Breaking Free from the Scale

In order to develop a healthy relationship with food and your body, it is important to rely on something other than the scale to decide when, what, and how much to eat or move your body.

In my opinion, a "healthy relationship" with food and your body means that:

• you can accept your body weight and shape as determined by your genetics,

• you don't use food or exercise to punish yourself or "compensate" if you eat more than usual,

• your weight is not more important than who you really are.
  

The numbers shown by the scale or measuring tape are largely irrelevant. However, we tend to give these numbers more power than they should have. We are willing to determine our own value—or perceived worthlessness—based on what the scale, the labels on our clothes, or our reflection in the mirror show.

This is obviously not a coincidence because the diet and beauty industry, one of the most lucrative branches of business, constantly bombards us with messages telling us we are not enough. And two seconds later, they try to shove a product down our throats that is supposed to fix the issues these industries created for us. Trying to lose weight, thinness, and the obsession with current beauty ideals have become socially accepted and normalized, and we have equated two things that don't have anything to do with each other. Thinness has become synonymous with health. Slimness = health.

Even though this perception has no scientific basis, our individual genetics/biology is only one of the many socioeconomic determinants of health. The environment we live in, the quality of medical care we receive, and our individual behavior patterns have a much greater impact on our overall health than our body weight. Here is a cool and not-at-all complex visual representation of what I am trying to say:

https://en.wikipedia.org/.../Social_determinants_of...

As the linked figure shows, individual genetics and biology account for roughly one-fifth of the socioeconomic determinants of health. Only a small percentage of genetic-biological factors relate to body size, shape, or weight.

We can't perceive most of these metrics from the outside, so we do not tend to discriminate or declare someone unhealthy just because their blood pressure, enzyme functions, or bone density do not fall within the socially accepted range. As one of my favorite YouTube creators points out, no one is going to be mean to you just because you have low bone density. No one will call you a "low bone density, ass-looking b*tch."

I highly recommend watching her full video on Diets & Weight Stigma here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWqGulkvCWY

On the other hand, we stigmatize overweight people, call them names, and see them as unhealthy—we judge people because of their body weight, and we treat them differently based on how close they are to the socially determined ideal. The further you are from the ideal, the more discrimination you will face.

And we tend to give ourselves the same treatment. Thanks to my previous experiences with eating disorders, I know too well the extent of the self-harm that is caused by our dissatisfaction with our body and appearance. I know how it feels to perceive my own worth based on what size clothes I wear or what I see in the mirror that day.

I also understand that by obsessing over our bodies and trying to take control of our weight, we are actually trying to reduce the anxiety caused by our dissatisfaction with ourselves. Unfortunately, by compulsively engaging in these body-checking behaviors, we achieve the exact opposite; we only increase anxiety. Instead of filling our everyday lives with things that can fulfill us, we focus on the object of our fear, shame, and dissatisfaction.

By constantly weighing, we also make it impossible to actually pay attention to our body's hunger and fullness cues. If we try to maintain a body weight that is arbitrarily determined by us—or based on current beauty ideals—we can make it impossible for our body to stay in the healthy weight range determined by our genetics. This can cause serious health issues daily and in the long run. Not staying within your natural weight range will affect your ability to concentrate, negatively affect your social life, and mess with your mood, energy, and hormone levels, to list a few of the potential health consequences. Does sacrificing your mental and physical health to fit into smaller clothes, or see a smaller number on the scale, sound like a good deal to you now?

Without a valid medical reason to constantly monitor our weight, keeping a scale in the house serves no purpose. After all, the number on the scale only shows how much force gravity is using on your body to keep you attached to Earth.