1st Challenge of 2023

Alright PFWC family, I am coming to you guys to join my wife and I on our first challenge of the new year. We are putting our bathroom scale in the closet for the next 30 days! We have been on our nutrition/fitness journey for the past year now and it is time to stop worrying about what number pops up on the scale!

How many times have you looked in the mirror and thought to yourself, “I like the progress I am making”. Then 10 seconds later you step on the scale, only to be a little disappointed it isn’t the number you were expecting. Over the last year I lost 60 pounds and you better believe I have got used to watching the numbers on the scale. It can be a great tool to use, but when it becomes an obsession, or even a mental block, it is time to step back and rethink how we use it.

We don’t just use the scale to see how much weight we’ve lost. We also use it to track how some foods can affect our body. Once I lost a lot of weight, I was able to see how excess amounts of sugar affect me. I was able to track how long a cheat meal would stay with me. I could even see how the weight would track through the week. For myself, I can fluctuate anywhere between 6-9 pounds throughout the week. Now most of us know that has nothing to do with gaining 6-9 pounds of fat, but more than likely it is retention of water along with effects of some workouts. Seeing those numbers change so much though can affect your mental state. Like I said before, the scale can be a fantastic tool to use, to gain information about yourself through your nutrition/fitness journey, but sometimes we just need to throw it in a corner and just live our lives.

Last weekend I took my family to eat out after my son’s wrestling tournament. We enjoyed a cheat meal, and I over did it a little too much. No harm in that every once in a while, but I became too focused on the scale for the next week. Wondering when the weight would come back off, watching every morning and night to see if I would be back to “normal” weight. It was Wednesday night that, I decided it was time to put the scale away for a little while. I looked in the mirror on Wednesday night and thought to myself, “Dang, I think I look pretty good, and I bet I am close to my pre cheat meal weight”. I stepped on the scale, and I was not. I was still carrying a few extra pounds. I looked in the mirror again, and all of a sudden, I had lost that “I look good feeling”.

For the next 30 day, let’s focus on our routines. Focus on our nutrition, stay busy in the gym, love on your families, and let’s make some progress together. Make good decisions, stay consistent, and stay dedicated. Keep looking in the mirror and keep telling yourself that you look good. Mental health is so important, and so often we are our biggest critics. So, throw that scale in a corner for the next 30 days, and trust that good decisions and hard work are paying off!

Come follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see what we’re up to this week! @ElectricNutritionandFitness