When the Scale is on the Rise

“The scale is merely a measure of my relationship with gravity.”– Lauren Harris-Pincus

“Don’t work out because you hate your body — work out because you love it.”– Author Unknown

“My weight does not determine my worth.”– Kristin Oja

"Weight loss is not the key to your dreams. The truth is there is no lock and the door is flimsy." - Golda Poretsky

So much of gym and diet culture is about telling us how we should be. What we should look like. How we should feel about ourselves when we look one way or another. What workout we should do for certain results.

At what point in life do we stop thinking for ourselves and decide to listen to these voices that tell us we're not good enough just the way we are?

For the last 15 years I have worked within the health and wellness industry. Working on myself, physically and mentally. Not wanting to be skinny, but certainly healthier, trimmer, leaner, and a smaller size and weight than I started.

Lately, the scale has been going up.

I'm simultaneously dismayed and apathetic. It's hard to stop the incline and affect change with an apathetic feeling. I don't want to live by the scale. I don't feel it defines me, and don't want it to.

But

I do want my clothes to fit. I do want to be strong enough to move my frame without exhaustion. I do want to know that I am nourishing my body with the nutrients it needs to function well and not just easy to reach comfort foods.

I believe one CAN love oneself and love their body and still want to work to change themselves. They are not exclusive thoughts or actions.

How will I change? I'm not sure, but it will start when I can define the goal I want to achieve.

Comments

Time is Relative

Time management "the process of planning and exercising conscious control of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity. Wikipedia " For years, I've been congratulated on my organizational skills, on my ability to get things done, to use my time and resources so well as to stand out from the crowd. I feel like it's always a house of cards. Balancing efficiency with laziness so as to get things done while doing it without a lot of effort. That balance can only take you so far. Especially if you decide you want to go further, push out of your comfort zone. "Work smarter, not harder" But what if you already do? To do more still feels harder and off balance since it's still fights against the previous plan. So how do you change? How do you find a NEW balance, or your first go? Take action. Seriously. Focusing on the planning will stop you before you go. It can overwhelm and be the crut...

Fitness is NOT One-Size-Fits-All

In my workout today the trainer said "Focus on the weight you lift, not on the weight you lose" Read that again. So often we start workout programs to lose weight and to be a smaller size. What if we flipped the script and challenged the societal expectations and did it because it makes us feel: - strong - empowered - happy - sane I want to be able to lift and carry my children for as long as they ask! I may not always say yes, but I don't want my no to be because I CAN'T! Focusing on the act and the benefits of the moment can really help shift your mind from a result. Live in the journey, not for the destination.

Love Your Body TODAY

The thing is, no matter how much you workout, change your eating habits, or change your clothes. If you can't find a way to love yourself and your body for what it is, and what it has done for you, TODAY you'll never be satisfied tomorrow. Let's think on this. You put in months (maybe years) of effort. Restriction diets, hours in the gym, likely doing things you don't necessarily enjoy, but because you're told it's what you "should" do to lose weight, look a certain way, love who you are. You are miserable, mentally, and looking at yourself in the mirror all you see are the flaws, the imperfections, the areas that still need "improvement". There is never an end, never the congratulations, never a feeling of love or appreciation for yourself. Sound familiar? What we need to do as individuals, and frankly as a society, is to flip the script. Speak words out loud of appreciation and love for our body and what it can do and has done for us....

Fab Fit Shannon

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