2829: 5 Reasons You Need To Ditch Your Scale by Crystal Karges on Self-Compassion and Balanced Habits

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Health Daily, 5 Reasons You Need To Ditch Your Scale by Crystal Karges of crystalkarges.com and I'm Dr. Neal, your very own personal narrator.

[00:00:11] Hey there, happy Saturday and welcome back to another weekend edition of Optimal Health Daily.

[00:00:16] This is where I read to you from some of the best health and fitness blogs on the web, kind of like an ongoing audiobook and always with a bit of my commentary at the end.

[00:00:24] And so with that, let's get right to today's post as we optimize your life.

[00:00:32] 5 Reasons You Need To Ditch Your Scale by Crystal Karges of crystalkarges.com

[00:00:40] For years, I was chained to the scale, measuring my success and worth as an individual by the numbers that flashed back at me.

[00:00:48] Sometimes I would weigh myself multiple times per day to assess if there were any detected changes,

[00:00:54] and I would always adjust my eating and exercise plans for the day accordingly.

[00:00:58] My weight became something I could obsess over and control, at the expense of things in my life that really mattered.

[00:01:06] As I found my way through a healing journey of making peace with food and my body,

[00:01:11] I learned the power of giving up my scale completely.

[00:01:15] Redefining Your Health

[00:01:16] The truth is, the number that is your weight is simply a measurement of your body in relation to gravity.

[00:01:24] There is no merit attached to how much you weigh, no magical number that will prove you to be healthy, happy, or successful.

[00:01:32] We give so much value to what we weigh that we fail to neglect everything else in life that encompasses health and fulfillment.

[00:01:40] How much have you given up for the fear of not being at your ideal weight?

[00:01:45] What have you put on hold or sacrificed while you struggled with your weight?

[00:01:49] What promises have you made if you reach your goal weight?

[00:01:54] A case for giving up the scale.

[00:01:56] Allow me to let you in on a little secret.

[00:01:59] Your goal weight will never be enough.

[00:02:02] As long as you reinforce the practice of measuring yourself by the numbers on a scale,

[00:02:06] you will never know what it's like to be at peace with your body.

[00:02:10] It will always be a love-hate relationship,

[00:02:13] and your body, and ultimately your life, will suffer in the process.

[00:02:18] Which is why I want to encourage you to ditch your scale for good.

[00:02:22] Reason number one.

[00:02:24] Health is not measured by weight.

[00:02:27] Contrary to what we have been conditioned to believe,

[00:02:30] our health is not a reflection of our weight.

[00:02:33] Food has become the enemy,

[00:02:34] and we fall into a trap of thinking that we are one bite away from eating ourselves unhealthy.

[00:02:40] The truth?

[00:02:42] Our health is defined by the quality of our well-being.

[00:02:45] How do you nurture yourself physically, emotionally, psychologically, and in relationships?

[00:02:51] Are you neglecting other areas of your life for the sake of maintaining a certain weight?

[00:02:56] Health is not defined by following a rigid standard of how to eat and exercise.

[00:03:01] Health means eating a variety of foods,

[00:03:04] moving your body in a way that feels good,

[00:03:07] and finding joy and pleasure in the way you care for yourself.

[00:03:11] There is nothing that weight can tell you about these aspects of your life.

[00:03:16] Reason number two.

[00:03:17] Your eating habits should not be dictated by how much you weigh.

[00:03:21] How many times have you weighed yourself,

[00:03:23] only to be disappointed by the number on the scale?

[00:03:26] How many times has your weight dictated how you treat your body the rest of the day?

[00:03:31] You may swear off eating,

[00:03:32] or limit yourself to eating minimally,

[00:03:35] in an attempt to recalibrate the numbers you see on the scale.

[00:03:39] This can lead to a vicious cycle of unhealthy eating habits,

[00:03:43] which can ultimately sabotage how you treat and care for your body.

[00:03:47] Our weight is a dynamic and fluctuating number,

[00:03:50] a range that is influenced by a variety of factors,

[00:03:54] not just how or what you eat.

[00:03:57] This is all the more reason to trust the innate wisdom in your body for guidance

[00:04:01] on how to eat intuitively,

[00:04:03] rather than relying on an external number.

[00:04:06] Do you want to start finding peace with food?

[00:04:09] Begin by listening to your body,

[00:04:11] rather than having your food choices dictated by the scale.

[00:04:15] Reason number three.

[00:04:16] Liberate yourself from a limiting mindset.

[00:04:20] Think about someone you love and adore.

[00:04:22] Does their weight play any part in how you feel about this person?

[00:04:27] Do your feelings for this person change based on their weight?

[00:04:31] I'm guessing your response would be,

[00:04:32] no way.

[00:04:34] Then why are things different when applied to yourself?

[00:04:37] Choosing self-compassion and kindness to yourself

[00:04:39] shouldn't be things that are determined based on your weight that day.

[00:04:43] Your thoughts about your body may change from one day to the next,

[00:04:46] but this doesn't mean your decision to follow through with self-care should waver.

[00:04:51] On your good and bad days,

[00:04:53] you are deserving of respect, compassion, and self-care.

