The scale doesn’t typically stay the same. Weight can fluctuate in varying degrees. Sometimes I look in the mirror and scrutinize myself about what I want to change and what doesn’t seem good enough. Sometimes, it’s the unhealthy opposite of that. If i’ve made any headway in my journey to being healthy, I look in the mirror with pride about how I’m coming along, as if I’m a better person because I lost a few pounds or inches.
I’m not saying that hard work and discipline shouldn’t be celebrated. I think that those are amazing traits to have and to take pride in. However, the number on the scale shouldn’t determine our level of self-worthiness. Losing or gaining 5 pounds doesn’t make us any more or any less valuable.
I was talking to a friend of mine, and she was talking about making a mental switch in terms of working out. We tend to work out because we want to fix ourselves. We want to fix our abs, our untoned arms, and the whole 9 yards. But, rather than doing something healthy like working out in an unhealthy way (self-loathing), maybe we need to shift our thinking to working out because we LOVE ourselves. We LOVE and RESPECT our bodies so we want to do things that make us feel better. That sounds more appealing to me than shaming myself about what I need to change, which in so many ways, is translated into not being good enough, or worthy enough.
I’ve decided that from now on, when I’m preparing to work out, I’m not going to put myself in ‘beast mode.’ I’m simply going to love my body where it is and do something for the love of it.
satoyafoster.wordpress.com 