I could really get into it here, but to keep it relatively short and sweet here is my number one reason that I believe getting on the scale every day is not a good idea: because it’s not helpful.
Really. Think about it. What do you get from knowing the number?
If you tell me this: “I just know I feel best when my weight is X.” So are you telling me that without seeing the scale weight that you are out of touch with yourself? You can’t possibly know if you feel good unless the scale can tell you? I call BS!
If you tell me this: “My BMI is too high, if I can get to X weight then it will be in normal range.” The BMI is not a helpful tool to measure health. It measures one thing and one thing only: your weight relative to your height. That does not take into consideration literally any other factor or behavior of health, and weight is not a behavior.
If you tell me this: “I want to get back to what I weighed on my wedding day (or insert other milestone event).” Why? If you are saying you want to get back to that, it must have been at least a few years ago and you’re a different person now. You are in a different stage of life. Maybe you’ve had a kid. Don’t chase an older version of you. Improve the one that exists now.
So now that you understand you can’t possibly get the entire picture when talking about scale weight, let’s talk about some other real-life examples of how weighing in can mess with your psyche:
1️⃣ The number on the scale dictates your mood. If it’s higher than you’d like, you are in a bad mood. You are more likely to restrict food or over-exercise that day. If it’s lower than you’d like, you feel like you are doing something right and are in a good mood. If it’s the same as yesterday, you are in a bad mood because you feel like you aren’t making progress. Don’t let a number dictate your mood.
2️⃣ It supposedly keeps you “on track” if you know what the number is. Having your life ruled by what your scale weight is seems pretty dim. If you go up a few pounds over the course of some weeks or months, you only then realize that something may be off? Either nothing is off and that’s normal, or you are out of touch with your body. If you are changing your behavior to stay at a certain weight, chances are you can tiptoe into disordered territory.
3️⃣ You hold onto your lowest weight. If you did it before you can do it again, right? The fact that you physically saw that number when you were standing on a scale leads you to think it’s attainable, possible and sustainable. Your lowest weight is likely not your healthiest weight.
So let’s recap on why weighing daily is a problem:
⚡️Weight is not a good indicator of health.
⚡️Weights can fluctuate greatly day to day, week to week and month to month. Especially for women. It’s an unreliable data point.
⚡️You letting weight dictate your mood shows that your motivations are in the wrong place.
⚡️You aren’t allowing yourself to focus on other measures of progress.
What do you think? Do you weigh yourself daily? What does it do to your mood + behaviors?