Should I Stop Weighing Myself? Why Weighing Yourself Might Make Things Worse Not Better
By Katherine Metzelaar, MSN, RDN, CD
The advice is usually the same: weighing yourself helps to “keep you on track” and helps you to ”meet your goals.”
This is often accompanied by a litany of disordered things you can do to help get the “most accurate” weight measurement, which I won’t mention here, but you know what they are.
But the reality is, weighing yourself on a scale always makes things worse, if not in the short term, most certainly in the long term.
And if you are reading this right now, I know that you are tired of weighing yourself. In fact you are exhausted.
You are tired of the scale dictating the course of your day and how you move through this world. You are tired of being a slave to the scale. You are tired of the scale being such a significant part of your life, but you cannot seem to shake it.
The scale keeps calling your name and you continue to notice yourself, once again, standing on it, searching for meaning.
So I want you to first consider this:
You have spent days, months and years weighing yourself, tracking the ups and downs. You have agonized over what the weight change means, searching for the “why.”
You have spent money on apps and personal trainers and other practitioners that have used the scale and your weight as a way to “show your progress.”
You have punished yourself endlessly for changes on that scale through overexercising and controlling your food intake.
You have spent your whole life in pursuit of a made up number that you were told will make you happy, healthy, loved and desired.
But have you ever stopped to ask yourself, “what is it that I AM ACTUALLY looking for when I weigh MYSELF? Is it validation? Punishment? An attempt to ease anxiety? A distraction? Hope for a different present/past/future? What is it that I am searching for?”
Although the act of weighing yourself may seem straight forward, it’s actually more complex than it presents. Because weighing yourself is usually an attempt to experience or relieve feelings (anxious, sad, afraid, anguish, etc.) that are overwhelming or uncomfortable, it can be helpful to understand and get curious about your relationship with the scale and weighing yourself.
More than anything though, I know that deep down in inside you know that it’s never going to be enough. I know that you want to stop endlessly searching for validation in the number on the scale because you know it will never offer that.
So, don’t loose hope. You will get there.
You will not be where you are for forever. You get to choose to live a life in which your sense of self worth is not based on a number.
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Do you want to move away from seeing your worth in your weight?
The caring dietitians from our Seattle, WA-based nutrition counseling practice would be honored to help you heal your relationship to food, body, and the scale. We offer a variety of services including support for eating disorders, body image, intuitive eating, Bulimia treatment, Anorexia treatment, and chronic dieting. We also offer a body image support group. For more information, please feel free to visit our blog, FAQ, resources page, or contact us now!