

I used to weigh myself everyday, and every month I would do several measurements and report them on the side bar:  BMI, belly fat, fat %, etc.  The scale messed with my mind.  I'd lose weight, see the number go down and think, "That was easy," then not be diligent.  Or, I'd feel like I should have lost weight, (worked hard, felt good in my skin, happy), then I'd see the number higher than expected and feel like giving up.


I stopped weighing myself several months ago as a challenge from Jarah (Eating for Your Soul - a program about intuitive eating/exercising and spiritual growth).  This is an action about being more kind and respectful to myself.


Here's a quote from Jarah, "Getting on the scale is all about judgment, and it brings you back to the diet perspective you learned about in Step Two.  You are letting the numbers determine your day and once you get on the scale, the thoughts of calorie counting, good vs. bad food, and exercise for the sake of weight loss return and there you go!  To stop the cycle and the diet perspective, you need stop weighing yourself.  It's about giving up the need to control the body so that you can start to listen to it."


It's been an empowering experience after packing away the scale.  I pay more attention to how tight or loose my clothing are instead, and  I take other cue's from my body.  If I have been exercising and eating quality foods, I feel great.  I don't need a scale to throw me off track.


This step also included getting rid of clothes that didn't fit (posted about it here).  That was really tough for me, and I didn't do it the first time I went through the program/steps.  I felt like I was some how giving up ever being size I want to be, again, by getting rid of the clothes.  This time I compromised and instead packed my favorite too-small clothes away in the garage.  Now, every item in my closet fits me, and it's no longer depressing to go in there.


Do you have any non-scale victories (NSV)?