I love EatSmart. Not only because their Precision Digital Bathroom Scale was part of my journey of healing from scale obsession (yup, it’s a real condition), but it they’re a trusted company run by wonderful people. EatSmart has a full line of bathroom scales, plus kitchen scales and a luggage scale that are all reasonably priced, and include a 2-year warranty.
So before I Get To the Giveaway Part: My Story of (former) Scale Obsession
Obsession with anything is a very unhealthy thing. I could NOT stop weighing myself. At the time I had more than 40 pounds to lose. I was shooting to lose 1-pound per week to get to goal weight. Pretty reasonable, right? But is it normal and reasonable to weigh yourself 3-4 times per day?
I hadn’t yet discovered EatSmart. I was using some other scale at the time. It was heavy and clunky and ugly, but I’d drag that dang thing out, strip completely naked, making sure to have already used the potty (uh-huh) in hopes of the best weight loss reading possible.
If my number was neutral or higher, I’d blame water weight or a sammich that hadn’t fully digested yet. I’d even blame a water-logged head of hair if I was fresh out the shower. If my weight was lower, I’d celebrate, but still find an excuse to hop on the scale many more times that day. At this rate, I was weighing in up to 28 times per week.
I’m almost embarrassed to admit this former obsession. It went on like this for close to 2 years before I acknowledged what I had been in deniable about for so long: I was obsessed with the scale. I knew my behavior was not normal. It took many more months before I had the courage to remove the batteries from my scale and stick it in the attic forever. It was sooo liberating to NOT have the ability to weigh in obsessively. After this, about a year passed by and that clunky old scale was still very much out of reach. I was doing okay and continue to drop weight. I could tell from the way my clothes fit.
In December 2010, EatSmart reached out to offer me my 1st scale giveaway. I also received a complimentary scale of my own. This is when I decided that I would not longer hide from any scale by banishing it to the attic. I would take control over my weigh-ins and maintain a healthy relationship with the scale. Keeping an EatSmart around would be the litmus test to show whether or not my old weigh-in habits had truly changed.
So did I go back to obsessing? Well, yes. I did for awhile. I had some ups and downs. It took effort and continued practice in self control over NOT weigh-in with the scale in plain view. But it got easier and easier over time. And now? I only weigh-in about every 1-2 months. Victory!
A major part of my recovery from scale obsession involved having the courage to keep my EatSmart around – not hiding from it. The other part of my healing involved ditching a goal weight and embracing non-scale victories like losing dress sizes, looking sexier in photographs (yeah baby!), making good food choices and simply having a healthy lifestyle mentality, NOT a “weight loss mentality” which very much obsesses over numbers.
There is more to our weight loss journey than the number on the scale. Do NOT use your scale as the absolute law that tells the entire story of your fitness efforts. A lot of people do that and it’s wrong. Instead, use your scale as a partner and tool in your journey. Use it to attest to your progress over longer periods of time.
I’ve lost over 16-pounds since March 2011. My EatSmart scale told me so. And it didn’t involve weighing in every week. I’ve only weighed-in about 5 times since March.
The Giveaway
Required Entry: Leave a comment and tell us all how aim to maintain a healthy relationship with the scale.
*Bonus Entry: Get your booty on over to Twitter and tweet @EatSmart your fitness goals using the hashtag #HappyScale. They’ll been tickled to hear from you and I’ll also be following that hashtag, so join in!
Your chance to win ends Friday, 10/7/11. Winner announced on or before 10/10/11 on the top right sidebar. United States entries only. Totally null and void where prohibited.
Ready? Set. EatSmart!
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