Why You Need to Check Your Thoughts Before You Weigh Yourself

​​These last few days have been emotional. Yesterday I ate too much chocolate, and I didn't drink enough water either.

This morning before I weighed myself I knew that the scale was going to be up. Both my body, mind, and soul had been out of kilter for 48 hours, and this always has an effect on my weight.
I retain fluid when I'm holding on emotionally.

What I do know though, is that when I express the emotions, my body lets go too.

So, what is my message here?

It's important to be mindful of the fluctuations my body makes on a day to day basis.

It's important to remember that my weight can be up several hundred grams some days, for seemingly no reason at all.

And, it's important to check my thoughts before I get on the scales.

In the past, a bump like this would have caused me to give up, to overeat more. But, in order to stay on my path, I need to work with my thoughts and feelings.

That's it.

​That is the key.

Rather than getting on the scales without thinking, I check-in with myself by asking some questions: 
What have I been eating in the last 24 hours that could impact the scale?
What else has been going on?

By asking myself these questions before I weigh myself, I can mentally prepare myself for the number I'm about to see on the scale. And if I'm mentally prepared, I have less chance of beating myself up or falling into old negative thinking and behaviours after I weigh-in.

The next step, particularly if I'm disappointed with the outcome, is to talk myself through any negative thoughts I may have. When I get more proficient at this, I'm then able to bring into my mind the reasons for the gain, rather than automatically going into my negative thinking cycle. Today, I was able to tell myself that there was a good reason I'd gained weight. Here's what I said to myself: It has been an emotional few days, I ate too much chocolate yesterday, and I haven't had enough water the last two days. This is why the scales are up. It's not the end of the world. This is temporary. If I get back on track today, I will be fine.

This takes practice. It is a matter of becoming aware of our thoughts, and being willing to work with them.

Keep working with your thoughts and your feelings, and the tremendous rewards of joy, self-love and the ability to build a life you love will surely come.
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