You step on the scale, and see that you have gained weight."Aw crap!" You jump off and jump back on the scale just to make double sure that you were seeing the number right, or that somehow miraculously in the 10 seconds between weigh-ins, the number will drop dramatically.
Your weight gain could be 10, 50, 100, or even just one tiny pound, but no matter, in under 5 seconds your mood swiftly changes to sad and depressed. Any sense of happiness, joy, or cheer you may have felt even 5 minutes before the weigh-in has been stolen by the scale in an instant.
So why do we let this happen? Why do we let the scale determine our emotional state? Why couldn't we step on the scale see a weight gain, and with calm detachment say to ourself without any dramatic emotional swing, "Well, it looks like I gained some weight. I need to get back on the program." Done. Simple. You go about your day as usual as if nothing major happened.
In actuality, the scale is merely a device that measures our weight. It is not the judge nor jury. It is not your guardian. It is not a mentor. The scale is an inanimate object. It is a piece of metal with numbers on it, yet we give it the power to determine our state of being for that moment and even the rest of the day. We give a piece of metal the power to embezzle our loot of joy, and affect our sense of self-worth and self-love.
Stop letting a piece of metal with numbers on it rob you of having a good day or having a good feeling about yourself. Gaining weight is something to *sigh* over but not something to create a rotten day over, or start beating yoruself up because of it. Each time you step on the scale, try consciously separating your mood from the number result. Stop letting the scale shoplift your happiness. You determine your well being.
