For those of you who have been following my journey of reconnecting with wellness this year, here is the latest update: I feel stuck. I am looking to lose weight. As much as I hate that phrase, because I do believe wellness is not just the number on the scale, I do know the scale can be a tool to understand my health. I have tracked my weight for years to help me understand when I am feeling my best. I had the realization this week that I feel my best when I am about 15 lbs lighter than I am right now. Let’s dig into this a little.
Tracking weight for wellness
I sometimes avoid the scale completely. I still feel some trauma around using it as the ONLY tool to define my beauty and health. So there are weeks, sometimes months, where I don’t hop on the scale at all. That being said, I am rebuilding my relationship with the scale because I know it is a tool to use as a guide for wellness. Looking back on my yo-yoing weight trends, I can tell you that the scale moves when I eat intentionally. Before my wedding, I wasn’t on any “sweating for the wedding” type kick like I see so many brides do, but I was eating well and moving every day in some way. My weight went down easily. I felt great. Same with any other time I eat organic, whole foods as the main part of my diet. The scale goes down. My body responds really well to plants and animals that were not made in a factory. Yes, I know this from focusing on how these foods make me feel, but the tracking of my weight is the physical proof that my body thrives on what God put here on this beautiful earth.
Bloating & the scale
The scale has helped me understand how much bloat impacts my weight. If you’ve read my post about the results of cutting out gluten, dairy, and alcohol for a month, you may recall that my weight went down. The weight loss I experienced that month was about 6 lbs, and it was bloat. I lost it within the first 2 weeks of the month and then plateaued. Same with any time my moon cycle appears. My weight can vary about 5 – 8 lbs during that time of the month. It used to frustrate me to no end to see the scale go up that much, but learning that my hormones can play a factor in bloat has helped me better understand the scale. Bloating from inflammation triggered by foods, generally processed sugars, gluten, and dairy for me, really impacts the scale. This month I definitely fell in the old “kid snack” trap (aka finishing my kids’ snacks just because I hate wasting food). I’d like to say my kids eat the healthiest snacks around, but we do have quick grab and go things for convenience (think granola bars, mini muffins, pouches, goldfish). Some of these are my biggest weakness for treats! I’ll be focusing in on this over the next month to regain control of that snack attack habit. There really is no need for me to finish their snack. And the bloat result is not worth it.
What’s next?
Well, in rereading my reflection here, I’m my biggest hurdle 🙂 I am going to use the scale as a tool to continue to understand how foods impact me. I’m going to focus on eating for energy, which to me looks like eating whole, organic food as much as possible because that is when I feel my best and think most clearly. As stuck as I feel, I don’t feel like I am failing ,which is huge for me! I know there is a path forward and I just have to choose to take it.