SEE SUCCESS BEYOND THE SCALE

EVEN THOUGH WE know better, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that how much we weigh is the main measure of progress and success in our health journey. For that reason, it’s not surprising that many people become overly fixated on the number on the scale.

Calling bullshit on this outdated idea is one of the first things I cover with my clients. While being at a healthy weight for your body is an appropriate goal, overall wellness is about so much more than your body mass index (BMI)—a body size measurement that takes into account your weight and height. Weight is just one component of a much larger picture—you also want to consider your energy and strength, as well as your mental and emotional state, how much stress and anxiety you feel, and how you handle it. Being above your ideal weight does not necessarily mean you’re unhealthy, and it sure as hell doesn’t mean you’re not beautiful or worthy of love and happiness.

There is a lot of societal pressure to fit into very narrow beauty ideals. For example, there is a lot of pressure on women and female-identifying individuals to be as small as possible. For men, there’s also a lot of emphasis placed on being in shape and to have very low body fat relative to muscle mass. Eating disorders among men have been on the rise in recent years. However, weight loss doesn’t have to be a part of a healthy living plan. For example, even if you eventually want to lose a few pounds but are struggling with stress eating, maybe your priority is to get a handle on what’s stressing you out first before you feel ready to start thinking about weight. Or maybe you’re comfortable at your weight but want to have more energy and start making food choices that support that goal.

Just as an FYI, though, if you’re tracking your weight as part of your health plan, the best time to do it is first thing in the morning, right after you’ve used the bathroom, and without any clothes on. This will give you the most accurate number. It’s also a good idea to use the same scale every time, as there can be discrepancies from one to the other. That’s also why weighing yourself on vacation won’t really tell you much.

Here are a few tips that have helped my clients dial down the drama around the numbers on the scale.

Inches

If numbers are helpful, consider tracking changes in your measurements rather than simply your weight. This can be really easy if you’re incorporating exercise into your routine. Because muscle weighs more than fat, it’s not uncommon to see the number on the scale stay the same or even go up as you build more muscle, even if you’re seeing changes in your body composition and losing inches from your midsection, hips, thighs, and so on.

Depending on the types of exercise you do, you may notice that certain areas like your arms get bigger and more defined, but if you’re someone who gets upset by higher numbers, skip that one. This is a good thing to measure at longer intervals, such as monthly or quarterly.

Body Fat Percentage

Speaking of body composition, a great measure of progress is changes in your body fat percentage. You might have memories of a little pincher caliper thing your Phys. Ed. teacher demo-ed in gym class back in the day, but now you can easily purchase a digital scale that measures body composition. This is another good one to track monthly or quarterly, especially if your goal is to decrease your body fat as you build lean muscle.

A Piece of Clothing

Pretty much everyone has an item of clothing in their closet that feels like an accurate measure of where they’re at with their weight and fitness goals—I like to call them “honesty pants” (you know the pair I’m talking about), but you could also use a shirt, a dress, or something else. Someone on a weight-loss journey might choose to hang on to an item of clothing in the largest size they own and occasionally try it on to remind themselves of how far they’ve come. You can use this method as frequently or infrequently as feels helpful to you, but note that you’ll notice more pronounced changes when you have longer intervals.

Fitness Progress

Some people can find it incredibly motivating to note changes in things like the amount of weight they can lift, the number of miles they can comfortably walk, or the amount of time they can shave off their usual run. An app or journal can be a useful tool to help you track progress over time.

Your Energy Levels

It’s important to pay attention to changes in your energy level. Pick a specific time (or times) of day and, using a 1-10 scale, check in with yourself. While you could do this daily, you could also do it weekly or monthly if preferred. Again, you can track your results using a journal or an app. However you do it, chances are, over time, you’ll notice some patterns.

Your Connection to Your Body

This is a big one for people who struggle with things like compulsive or mindless eating, or who have a tendency to numb out and lose connection with how they’re feeling in their body during times of stress. Noting how in touch you are with things like your hunger and fullness cues, your perception of pain (something we may tune out when we’re in that fight-or-flight mode), and your awareness of how your body responds to different activities can tell you a lot about how far you’ve come in learning how to shift your own energy. A few ways to work this into your routine: Mindful-ness practices like meditation, things like putting your fork down between bites, or doing check-ins with yourself at regular intervals to see what sensations you’re feeling and what they’re telling you.

Your Stress and Anxiety Levels

Similar to our energy levels, our perception of how stressed or anxious we feel can tell us so much about our progress and clue us in to what sets us off and why. A scale or other method of documenting your stress levels can be helpful in tracking progress over time. That said, if there are certain situations you know you struggle with, those can be a good benchmark. For me, technology issues have, at times, sent me into a tailspin—I know I’m in a good place when something goes wrong and I can just calmly deal with it rather than have a meltdown.