LETTING go of the scales is one of the major things people struggle with on the Slimpod programme. For many, weighing is an obsession. And for some, it’s an addiction.
The scales can be your friend or your foe. They can help keep you accountable or they can do the opposite by throwing you completely off track and sending you into an emotional spin.
If they hold you accountable then that’s fabulous. If there’s no emotion attached to them whatsoever, then happy days!
BUT in my many years of experience, I don’t see them as a hugely-helpful weight loss tool. In fact, I would say they cause so many psychological issues that they’re the reason so many people self-sabotage.
Daily weighing can lead to increased emotional eating and can damage your self-esteem.
A study in 2015 which tracked participants over 10 years showed that self-weighing is associated with increased weight concerns and depression.
The study also showed a decrease in body satisfaction and self-esteem over the 10 years, especially for the women in the study.
If you’re an emotional eater, weighing yourself can be one of the most effective ways to feel really bad about yourself.
When that number is not the one you were hoping for it doesn’t help with anything.
In fact, it can have very serious emotional consequences. That’s how much power we give to the scales.
If you’ve been a long-time emotional eater, the scales are not your friend!
In fact, there’s no real reason to weigh yourself at all.
Your weight can’t tell you anything about the nutrient density of the food you eat and its effect on your body.
Unless you have a body composition scale, it doesn’t tell you how much muscle you have versus how much fat.
And it certainly doesn’t tell you anything positive about your relationship with yourself, especially when you’re an emotional eater.
We all know what it’s like! If the number’s gone down, you feel great about yourself.
But when it’s up – and especially if it’s a big number – your mood plummets, your drive for self-care fades and self-compassion is nowhere in sight.
But here’s the thing! If you break the terrible power the scales have over you, you can become more engaged in your relationship with your body and work together – rather than seeing food as the enemy and the body as the battleground.
We all know the power of Slimpod is that it helps you to start trusting yourself to make the right decisions for your health and wellbeing so you don’t need external sources like diet companies to tell you how to eat.
If you want a better relationship with food and your body, turn away from the external validation the scales give you and turn toward trusting yourself.
This is the way out of negative body image, low self-esteem and all the emotional eating that brings.
What needs to happen is you develop an internal confidence that you are making the right choices every day which will lead to your goal. When you have this internal confidence, you never need the scales again!
But when you’ve become reliant on the external verification of daily weighing…
How do you break the habit/addiction?
How do you wean yourself off?
How easy is letting go of the scales?
Here’s five tips – and I’m doing a deep dive into this during my live this Thursday on the Slimpod public Facebook page:
ONE: Out of sight out of mind! Put the scales somewhere you’re not seeing them every day. This will really help. If they’re currently in your bedroom – put it them in another room or in a cupboard!
TWO: If you’re someone who weighs every day, wean yourself off in baby steps and consciously make a decision to weigh every second day. Then once a week – then once a month.
THREE: Have it as one of your goals that you’ll trust yourself and chalk it up as a win every time you go a day or week without weighing.
FOUR: Use your clothes as your guide, or a measuring tape or a ribbon.
FIVE: If the scales keep you accountable and you have absolutely no emotional reaction, then that’s fine – keep using them to help you succeed.
One last thing…if you’re new to the Slimpod programme, then take it easy. Weighing has been a habit for a long time and you may need it as a psychological safety net to start with before you can be free to trust yourself and go it alone!
Let me know below if the scales are your friend or foe. Are you letting go of the scales?
Join me on Thursday November 19 at 7.30pm UK time on our public Facebook page and I’ll do a deep dive into letting go of the scales and all of the above!
11 thoughts on “Letting go of the scales will help you to conquer emotional eating”
I’m obsessed with the scales I weigh morning and night have done for a very long time I can’t seem to get out of the habit looking forward to Thursday so I can get some help.
I have been a long time on off member of SW & feel the need to weigh every morning. I find that I am elated if I lose but if I don’t fall apart if I gain, it does make me feel more determined . I know I shouldn’t weigh every day but I can’t seem to stop myself so I suppose you could say I have an addiction. What advice do you have?.
I have ditched the scales, but my eating has gone nuts as Inthink I must feel that I am not accountable. I have either been on a diet or bingeing for so long, I think it’s going to take a long time and several resets before Slimpod works for me
With every diet I’ve been on I’ve always been obsessed with weighing usually resulting in me giving up when the scales didn’t match what was in my head. Since slimpod I still weigh, weekly but I really am not bothered any more if it shows a gain or stays the same , it doesn’t destroy me any more and I just carry on, I’m losing weight slowly and happily WITHOUT dieting so win win !!
I find the scales motivational and they hold me accountable as I am very good at fibbing to myself about what I eat/drink. I weigh every 8-10 days and weigh 2 days in a row to try and get a balanced read that can account for big ups/downs. In between I take the batteries out of the scales 🙂 Since I have been more active thanks to Slimpod, I find there is a direct correlation between my weight and my movement/food/drink – this might sound obvious, but before Slimpod I was in a horrible menopause world of gaining regardless of what I ate/drank. Movement has been the key for me and the things I do, almost anyone can do.
Long time SW member and along with weekly weigh ins, I used to weigh most days at home. Bargaining with myself that if I had lost, I could treat myself. If I had gained I would feel a failure and eat to feel better. Now I weigh once a month and after Christmas will weigh every 3 months. I don’t worry about the number, I can see my clothes fitting better and I feel better. After all, no one looks at anyone else and says ‘wow, she looks good in that dress, she must weigh 10 stone” Other people just see how you – not how a number defines you.
Scales can definitely become addictive I always used to weigh when I had showered and was naked now I get dressed quickly because there’s no point of weighing with a load of clothes on
The scales don’t bother me, I can take them or leave them. Seeing them in my bathroom doesn’t bother me too.
I used to weigh every day, and it was a real roller coaster, but since Slimpod only weigh occasionally and try and concentrate on a healthy diet. When I do weigh I sometimes get a nice surprise!
Sorry scales are my friend which i only use once a week. No emotional reaction. They keep me on track and even more focused. Whether I lose weight or not.
I fully endorse this message about scales. I also take issue with BMI. Everyone aims for the magic 25. Even when I was fit and Slimmer I was classed as overweight -not helpful.