Grade School Weigh-Ins
/When I was in grade school, once a year the teacher would march the students to the nurse's office to be weighed. As we sat cross-legged on the floor, one by one each kid stepped on the scale in front of the class. I can still feel how my face burned with shame when the nurse called out my weight to be recorded by her assistant.
Sadly, my young mind was already attaching my self-worth, attractiveness and popularity to the number on the scale. I was hugely relieved when they started offering private weigh-ins enabling me to escape the public humiliation of weighing more than my twiggy friends.
A Love/Hate Relationship
Those annual weigh-ins are my earliest memory of what would become a love/hate relationship with the scale. For decades, every morning and sometimes multiple times a day, I would step on the scale and allow it to dictate how I felt and treated myself. If the number was low, I was high. If the number was high, I was low.
A "bad" number sent me into the land of self-attack, self-loathing, calorie slashing, punishing exercise and social withdrawal. All my energy went toward changing that number. I let a piece of junk and some arbitrary digits rule my life.
Sound familiar?
A Liberating Breakup
A few years ago, after finally realizing how abusive yet addictive this relationship was, I broke up with the scale. Instead of weighing myself, I started tuning into how I felt in my body. I ceased allowing the scale to dictate my mood, worth, attractiveness and lovability.
Dumping the scale has been extremely empowering and liberating. I'm immensely more connected to my body and much happier in my own skin.
Step into Innate Body Wisdom
Are you a slave to the scale?
Or do you rely on other external sources (e.g., your jean size, calorie counters, miles jogged, people's opinion) for the answers, for validation, to tell you how you should feel about yourself? If you do, try instead turning inward and checking in with your innate body wisdom.
Rather than stepping on the scale, step into your heart and ask yourself, "How do I feel in my body today? Do I feel healthy, nourished, grounded, strong, serene?"
Use your body's feedback--not something or someone else's input--to empower and guide you toward a vibrant, healthy, joyful and authentic life.
