I have been so guilty of this, trying to survive on little more than a latte, a few nuts, a chocolate bar and a small sandwich over one busy Christmas period. I got down to my lowest weight ever! I was still fairly healthy and looked pretty good but here’s the thing: I was not functioning. My brain was all over the place, I was emotionally drained and I had zero stamina. And for what? So I could get a little buzz in the morning when I saw those numbers drop just a little bit more. Alternatively, I felt crushed and depressed on days when normal fluctuations in my weight caused it to read above what I considered to be acceptable. It all started getting a bit out of control, so what did I do?

 

I stopped weighing myself. Completely. 

 

I went from obsessively checking the scales, often twice a day, to not stepping foot on one in almost a year. And you know what happened? 

 

I got happier. 

 

I didn’t stop trying to make progress but I stopped letting a fairly arbitrary number dictate how I felt about myself. I started weight training and eating more protein. I gained weight, I later discovered, but my body measurements didn’t change. My stomach was flat, my skin was glowing and I was healthy - no matter what the scales said. Muscle weighs more than fat, that is to say that a kilo of muscle takes up a physically smaller amount of space in your body than a kilo of fat, so you will look smaller even if you’re heavier.

 

So here is a piece of advice for all you avid dieters out there: Stop weighing yourself. It sounds crazy right? How are you supposed to know if you’re making progress if you don’t have a way to measure it? Well, what if I told you there are better ways to measure fitness? 

 

• Your bust, waist and hip measurements will let you know what shape you’re in.

• You will feel healthier and happier if you eat the food your body needs.

• You will get stronger and faster if you train correctly.

• Your clothes will either fit better or they won’t.

• Your naked body will tell you everything.

 

These are the ways I measure how far I’ve come now. Some people might like to use a series of ‘before and after’ photos to measure their progress as well. The important thing to remember is that the number is just a number and your body is designed to do so much more than just ‘lose weight’.

 

When did a specific number start to matter anyway? Don’t we all just want to look good in our clothes… and out of them? 

 

Let’s talk about other ways we can change this obsession with weight. Chat to us in the comments!