You read that right: letting go of the scale caused me to gain weight. I’m actually the heaviest I’ve been in my entire life.
I was shocked at the results of my first weight check of 2020. Let me be clear, I am by no means obese nor do I have any health issues. Actually, I am well toned, but nonethless I am considered overweight for my height and body type.
Plus, my body fat percentage is lower than at the top of the year when I weighed less.
Long-Term Result of Letting Go Of The Scale
The decision to let go of my scale was the right choice for me at the time. I needed to refocus my fitness habits on getting results in-line with exercise.
Meaning, running faster from following a training program. Making strength gains from lifting heavy weights. I think my yoga journey is most affected by throwing out my scale.
I can focus on connection to breath and less on how I look while practicing yoga. This is a direct result of not having mirrors and to not being able to compare myself to others.
Instead, I evaluate my yoga practice on how my body feels, not on how it appears. This approach is helping me practice the meditative aspect of the yoga discipline.
Note: though I gained pounds, my body fat percentage is lower than at the top of the year when I weighed less.
Training Without The Scale
For the past eight months, I have followed several training plans to really dig into a good routine. I began with an old favorite, the Lita Lewis Total Body Blast Training Program.
It’s an intense four week training program that included a mix of weight lifting, HIIT and cardio. I’ve had the program for years, and still find it to be a challenging test of my fitness level.
Both of the Stephanie Buttermore programs I used were super helpful in gaining strength.
By the end of the Women’s Foundations program, I noticed that I could lift significantly heavier, and by the end of the Women’s Specialization program, I could see more muscle tone in my body.
Since finishing the Stephanie Buttermore programs, I have moved on to Thinner Leaner Stronger, which is a year-long training program. The progressive load strategy in Matthew’s book is working for me right now.
I have paired those training program with running and stationary bike workouts for cardio a few times a week. Lastly, I have maintained an at home Ashtanga yoga practice.
Though I am able to do yoga at home, to make progress I really need to join a yoga studio. However, that may not happen for a while.
Why did I gain weight?
It is easy for me to pinpoint the factors that led to weight gain.
I have not focused on cardio until recently when I decided to train for a 10k. Couple that with the indulgent food life my family loves and we have weight gain. My family loves comfort food, and I enjoy the leftovers from those high-calorie meals for lunch most days of the week.
Also, since social distancing became a must, I find myself using food as a source for dealing with stress. On top of consistent high-calorie dinners, I have allowed myself several sweet treats every week.
Including candy, cookies, cake, ice cream, you name it.
I do not regret these decisions and have had no adverse health effects from my diet. Regret is not useful. Instead, I acknowledge that I happily ate my way into this weight gain, and I know what I need to do to lose the pounds.
A Better Mindset
Gaining weight is not ideal, but my mindset around that weight gain is so much healthier than when I used to step on the scale every day of the week. This is progress, and something I can celebrate.
It helps to see the muscle tone I have accumulated from regular weight training. The only real sign of the weight gain can be seen in my stomach. Otherwise, I look like I have a toned physique.
Me actually seeing that about my body speaks to the progress I have made. My mind is not talking down to my body, but instead I am able to appreciate how I appear right now. As a result, I believe I am ready to step back onto the scale regularly until I return to a healthy weight.
For the time being, I will incorporate the scale back into my life to lose weight, but I still have to be careful. If I find myself falling into negative self-talk or habits, then I need to let go of the scale again.
Letting myself focus on healthy exercise habits instead of my weight has helped me develop a good routine and mental clarity. I am very proud of myself for actually staying away from the scale for so many months.
How will I move forward?
Recently, I did research to fully understand why my weight lifting has led to weight gain. With that knowledge, I feel ready to move forward with weight loss.
Typically, my healthy eating habits include meal prep, snacking less, and controlling my sweets and alcohol intake. I usually build my meals with the ‘Plate Method‘ in mind, my tastes for the week, and the idea that dinner will consist of the highest calorie meal in my day.
My plan moving forward is to revisit my healthy eating habits and to couple them with my tried and true exercise habits. Between the two, I should return to a healthier weight for my body type and height.
Currently, my fitness focus is on weight loss so I will focus on cardio until January. I will cut out weight lifting, but retain yoga. Exercising every day is working for me, so I will continue to find movement every day.
Right now, I am training for a 10k, so I will bump my running up from four to five days a week. Making running my main source of fitness, and yoga twice a week for recovery and to maintain upper body strength.
Ashtanga yoga is a very physical practice, and requires upper body and core strength. The practice will help me maintain my strength gains until I jump back into training in the new year.
Thanks to Melissa Bender, I am a big believe in free fitness. However, I am hoping to join a yoga studio in January. Ashtanga is a practice centered around the teacher guiding the student, and I do need help to move forward in the practice.
To be completely honest, I am very tempted to set a number goal for weight loss, but I know where that path leads so I will not. Also, I will not track calories. It is tempting, but I do not want to encourage myself to restrict eating.
I prefer a more intuitive approach to eating, but that only works if I keep healthy food options around. My meal plan will include three meals and a few snack options, and I will focus on not overeating.
The goal with food is to focus on nutrient dense meals that satiate, so I snack less and enjoy my meals.
Moving forward I will step on the scale every two weeks to see where my weight goes without indulgent habits. Then, where my body rests with healthy habits is where I will maintain.
I know that if I eat well and exercise, then I will lose weight.
The Journey Continues…
I have never used the scale to see where my maintenance weight lives if I eat intuitively and exercise regularly. Now, I think I am at a point in my journey where I can appreciate what the nuance of living with a scale but not obsessing over how much I weight.
When I decided to let go of my scale, I really had no clue what journey this path would lead. I couldn’t have known that weight lifting would push me to gain the weight to the degree that I have.
Though I knew weight lifting could lead to weight gain, I decided to focus on getting stronger without knowing how much I was gaining.
Now, I realize that I may never have had a good mental health relationship with my body. Gaining weight is not the ideal outcome for my fitness journey, but it’s the one I need for self-love and personal growth.
