Your Weight Doesn’t Determine Your Worth
A number doesn’t determine your worth.
You’re more than a number on the scale.
Health is not about numbers.
All true, but if you’re like me, you spent so many years judging yourself based on that number that it’s hard NOT to judge yourself.
I don’t have a scale. If I step on the scale at the doctor’s office, I don’t look. Why? Because I’m still not sure if I can handle that number. I might judge myself based on that number.
Do I believe that I shouldn’t? Do I believe that you and I are more than a number? Do I believe that our worth is not determined by that number?
Yes I believe it, but I still struggle to feel it.
My emotions and my self-criticism still struggles with the number.
I spent sooo many years focusing on that number. It’s hard to completely let it go. It’s hard to become neutral towards that number. The thought of the number still has impact. But the desire to know it is less. I’ve been able to trust the process of healthy living without judging it by the number.
Recently I went to my general practitioner for a physical. I hadn’t been to see her for three years. (I do see my gynecologist every year. Please stay up to date on all your medical appointments!) I knew it was time for blood work, so I decided to schedule an appointment.
When it came time for the scale I told the nurse I didn’t want to know, so she had me step on backwards. But later when I was reviewing my paperwork at home, I noticed the number. It was there in my visit summary.
Your weight doesn't determine your worth. You are more than a number on a scale. #youareenough Click To Tweet
I didn’t have much of a response. (Progress.)I didn’t freak out nor did I celebrate. My inner response was rather neutral. This was actually a win for me. Perhaps I’m making progress in this area.
However, I realized that I had a much bigger number in my head than what the scale actually said.
I began to realize that part of the reason I didn’t want to see it was that I feared what it said, because in my mind, I had this inflated number there.
So I still have some work to do. While I may be coming to a better place with the number and am developing a neutral response to it, I still have some negative thoughts going on in my own mind about how I view my body.
What to do when you allow your weight to determine your worth?
- Put the scale away. Take some time away from the scale. I know how difficult this is. For years, I didn’t know if I could survive without knowing the number. Was I living right if I didn’t have a number to tell me so? Would I gain a huge amount of weight if I didn’t monitor it regularly? Lots of questions and concerns when I considered getting rid of it, but it made me address the issues of how I determine my worth beyond that number.
- Find a new focus. When we allow our weight to determine our worth that means that our weight has become our number one priority. It’s time to shift our focus. Make a gratitude list. Make a list of your recent wins.
- Talk to someone about your struggles.
- Read God’s word and know the truth of what He says about you.
- Start to shift how we think about our bodies, about healthy living, about what healthy looks like, about numbers on the scale and on the tag of our clothes and on the nutrition label.
The shift happens as we go back through the steps outlined above over and over and over again.
This is a practice. Obviously it’s something I still have to work on. And when I thought I was pretty good to go, I had this encounter and I had to challenge my thoughts and where I might have gotten a little complacent. We must be intentional in our approach to healthy living and how we think about establishing our sustainable healthy life.
What to do when you base your worth on a number on the scale. #youarenough #faithandfitness Click To Tweet
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