Scale your wellbeing: Rethinking our relationship with weight loss

Weight loss has long been at the forefront of the health and wellness conversation, largely due to its easy measurability and the widespread misconception that it alone correlates directly to health. It's time for change.

“What kind of results are you looking for?” says the personal trainer at induction time. “Well I just want to lose a bit of weight…” the gym member replies.

We've all been there – that obsessive cycle of constantly checking the scale, rejoicing when the numbers drop, and despairing when they rise.

A shift is long overdue. Weight yourself, by all means, but it’s time to rethink our relationship with weight loss and explore how to use it as a guide, rather than an ultimatum.

Of course, keep the weight scales on hand to measure your progress, but embrace other tools such as heart rate monitors to understand effort and not just ability or aesthetics.

Holistic wellbeing instead of weight loss alone

The societal pressure to look a certain way, rooted in the delusion that a slender body always equates to good health, has contributed significantly to weight-focused anxiety. This has to change, on a massive scale, especially when it comes to children and exercise.

Health isn’t merely about the digits on a scale. It's about holistic wellbeing, which includes physical, mental, and emotional health. Understanding this is the first step towards developing a healthier relationship with your weight.

Adopting a balanced perspective towards weight means recognising that it's just one aspect of health. In reality, weight fluctuates due to various factors such as water retention, muscle growth, hormonal changes, and more.

What’s the best fat burner?

Who cares? As a society we’re so far off our goals for regular exercise and activity that we just need to be more active in general, especially as part of a community.

Shift your approach to a mindset of movement and the results will come. Celebrate every effort instead of fretting over every pound.

To ensure we’re using our weight as a reference rather than an obsession, it's important to supplement scale-checking with other health indicators.

Regular physical activity, a balanced diet, restful sleep, and mental wellbeing are equally vital. Measure your progress by your endurance, strength, flexibility, energy levels, sleep quality, or even how well your clothes fit.

The best indicator for understanding progress, both physically, mentally, or visually, is effort. When you’re putting in the most effort you’re able to every day, and understanding when you need to recover, the desired outcomes look after themselves.

How does heart rate training help weight loss?

Fitness and physical activity metrics are all about personal journeys, not competitions. Yes, people do compete, but they’re still on a journey of their own. What works for someone else may not work for you, and that's OK.

Heart rate training splits your maximum heart rate into different colour zones. Each zone represents a different level of effort for your workout.

When you know what everything from running to resting feels like, and you’re educated on how each zone affects your body, you can start tailoring effort to your needs.

What’s more, you’ll also feel the difference as your fitness levels increase. All of that contributes not only to weight loss, but to body transformation.

Embrace the process of finding what works best for your body. Consult with professionals who can guide you through your fitness journey, providing insights tailored to your unique needs.

Ditch the weight loss diets

Nurture a positive relationship with your body that’s focussed on your happiness and wellbeing, not what someone else expects of you.

We must remember that it's not about achieving a certain 'ideal' body, but about feeling comfortable in your skin, being able to do what you love, and living a fulfilling, healthy life.

When you scale your wellbeing, by rethinking your relationship with weight loss, it’s not just empowering but also liberating.

Ditching the weight loss diet allows you to take control of our health narratives and, most importantly, to be kind to yourself throughout the journey. Enjoy it.