Ways to Honor Your Health Outside of the Scale
Diet culture has been in full swing the past few years, and it’s often hard to escape. We have all heard that being a smaller size is healthier, and we are being fed the narrative that in order to feel confident within ourselves that we need to weigh as little as possible. We’re here to tell you that you should not be basing your health on your weight alone, and instead, there are other ways to feel healthy that do not involve your weight. So let’s talk about them!
What you’re doing
You can monitor your health by how you are treating your body and what type of routine you have developed. For example, you can feel healthy by purchasing and cooking nutritious food on a regular basis. Or, maybe you are meal prepping on the weekends to have balanced meals for yourself throughout the week. Likewise, you are honoring your health if you establish a consistent workout routine or are physically active on the daily. Living a healthy lifestyle is less about how much you weigh, and more about a balanced routine that makes you feel healthy on a daily basis. Reflect on this: what do you do daily to honor your health? How do you take care of yourself?
How you feel
Instead of focusing on what the number on the scale says, be more in tune with how your body is feeling after establishing a balanced routine as discussed previously. If you are feeling less tired, more motivated and more energized, this is a great indicator of health! Another way is if you feel in tune with your body’s hunger and fullness cues, and are able to listen to your body when it comes to food, exercise, and rest. Reflect on this: how are your energy levels each day?
What has changed
After creating positive lifestyle changes, focus on what other positive changes have come from that. For example, think about how you’re performing in the gym. If you enjoy lifting weights, maybe you are lifting more than you were in the past. Or, if you like to do more cardio, maybe you are walking/running/biking longer distances than you would have been able to previously. Another thing you can notice is how your clothes are fitting. Namely, if you are attempting to lose weight, and you haven’t lost as much as you’d like, take note of how your clothes are fitting instead of looking at the scale. It’s common to not see a large change on the scale, yet your body composition has changed. So, if your clothes are fitting looser than they were before, use that as a sign of good health and/or weight loss as opposed to the scale. Changes like this can help you notice the positive effects of the healthy lifestyle you are now living.
We understand that it can be difficult not to focus on the number you see on scale. If you’re wanting to ditch the diet mentality, delete calorie counting and tracking apps for good, and form a healthy relationship with food, check out our 4-week self-paced course here.
This article was written by Emma Bulan, nutrition intern. Fact checked by Allison Tallman, RD.