Two registered dietitians break down healthy tips for using a scale for weight management, and offer recommendations on how to improve your relationship with the scale if using one is stressing you out.
Ahead, registered dietitians help you reframe how to use a scale for weight management, and when it's time to toss it.Jessica Cording is a dietitian, health coach, podcaster, and author of The Little Book of Game Changers: 50 Healthy Habits for Managing Stress & Anxiety and The Farewell Tour: A Caregiver’s Guide to Stress Management, Sane Nutrition, and Better Sleep.
A scale can be a useful tool when tracking weight as part of managing health, but your weight is not the only thing that matters when it comes to your wellness. If you’re stepping on the scale every day or find your mood, your self-esteem, and your food and exercise choices revolve around what that number is, you need to read this. Wondering if it’s possible to have a healthy relationship with the scale? Here, registered dietitians share insights on exploring and healing your relationship with the scale and what really matters when tracking your health over time.There are several types of scales available, and while you still see plenty of traditional bathroom scales around, digital “smart scales” have become increasingly popular. These have the ability to measure and track not just total body weight, but also percentage of body fat, muscle mass, water weight, and even bone mass, tracking changes over time, which you can easily access in a connected app or upload into another tracking app you use. There are lots of things a scale just can’t tell you, however, such as your energy levels, how strong you are, your quality of life, how stressed you feel, what your relationship with food is like, or whether you’re at a healthy weight for, MS, RDN, owner of Chelsey Amer Nutrition, says, “One of the most important signs that your relationship with the scale needs some work is if the number you see influences your mood, your activities, what you eat for the day and how much you eat. Also, if you're weighing yourself excessively and it becomes an obsession or it's hard for you to take a break from weighing yourself, it's a sign that you want to improve your relationship with the scale.” So if you’re feeling overly affected by the number on the scale, thinking about your weight constantly, or panicking if you don’t weigh yourself every day , you need to take a step back. Doing so with the support of a therapist and registered dietitian can help you work through your hang-ups and feel more confident and present in your own body., MS, RD, a certified intuitive eating counselor and the author of Unapologetic Eating, says, “If stepping onto the scale is part of your daily routine, it can be a scary thing to give up. For many people, the scale gives them a sense of reassurance that they’re on track. Giving this up can feel like giving up control.” “What has your focus on your weight and/or weight loss got you to at this point in your life?”“Is it currently more helpful or more harmful?” “If it feels anxiety-provoking to stop weighing altogether,” says Rumsey, “what might it look like to take a break— say for three or four weeks? How might you set things up so that the scale isn't quite as in your face, say by putting it in the basement or taking the batteries out?” Just because you once had a problematic relationship with the scale doesn’t mean you have to avoid it for the rest of your life—unless, of course, you just feel better without it. Amer says it is possible to improve that relationship. “The goal should be to see the number as just a data point and react neutrally to it. Most of my clients realize that if they struggle with the scale, it's just not necessary to weigh yourself—even at the doctor's office— most of the time!” If you do choose to keep a scale in your home and weigh yourself on a regular basis, Amer recommends looking at that number as just data, no judgment assigned to that number. “If you have no stress about regularly weighing yourself, there's nothing wrong with obtaining that data point, just as you would your cholesterol. For some individuals that can be weekly, for others even daily. It all depends on your intention and how you react to that number.” Rumsey adds that it can be helpful to have some flexibility with when and how often you step on the scale, and not having it be a rigid routine. A healthy practice of weighing yourself might look like weighing yourself once a week or a few times a month. To get the most objective number most health experts recommend weighing yourself first thing in the morning, without clothes on, right after using the bathroom. It’s not that it’s bad to weigh yourself at other times, but when you wait until later in the day, when you’ve likely already had a meal or two as well as liquids and are wearing clothes, the number will also reflect those things, so for people who find themselves triggered by seemingly drastic changes over the course of a day, it’s important to keep those elements in mind if you do weigh yourself later in the day. Also remember that weight can fluctuate as a result of factors like where you are in your menstrual cycle, how recently you had a bowel movement, or if you may be retaining water after eating something really salty or drinking alcohol within the past day. For those who are working towards being more neutral about weight or find they’re sensitive to seeing those fluctuations on the scale, then a self-compassionate approach would be not to way yourself, say, during your luteal phase or your period, or to wait a day or two after a night out.If you dread going to the doctor because you don’t want to get on the scale or anticipate a battle every time you go in for a check-up, you’re absolutely not alone. Amer says, “It may feel intimidating to advocate for yourself at the doctor's office, but remember your mental health is most important! If your entire day will be derailed because you're getting weighed, or even worse, you put off a doctor's appointment because you need to be weighed, advocating for yourself is most important for your health.”patient, don’t be. “Keep in mind,” Amer says, "that most medical staff have heard the request before. You can simply state, ‘I prefer not to be weighed today’ without an explanation.” Rumsey adds, “ If they push back at all, you could ask them if you can self-report your weight verbally or if they can use your weight from your last visit. If they ask why, you can say something like, ‘I’m working to heal my disordered eating behaviors, and seeing my weight is very triggering.’ Having this conversation can feel awkward or uncomfortable, so it can help to practice with a friend or family member or in front of the mirror before trying with the doctor.” If your provider insists or if measuring your weight is medically necessary for choosing the right medication dosages or if it’s before surgery, when weight is used to help determine the appropriate dose of anesthesia, you can say that you’d prefer not to be told the number. This is called a “blind” weight.Remember that a number on a scale is only one measurement that means very little by itself. When working towards a health goal or aiming to maintain a healthy lifestyle, pay attention to other markers that can give you clues, such as changes in body composition, how in touch you feel with hunger and fullness cues, energy levels, strength, endurance, your menstrual cycle, sleep quality, and mental wellbeing. Amer says, “Your weight is just one data point, and most people know if they're maintaining their usual weight by the way their clothes fit, but more importantly, how they feel. If you start to feel sluggish, have daily energy crashes, feel out of control around food or begin binging often, you may want to take a look at your healthy habits and see if your health-promoting behaviors need some tweaking.” It’s important to look beyond body size and weight as well, as what we see on the outside may not reflect what’s going on in our body. Amer adds, “The best markers of health are not your weight, but instead your blood markers, like your cholesterol, triglycerides, hemoglobin A1c, along with your blood pressure and a measure of your daily health-promoting habits like walking, sleep, stress management, and more.” For those who are also healing their relationship with food and their body, Rumsey shares a few other markers of health and progress to pay attention to.Remember that a scale can't tell you some of the things that affect you most in your day-to-day life, like the type of sleep you're getting, your energy levels, how you manage stress, and the frequency with which you move your body. These are all key indicators of good health and can greatly impact weight management. It's helpful to have perspective when it comes to how you think about the scale, and its relationship to your wellness journey.The 19 Best Weight-Loss Motivation Tips A Dietitian Weighs In On The Limitations of BMI —And How New Guidelines Are Baby Steps In the Right Direction, Particularly for Eating Disorder Treatment
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