In my opinion, scales are a silly thing. Yes, they do serve a purpose at times, for some people, but for me personally, I don’t feel the need to go near them. Many of us feel that scales define us. Whatever number flashes up at our feet, that calculates our worth, or so we think it does, but it couldn’t be more incorrect. I used to weigh myself before every meal, believing that if the number was higher than what I wanted, I would eat restrictively, and if it was lower than I wanted, I would allow myself to eat a bit more freely. To the person I am today, this makes absolutely no sense. Why did I let a digit on a machine tell me what I should I do. These numbers meant so much to me. So much so, that it would govern my mood for the entire day. I craved the feeling I got when the numbers were dropping. It was almost as though I had detached the number from my body. I didn’t equate that the lower the number the more weight I was losing, I just wanted to see this digit drop. It was such an irrational way of thinking. Today, I can hand on heart say, I haven’t stepped on a set of scales for over 3 years! I could if I wanted to, but I really don’t want to. It doesn’t offer anything beneficial to me. I eat when I am hungry and stop when I am full. I feel strong when I am training, and I am healthy. Why does it matter what number this equates to? However I look and whatever I weigh is irrelevant, how I am is naturally taken care of by having a good relationship with food. Don’t overweigh.
If you start weighing yourself, all I would say is, set yourself a strict guideline of only doing it once a week. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself doing it every day. The fact I would do it before each meal to see how much I was ‘allowed’ to eat is ridiculous. I didn’t have to earn my food according to what number was on the scales in front of me, but this is what I believed. Once you start weighing yourself, it can be difficult to control how often you step on the scales, so be careful not to let yourself get carried away. In the current climate. In the current climate, when we are all at home, there can be an increased temptation to step on the scales. We are not sure how we are performing as there are no races and we can convince ourselves our weight is affecting how we are running. We may find ourselves worrying more about our weight because we are more sedentary. We might feel an increased sense of anxiety and uncertainty, which might cause us to fall into bad habits. Plus, ultimately, the scales are just up the stairs. However, try to be strong and avoid getting on the scales unnecessarily. The majority of us athletes won’t need or want to step on the scales. If you don’t want to but find yourself struggling to control the urge to check your weight, I suggest locking the scales away somewhere out of reach. Whether that be in the garage or at the back of a cupboard. It won’t benefit you to know what you weigh, so don’t sanction yourself to doing something that will only make you unhappy. So, if you find yourself about to step on the scales, think, do you really need to? Is it truly serving a purpose? And when did you last step on them? We aren’t defined by the number on the scales.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Hannah IrwinI love to run and I love to write, so I write about running! Archives
March 2023
Categories |