Can your success, and your happiness, be measured by a piece of measuring tape, or a number on a scale? Can your accomplishments become greater or lesser by numbers on a piece of paper? I love my job and honestly believe I'm incredibly lucky to have found work in an industry I'm so passionate about, but there is one aspect that challenges my beliefs; it's the "weigh-in" and "measurement" time!
I create workout programs for a living; it's my job to help people learn how to exercise, and hopefully how to love it too! But becoming fitter and healthier, and adopting a new lifestyle that will help one live better for longer, just doesn't seem to be enough for some people! Instead of measuring success by how one feels, and how much they're able to accomplish, they use measurements and numbers on a scale to decide if they should be proud of themselves or not. Working out is thought of as a means to getting into a smaller pair of pants, rather than a way to meet new people, have more energy, relieve stress, become (or remain) independent, and generally live better!
Exercising has a whole WACK of benefits!! But by encouraging constant weigh-ins and regularly, and sometimes obsessively, measuring ourselves, we attach this idea that exercise is just suppose to shrink our bodies, and if they aren't shrinking we are wasting our time. The shrinking happens naturally if it needs to, and it takes time, but the other benefits of exercise are immediate! So why do we put so much focus on weight? Well, it's safe to say that we're living in a world that promotes the idea that skinny equals happy. Well, if that theory is correct, why are so many thin people unhappy? Shouldn't all the skinnies be walking around with big smiles on their faces all the time? Shouldn't I have been happier when I was thinner two years ago than I am now?
The honest truth is being skinny won't make you happier. That might hurt to hear right now, but soon you'll learn that it's a great thing because it means even if you're not the size you want to be, you can still be happy! Allow yourself to be enjoy life now rather than waiting until you fit into the next size down! Life is too short to put off happiness.
The pressure to be thin is too large. I have been underweight, overweight, and just right. Let me tell ya, the happiest I have been is when I stopped weighing myself! I live balanced. I love food and eat healthy at least 80% of the time, and when I indulge I don't beat up on myself. I love to workout and I love to relax and have a day off too! I enjoy myself, as often as possible. I don't weigh or measure myself because I don't believe I should have to! Should that number on the scale have the power to make me feel better or worse about myself? No, it should not!
I understand that there are people out there who need to lose weight for health reasons, and that checking their weight and doing measurements is important to monitor their health, but that's for extreme cases! I've watched people go through amazing transformations in my line of work. I've seen people start off shy and unsure of themselves, only to become confident, strong, and powerful! I've seen people do things they never thought they could do and seen them light right up with complete and utter happiness! Then...the dreaded weigh-in happened. They didn't see the number they had in their head as "acceptable" and left feeling discouraged. Talk about heartbreaking!
I want you to stop weighing yourself. I want you to stop focusing on numbers. Workout because it's good for you in a million ways! Eat right because you will feel better! Be happy right now, because life is too short to put it off.
