Can the scale be your friend?

One of the biggest obstacles of changing our health behaviors is accountability. Maybe you have a friend who gently asks you if you drank water that day. Some people attend group exercise classes because 1) they’re going with a friend or 2) the teacher will sneakily state they missed you the previous week.

Many personal training clients would hire me because they knew they wouldn’t work out if I wasn’t there…they were “too tired” to exercise after a long day at work…until my over-caffeinated self showed up at their door.

Every person holds themselves accountable in different ways. Recently I learned a person can use their scale as a way to be held accountable. There are people who have a positive relationship with their scale. Weighing themselves doesn’t frustrate them - the scale is their buddy. It’s their outside nudge or reminder they had too much salt the night before and are retaining water and gained some weight.

When my client said this, I stopped to listen and understood why they weigh themselves daily and I was genuinely shocked to hear myself say “Ok, keep doing it.” I tell most clients to hide their scale. Give me a positive explanation about why you make the health decisions you do, and I promise I will hear you out. Throwing out the scale works for me - but what about you?