Happy Labor Day, friends! I hope you're all enjoying the always-needed long weekend, and soaking up every last bit of all that summer has to offer. Around this time of year, I always feel so mentally ready for all that fall brings, but then I'm so quick to miss the summer months. I'm living out every minute of these warm days as best I can. This past weekend was no exception - we wrapped up our last official weekend at the lake with the family, and it was the most beautiful weekend we've had all summer. It's been so unusually wet there this summer, and our previous trips down have been filled with rain, clouds and not a lot of sun. Fortunately, we were blessed with some beautiful skies this weekend - I couldn't have asked for anything more.
I also get to keep summer going as long as I damn well please because September is my WEDDING MONTH! Yep. Really. It's crazy how fast time flies, but at the end of the month, Rob and I will be en route to beautiful Hilton Head Island with our closest friends and family for the big day. I. Cannot. Wait. It's safe to say I won't be transitioning into fall until I'm no longer a Mayberry. This is so bittersweet, but I'm excited for everything the future holds.
Because it is my wedding month, and because I don't want to miss a single moment of it, I'm going to do something crazy. I'm participating in a scaleless September. It sounds like a death sentence - not watching your weight the month of your wedding? Am I crazy? No, and here's why.
Ever since I started having weekly weigh-ins, my diet has been focused around that one day a week I step on the scale and record my official gain or loss. Therefore, my entire "week" is typically focused on what's going to generate the biggest loss on the scale that week. Nights before my weigh-in are typically really light dinners, and the couple days right after my weigh-in are filled with high-calorie "binge" meals knowing I'll have another 5-6 days to make up for it before I weigh-in again. It's all centered around that one day. Once I'm in the routine of living this way, I have to really take a step back and realize that I'm honestly missing the bigger picture.
I eat, I workout and I function based on the scale. For some people, that works out fabulously. For me, it's a downward cycle. Before you know it, I'm actually not eating that great. I make horrible choices on the weekend and then I'm detoxing the first few days of the week in order to have a loss by my weigh-in day, which has always been on Thursdays. My focus becomes losing weight, not eating healthy. The two are not mutually exclusive, and that's what we so easily forget.
So for this month, I'm giving it up. When I start making eating and exercise choices based on what makes my body feel good, what challenges and pushes me mentally, and what I know makes me a better person, I'm forced to evaluate each choice for what it is, not for how it'll appear on the scale the next day. Truthfully, it's the way that the journey towards being healthy should work, but I often lose sight of that. I want to enjoy every single moment of my wedding month without the scale dictating how I feel. If I don't hit a certain number on the scale, I don't want to feel less beautiful in my wedding dress. I don't want my walk down the aisle to be exciting because I met a weight-loss goal I'd set, I want it to be exciting because I'm marrying my best friend.
This doesn't mean I won't be staying on track and making the right choices this month. I have a half marathon in 3 weeks, another one a month after that, and this past weekend's indulgences have proven to me that my body desperately wants to get back on track with my eating. It just means that I'm going to be looking at my choices from the bigger picture - not for a weekly weigh-in.
Wondering if you think giving up the scale is for you? Take a look at the things I realized I was doing before I decided it was best to put that scale away for a while.
- I routinely discredited runs, workouts and weeks of tracking and making healthy choices if it wasn't reflected appropriately on the scale.
- I discovered I was typically down more after a good cardio session - therefore, I'd always run the Thursday morning of my weigh-in before I stepped on the scale, even if it didn't make sense for my training to do so.
- The 2-3 days after my weigh-in were filled with poor eating choices, followed by days of no carbing it and "recommitting" in order to break even or have a loss at weigh-in.
- I'd excuse incredibly poor choices throughout the week if they magically resulted in an unexplainable weigh-in I wasn't expecting. If I said "screw my diet" the night before weigh-in and ate pizza, I'd still celebrate the loss if my body gave me one.
It was really the first of these, and the last - the combination of the two - that made me realize my priorities weren't exactly on par. I'd discredit an entire week of awesome choices, meal planning, sticking to my workout schedule and accomplishing a great long run just because I didn't lose on the scale. But if I ate like total garbage, missed a few workout days and my body (because bodies do this, we know) gave me a loss that was undeserved, I'd celebrate it. I need to detach myself from the concept of constantly weighing myself. Realistically speaking, I need to break the addiction.
So here's to a scaleless September, making the right choices, fueling my body and pushing it to completing my second half marathon, and then walking down the aisle (or, down the beach) and marrying my best friend.
Happy September, friends!
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