[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Being healthy involves a lot more things than just your weight. So when weight loss is your primary goal, it can really hold you back from achieving other health goals that could improve your body and overall quality of life.
Yet it can be hard to not focus on what the scale says. Afterall, your weight is what the media, your peers and even the medical industry seems to put so much emphasis on. But what if there could be non-scale victories? Things you celebrated that made a big impact on your health but had nothing to do with what you weigh?
These non-scale victories might be just the thing you need to focus on throughout your health journey.
Non-Scale Victories: What They Are and Why You Should Care
Non-scale victories are improvements to your health that occur over time and are the result of diet and lifestyle changes. If your focus was just on the number on the scale, these health improvements might otherwise go unnoticed. That would be unfortunate because these “victories” have the potential to matter even more than your weight.
While weight is one marker of health,
it is not the whole picture. It is possible to be overweight yet be metabolically healthy, or to be thin but have poor health related to diet or lifestyle choices. This is why the focus should be off weight and be on non-scale victories instead.
Examples of non-scale victories include:
- Improved physical endurance or strength
- Improved lab results, such as blood sugar levels, cholesterol and blood pressure numbers
- Better sleep at night
- Having your clothes fit you more comfortably
- Improved self-confidence in how your view your body
- Increased ability to do the things that you love, like long walks, gardening or playing with your kids
- Increased energy
- Less physical pain, without the use of medication
- Improved mental focus and clarity
- Better ability to cope with stress
- A genuine desire to eat a healthier diet, such as eating more fruits and vegetables, more whole grains and less sugar. This desire is due to how this eating style makes you feel, and not out of restriction or to change the number on the scale.
The problem with focusing on weight alone
As mentioned, weight is just one of many indicators of health. Other indicators, which you’ve probably also had checked at the doctor, include things like blood pressure, lab work and waist circumference. Yet when most people are working on health goals, they tend to ignore these other markers of health and focus solely on weight alone. This can be damaging for many reasons.
To be clear, it is not wrong to desire changes in your weight. Yet placing too much emphasis on the number on the scale can have significant downsides, such as:
- Overly restrictive eating behaviors that damage your relationship with food and your health in the long run
- Disordered eating habits and/or eating disorders
- Low self-esteem and body image
- Shame or discouragement when the number doesn’t change the way you want it to
- Tying your weight to your personal worth
- Insecurities that may distract you from everyday life activities like social gatherings, and eating out
- Poor mental health
- Losing sight of the ways your body is healthy, even if your weight isn’t where you want it to be
In addition, it must be noted that the average person’s weight can fluctuate as much as 5-6 pounds over the course of any given day. That’s because there are many
factors that affect the number on the scale, including:
- What time of day it is
- Whether or not you have urinated and had a bowel movement
- Whether you have eaten so far for the day, and if so what it was and how much
- How much fluid you may be retaining. Fluid retention can occur from things like eating a high sodium diet, recent travel and drinking alcohol
- How recently you exercised
- Where you are on your menstrual cycle if you are a female
- What medications you take
- If you have a current or recent illness
Therefore, what appears to be little to no progress in your weight may actually be inaccurate. Weighing yourself too often and focusing on the number alone can lead to unnecessary stress.
In summary
Good health is made up of multiple factors aside from just your weight. Focusing too heavily on your weight can be detrimental to your mental and physical well-being. That's why focusing on non-scale victories is a better approach to reaching your health goals and caring for your body. If your weight changes, you can celebrate that, but if it doesn’t you can also celebrate other markers of progress. Taking the primary focus off your weight can help you stay motivated rather than discouraged, which leads to more health improvements in the long run.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title="Featured Products" border_width="2"][vc_row_inner equal_height="yes" content_placement="middle" gap="35"][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="180023" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" css=".vc_custom_1732306528027{padding-right: 7% !important;padding-left: 7% !important;}" link="https://www.vitacost.com/life-extension-wellness-code-plant-protein-complete-amino-acid-complex"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="180022" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" css=".vc_custom_1732306540067{padding-right: 7% !important;padding-left: 7% !important;}" link="https://www.vitacost.com/dastony-nut-butter-stone-ground-crunchy-sprouted-almond"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="180021" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" css=".vc_custom_1732306554900{padding-right: 7% !important;padding-left: 7% !important;}" link="https://www.vitacost.com/cerave-facial-moisturizing-lotion-am-with-sunscreen-broad-spectrum-spf-30"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]
