To Weigh or Not to Weigh, That Is the Question (Continued)

Later on, however, the story changed. It became more and more difficult to have the will power to stick to your eating plan. You did stick to it though. And, after all that effort, you needed a reward. You worked too hard and you needed to see results on that scale. How would you feel if you saw that you had lost two pounds? Good. You probably would feel satisfied that your efforts were worth it. However, you and I both know that the human body does not react to caloric deprivation with sustained weight loss every week. The body adapts to the lower caloric input and eventually weight loss plateaus. It always does.

Every time.

How would you feel when the scale told you that, after being so 'good' and watching what you ate all week, you had lost only a half-pound, or stayed the same? What if, after all that effort, you had actually gained weight? It happens. It actually happens quite often. If you did not get the results you wanted, what do you think weighing yourself would do to your motivation? Would you redouble your efforts, eating less and exercising more until the scale gave you the results you wanted? Many people do exactly that. This is not the most common reaction. But for the few who do take this path, this is often the beginning of an eating disorder. Or, would you react like most people do after working hard and getting no results? Most people lose their motivation and quickly or gradually stop working on losing weight. Unfortunately, since most people inexorably link healthy eating and exercise to weight loss plans, most people also give up on their healthy lifestyle when they give up on weight loss.

Possibility #2:
You blew your eating plans.
Next, we will look at another frequent scene as an approach is made to the scales. How many times have you been waiting in a line to be weighed and wondering if you 'got away with it'? What if the scale 'catches' you and reports that you did not lose any weight or even that you gained weight. How would that make you feel? Would this focus on the external measurement on the scale help you to tune into your inner self and figure out WHY you blew your eating plans?

Would it help you understand yourself, your needs, or your life any better? Or, would this reprimand simply encourage you to 'work harder'? However, if you worked harder, you would really need a reward when you got to the scale next time. What if, after working really hard all week, you gain weight when next you were weighed? (Oh, yeah, that is possibility #1. Let's get back to possibility #2.) So, in the next scenario, imagine that you ate in unhealthy ways and still lost weight, what would your reaction be to that? Would this positive report make you feel like it was fine to eat unhealthy? There were no negative consequences. After all, you did not gain weight. Could it be that this focus on your weight might take your focus OFF your nutrition?