Dear Scale, It’s Not Me, It’s You

If you’ve got an unhealthy relationship with the scale, the only way to get back to a good place is to ditch it altogether. Donate it to Goodwill, recycle it or take it out back and give it a proper beat-down, Because the sooner you ditch the idea that the scale is your ultimate measure of success, the healthier and happier you’ll be.

Scale weigh fluctuates 
It’s good to measure things and to track progress.  If you would weigh once a month, that would help you to spot a trend in your body weight (gaining, losing or maintaining). But over the course of a day your weight can fluctuate by as many as five pounds – sometimes more. The food and drink you intake, time of day, dietary choices and activity levels all factor into that number on the dial. And we won't count clothes. You can lose two pounds just by going to the bathroom – and gain it right back by eating a big meal.

Doesn't say anything about your health

The number on the scale doesn't say anything about whether you are moving in the right direction of getting healthy.  If you eat clean and count your calories, and exercise, that will help you to lose weight.  Don't let your willpower run out!  It will mess up you metabolism, and then you gain all the weight back and then some.   

Blinds your real results

By giving your attention on that number in the scale, you effectively miss out on observing the other, more significant, results of your efforts. You’re sleeping better, have more energy, are less moody or depressed. Your cravings have dissipated, you recover faster from exercise, your symptoms or medical condition have greatly improved. And yet, your program is a “failure,” because the number on the scale hasn't moved enough for your liking?

Keeps us stuck on Food

You associate that number on the scale with one major factor – food.  Maybe exercise factors in too – after all, if you ate less (or differently) and exercised more (or differently), that number would start to move. Wouldn't it? Not so fast. There are other health factors at play here – sleep, recovery from activity, psychological stress and health history – all of which play a major role in body composition. But no one looks at the scale and thinks, “Darn it – I need to get more sleep.”

The scale controls our self-esteem

This is perhaps the most important reason of all to break up with your scale. It’s psychologically unhealthy to allow a number – any number – to determine your worth, your value or your self-image. And yet, that’s exactly what happens to people who are overly invested in their scale. It’s tragic that your daily weigh-in determines whether you have a good day or  bad day, or whether or not you feel good about yourself. The scale results can take you from confident to self-loathing in under 5 seconds, but what the scale is telling you is not real.

Clean Eating Doesn't Have To Be Bland

Let's face it, we want our food to taste good.  If we don't like it we won't stick with it, and no one wants to eat something that taste like cardboard. Hopefully you are eating lean proteins, different vegetables and clean carbohydrates, and you are getting the maximum results from your workouts by feeding your body clean foods.  A lot of people view clean eating as a flavorless and bland way of eating, and they end up going back to eating food that they think taste better, but isn't clean.   You can live on clean foods as a lifestyle change and enjoy it.

So what are some things you can do the add flavor to your clean foods?  There are hundreds of ways, so don't shy away from experimenting a bit to see what you like best.  The key is to read food labels when you choose condiments and flavorings, and choose low/sodium, low/zero calories, and no sugar.  You can choose clean and sugar free on most.  Walden Farms makes several calorie and sugar free options.  Just make sure it is not artificial flavorings and artificial sweeteners.  Stay away from anything that says high fructose corn syrup,  sugar, sucralose (or anything with -ose at the end) and/or cane sugar.  You can have everything healthy for your meal and then add the ketchup loaded with sugar, and there goes your healthy meal. The good news is there are ways to make your own clean recipes.  If you have a Pinterest account, you have access to a whole world of recipes.

To give a lot of flavor to your proteins, you can sprinkle whatever flavor you are in the mood for on your meat, wrap it up put in the fridge for a while before cooking, to allow the flavor to soak up.  For example you could use Frank's Buffalo sauce, which is calorie free, but gives that spicy buffalo chicken wing flavor.  Fish you could use fresh dill and lemon combo, or just lemon pepper.  The important thing is what works for you.

Vegetables, you can add Mrs. Dash they have many flavors now that give a great flavor without sodium!  With all the different flavors you can keep boredom at bay.

What about carbohydrates?  Oatmeal becomes a tasty breakfast with a little cinnamon and fruit.  For sweeteners you can choose Stevia or Truvia.  You can also use it on your sweet potatoes.

Experiment with flavors.  We have so many healthier options available now, that your food never has to taste dull or bland again.  Keep it flavorful and you'll stay much more satisfied and healthy, to keep those unhealthy cravings away!

I would love to hear what you do to flavor your clean eating and what some of your favorites are.

Encourage Someone Today

We all have insecurities. Insecurity wants to go out like a wildfire and devour as many people as it can. Sometimes when we can't come to terms with our own limitations, we try project those onto others, by shaming them, or nay-saying or simply withdrawing our friendship. Let's lift each other up and encourage on another to excel and achieve their goals. Sometimes all anyone needs to hear is "You can do it"