Valecia Weeks is licensed through the state of Texas as a therapeutic massage therapist who specializes in providing on-site chair massage for corporations and events. She currently provides massage for such organizations as the Houston Ballet and Houston Methodist Hospital. Valecia is also a certified personal trainer with NESTA, as well as a licensed ZUMBA instructor.
At times, ladies, we trust the advice of a metal scale over the fact that our favorite pair of jeans are now fitting just a little more loosely. How many times have you hopped on the mighty scale with the highest level of excitement in anticipation that the scale will tell you what you want to hear? But instead, you are disappointed by the lying numbers that are staring back at you. Suddenly, that great big dose of accomplishment you had prior to stepping on the scale suddenly flies out of the nearest window, and at that point you do the whole self talk thing telling yourself what a failure you are. “I’ve tried everything under the sun, and I just can’t seem to lose weight.” Does this whole scenario sound familiar?
It is very true that a scale can be a great tool for measuring your fitness progress, but the fact is that it shouldn’t be your only indicator of health and change. In fact, having the scale as your only form of measurement can cause you to become obsessed with the advice of the mighty scale. This is not good!!!! Ladies, if you weight yourself daily or even multiple times a day, the idea of breaking the habit of using the scale can be scary. But I can almost guarantee you that once you do, you will be much happier, have a healthier self-image, and begin to love your body the way she deserves to be loved. If weaning yourself from the scale abruptly is horrifying and appears potentially impossible, follow this multi-step plan and break away from the scale before you know it.
- Out of sight…out of mind: Store the scale out of sight. Most scales are kept on the bathroom floor, making it one of the first things we see in the morning. I’ll bet when you are stumbling to the early morning run for the bathroom, out of habit, you stumble on it to see how many pounds were lost during the labor of sleeping. Ladies, please place this “thing” under the bed or in a closet. Get it out of your everyday sight. When it is out of sight, you will be less likely to be tempted to hop on it as frequently.
- Start a new ritual: Old habits are hard to break. Because it may be a struggle to break the habit of getting up and not weighing yourself, treat yourself to a pick-me-up. Turn on your electronic device and start your morning to a high-energy song to get yourself going. Reading your goals out loud every morning will remind you that you are on the right track to success. Be your own best cheerleader and give yourself a short pep talk that stays with you throughout the day.
- Pat your own self on the back: Out with the old and in with the new. Now that you have broken the old habit of getting on the scale daily, begin to close each day with a big dose of positive reflection. End each night with a pen and paper, writing down at least one accomplishment that happened for you that day. That will help put things into perspective and help you see that a minor slip up here or a missed workout there will not end the world.
Once you feel that you have truly broken from the habit of the dependence on the mighty scale, and your weight hasn’t affected your feelings about your body, put the scale away and keep up with the above steps. Then try to weigh yourself weekly. If the obsession creeps back, repeat the steps that I listed until you have broken free for good!
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