[00:04:57] This includes meeting your basic needs with respect to how you eat and exercise.

[00:05:02] Reason number four.

[00:05:04] Find the freedom and space to focus on what really matters.

[00:05:08] Many of the individuals that I am privileged to work with

[00:05:11] are terrified to let go of their scales,

[00:05:14] mostly because it feels like losing control over something tangible.

[00:05:18] I completely get that.

[00:05:20] I also understand the freedom that comes with giving up a toxic aspect of your life.

[00:05:25] When you are no longer hindered by weighing yourself,

[00:05:28] and the choices in your life are not dictated by your scale,

[00:05:32] you will find that you do have more time, energy, and space

[00:05:36] to focus on things that really do matter.

[00:05:40] Reclaim the joy in your life by creating space to receive it.

[00:05:43] This happens when you let go of the things that are holding you back from truly living.

[00:05:48] And reason number five.

[00:05:50] Begin to understand your worth outside of a number.

[00:05:54] Numbers are tangible things to focus on.

[00:05:56] So naturally, weight becomes an easy way to measure success or even failure.

[00:06:03] But when we hyper-focus on it,

[00:06:05] points, calories, pounds, and all the like

[00:06:08] can easily become a way by which we define our worth.

[00:06:12] And this is where the danger lies.

[00:06:14] You may be stepping on the scale each morning to measure your worth.

[00:06:18] But subconsciously, you may be learning to define your value

[00:06:21] based on the numbers you see.

[00:06:23] This may be a conditioned behavior

[00:06:25] that has been reinforced over years of dieting

[00:06:28] or because you received praise and acceptance

[00:06:31] when you were at a certain weight.

[00:06:33] Your worth as a human being has nothing to do with your weight

[00:06:36] and you deserve love, respect, and acceptance

[00:06:40] regardless of what you weigh.

[00:06:42] So what are you waiting for?

[00:06:44] Say goodbye to measuring yourself by a futile standard

[00:06:47] and say hello to a life defined by self-love,

[00:06:51] compassion, respect, and kindness.

[00:06:54] Toss that scale.

[00:06:55] And don't look back.

[00:07:00] You just listened to the post titled

[00:07:02] Five Reasons You Need to Ditch Your Scale

[00:07:05] by Crystal Cargis of crystalcargis.com

[00:07:08] And I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:07:10] Überlass deine gesunde Ernährung und die Gains

[00:07:13] nicht nur deinem Bauchgefühl.

[00:07:14] Denn bei der Ernährung gaukelt uns unser innerer Schweinehund

[00:07:17] manchmal ganz schön was vor.

[00:07:19] Sag stattdessen Hallo zu deinem neuen Coach,

[00:07:22] Yasio.

[00:07:22] Yasio ist die meistgenutzte Ernährungs-App Europas,

[00:07:26] made in Germany.

[00:07:27] Egal ob Massephase oder ein bisschen abnehmen,

[00:07:29] tracke Kalorien, Proteine, Carbs, Fette, Bewegung

[00:07:32] und Intervallfasten.

[00:07:34] Und mit den Tasty-Rezepten bist du ready für deine Ziele.

[00:07:37] Let's go.

[00:07:38] Lade die Yasio-App jetzt herunter.

[00:07:40] Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:07:43] I loved it when she said that our body weight

[00:07:45] is a number that changes all the time.

[00:07:47] And this change may not have anything to do

[00:07:49] with how or what you eat.

[00:07:51] So perfectly said.

[00:07:53] And Crystal's main point is correct.

[00:07:56] If we hyper-focus on our body weight

[00:07:58] and use that as our only measure of success,

[00:08:01] we may be setting ourselves up for failure.

[00:08:05] How do we define success with our health and fitness goals?

[00:08:08] Is it our body weight?

[00:08:09] Hopefully that's not the only measure of success.

[00:08:12] Achieving a certain body weight

[00:08:14] should not be our only why

[00:08:16] for eating more nutritiously and staying active.

[00:08:19] And research seems to support this idea.

[00:08:22] Psychologists have found that

[00:08:23] when we have a deeper meaning

[00:08:25] behind why we perform certain behaviors,

[00:08:27] we're more likely to stick to them,

[00:08:30] especially when times get tough.

[00:08:32] And when it comes to weighing ourselves,

[00:08:34] researchers have found that

[00:08:36] weighing ourselves too often

[00:08:37] can be counterproductive.

[00:08:39] If we are hyper-focused on that number on the scale,

[00:08:42] just as Crystal described,

[00:08:44] it can be damaging.

[00:08:45] It may also discourage and derail us

[00:08:48] on our path to reaching our goals.

[00:08:50] But if you find that

[00:08:51] when you look at that number on the scale,

[00:08:54] it makes or breaks you,

[00:08:55] then it may be time to ditch the scale for a while.

[00:08:59] All right, that'll do it for the Saturday episode.

[00:09:01] Thank you so much for being here.

[00:09:03] I hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend.

[00:09:05] Oh yeah, and I'll be back here tomorrow as usual

[00:09:08] where your optimal life awaits.