Enemy noun \ˈe-nə-mē\
- something harmful or deadly
- one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent
When we usually think of an enemy we think of a person. Someone who stole your boyfriend in high school, the mean college professor that handed out F’s like candy, the co-worker who stole your ideas and took them as your own or the most obvious an enemy in war. I think we all have had someone that we regarded as an enemy. In my case, my longest enemy has been …the scale.
From as far back as I can remember the scale has been part of my life. When I had cancer the scale told me I was too thin and need to gain weight, when I was in college it told me that I was too fat and needed to lose and when I was pregnant with my kids it told me that I needed to slow down on the Dairy Queen. It’s not that the scale is necessarily an evil device but the obsession with a single number is the issue.
My relationship with the scale has even gotten worse during my years as a trainer. A client might have ran a 5k for the first time or did 20 pushups when before they could barely do 5 but if that number on the scale isn’t what they expected to see they could care less about any other progress made.
It’s ridiculous.
Look at the picture that has been floating around the internet. This picture is EXACTLY why the number on the scale doesn’t matter!
You think that woman cares that she is the same weight in the before and after picture? Heck no!!!
There are so many other ways to measure one’s progress while on the road to becoming more healthy. Some of these include:
- Measurements (inches lost)
- Progress photos(before and current)
- Body fat analysis
- Clothing fit (smaller size or looser fit)
- Fitness testing (How long it took to run or walk a certain distance)
There is no need to let a useless number on the scale ruin your day. NOTHING in life should have that effect on you. If you do feel the need to obsess over a number, make it be the number of push-ups you can do!