Those Numbers Aren't That Important | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Health and Wellness

The Scale Doesn't Matter, What Matters Is How You Feel

The forever looming number of the "ideal" body weight shouldn't be what you strive for in the gym.

324
The Scale Doesn't Matter, What Matters Is How You Feel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfeoV_Npi5E

At some point or another, every single person has weighed themselves and been surprised at the number. Either because you're more. less, or exactly what you thought you were. Usually, I see this number at the doctor's office, throw it in the back of my head, and move on with life. For me, the scale defines nothing. For other people in my life, I've seen the scale destroy them, and all of the happiness life has to offer. Here's why the scale doesn't matter. (Disclaimers: healthy body weight is important, but definitely not something you need to obsess over because they vary hugely.)

The number on the scale should tell you one thing, how much you weigh. That does not determine your self-worth or anything about what people think of you. What really matters, is how you feel every single day. If you feel happy, have lots of energy, are motivated to go out and do the things you love, and generally are eating a healthy balanced diet, you are doing life right. If you don't feel this way, it might be a good time to talk with a doctor.

To be healthy and happy is the most important thing in your life. Your diet and exercise should support you in a way of creating a healthy lifestyle and providing you with the things you need daily. If you're finding that you obsess over cardio and do hours of it a day, or only eat lettuce because you think that is the best way to keep yourself happy, you're failing yourself.

I'll be honest, I personally eat food from every food group each day, and that includes treats! "Treat yo self," is so important to maintaining a healthy relationship with food and exercise. Why? Because, eating the things I want with the things I need (and also enjoy, just not as much as cookies,) keeps all of me happy.

The number on the scale does not represent my happiness. I've been 127 pounds at 5 foot 5 for three years. During that time, I've gone from relatively average to relatively muscular. And? my body weight has not budged. Why? Because that's where my body is happy, it's what I maintain with my exercise and diet. I go to the gym in the mornings, I usually don't do a whole lot of cardio because it's not my favorite thing to do, and yes, I eat cookies! But, what matters more than anything to me is that I feel good. I don't ever weigh myself, and when I step on the scale, its usually a surprise to me that hey, I'm still 127 pounds.

Don't let the scale rule your life, determine your self-worth or your happiness level. Make sure that you're healthy, happy, and overall feel good and motivated to do the things you love every day because that is what actually matters. Help your friends, remind them what's really important and stop letting a little metal box tell you how much gravity you're feeling today.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
ross geller
YouTube

As college students, we are all familiar with the horror show that is course registration week. Whether you are an incoming freshman or selecting classes for your last semester, I am certain that you can relate to how traumatic this can be.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

Bonus points if it is more than two.

Keep Reading...Show less
friends

Whether you're commuting or dorming, your first year of college is a huge adjustment. The transition from living with parents to being on my own was an experience I couldn't have even imagined- both a good and a bad thing. Here's a personal archive of a few of the things I learned after going away for the first time.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

Economic Benefits of Higher Wages

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

300939
Illistrated image of people crowded with banners to support a cause
StableDiffusion

Raising the minimum wage to a livable wage would not only benefit workers and their families, it would also have positive impacts on the economy and society. Studies have shown that by increasing the minimum wage, poverty and inequality can be reduced by enabling workers to meet their basic needs and reducing income disparities.

I come from a low-income family. A family, like many others in the United States, which has lived paycheck to paycheck. My family and other families in my community have been trying to make ends meet by living on the minimum wage. We are proof that it doesn't work.

Keep Reading...Show less
blank paper
Allena Tapia

As an English Major in college, I have a lot of writing and especially creative writing pieces that I work on throughout the semester and sometimes, I'll find it hard to get the motivation to type a few pages and the thought process that goes behind it. These are eleven thoughts that I have as a writer while writing my stories.

Keep Reading...Show less
April Ludgate

Every college student knows and understands the struggle of forcing themselves to continue to care about school. Between the piles of homework, the hours of studying and the painfully long lectures, the desire to dropout is something that is constantly weighing on each and every one of us, but the glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel helps to keep us motivated. While we are somehow managing to stay enrolled and (semi) alert, that does not mean that our inner-demons aren't telling us otherwise, and who is better to explain inner-demons than the beloved April Ludgate herself? Because of her dark-spirit and lack of filter, April has successfully been able to describe the emotional roller-coaster that is college on at least 13 different occasions and here they are.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments