Our friends at Shape Magazine show us how to embrace the scale and not let it discourage us.
There are a handful of ways to measure how healthy you are—fitness tests, body mass index, biomarkers in your blood, and, of course, the trusty scale. This last one causes perhaps the most distress to women (your pulse probably quickened just at the mention of it).
And in fact, that's how most women feel. A new study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior found that women who weigh themselves more often are also more likely to be concerned with their own weight, have a more negative body image, lower self-esteem, and higher likelihood of depression. (Beware: Another Study Found That Body Shaming Leads to Higher Mortality Rate.)
But you really shouldn't let the scale define you! "It only tells you your relationship with gravity. It cannot dictate happiness, success, or self-worth," says Alexandra Caspero, R.D., owner of weight management and sports nutrition service Delicious-Knowledge.com. Plus, the scale doesn't really tell you all that much about your health. "If a client is obese, I can make that distinction without an exact number," she adds.
Between requirements at the doctor's office and the temptation in the gym locker room, though, sometimes you just want to know what your number is. And that's totally okay. So how do you step on without making the scale your enemy? Follow these four rules.
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