More Than Just a Number.
So often we hear people mention to us that their goal weight is a specific number. With no rhyme or reason to this number, their successes are based solely on this random number that they pulled out of thin air. The decision that success is never going to be reached until that number appears on the scale is more common than you could ever imagine.
The real question is, where did you get that number? Why is that number defining who you are? Why is that number the mark of success for your daily efforts?
Contrary to popular believe, did you know that the scale does not define you, nor will it ever be able to define you? If you saw the number from the scale anywhere else, a bus stop, a license plate, a hotel room, your receipt at the grocery store, and so many other places, what would you think? Nothing. You wouldn’t even bat an eye. Why have we linked our self worth and success to a number?
In a society that is centered around weight loss, muscle gain, changing your body in some way or another, I would like to challenge your thinking when evaluating your successes in the gym and the kitchen. You’re more than that number and you’re more than that weight loss.
Here are a few ways to check your progress in a push toward your goals OTHER than the scale:
- Clothing – Notice the way your clothes are fitting. If you have been hooking your belt at one loop smaller over the last few weeks, the scale can’t tell you that your weight loss goal or muscle building goal isn’t real.
- Progress photos – Take a photo once a month. You’d be surprised at how much of a difference you will see in yourself over the course of a month.
- Your energy level – The fact that you no longer are mentally and physically exhausted at 2 pm in the afternoon at work isn’t a coincidence. Your healthy choices, exercise routine, and addition of sleep have all created an energy surge in your life. No scale could ever tell you that.
- Pain – Your knees, lower back, and so much more are no longer hurting anymore? Surely that has nothing to do with the fact that you have built muscle, strengthened your body, lost fat, and so much more. All of these healthy feelings could NEVER be displayed by the scale.
- Recovery time – You can walk up the stairs without getting winded anymore? You are finding yourself recovering way faster after exercises at the gym? Oddly enough, the scale couldn’t tell you that your lungs and heart have gotten stronger and you are healthier than ever before.
I would like to challenge you to set your sights on your process and not so much on a number that will define your ultimate success. Commit yourself to the day to day grind, and something is bound to happen. I, along with all of my fellow coaches, promise you that if you stick with eating well every day and exercise all or most days of the week you will see results. It’s impossible not to. No pill, no fad diet, no SCALE could ever define you. Commit to the process and the weight loss will follow.
Remember, your measurements and all of the things listed above can speak way louder than a scale ever could.