If you want to feel happier about yourself, it’s time to ditch those scales.
If you’re anything like a lot of people (me included!) then the last week or two (or even the past month!) has been all about festive feasting. You’ve eaten waaay more than normal; had lots of festive food, alcoholic drinks and Christmas gatherings centred around eating. Plus loads of chocolate or sweets from your Christmas stocking… Thanks for all the treats, Father Christmas, but you’re a bit of a food pusher!?!
I’ve heard people saying they’ve weighed themselves and now it’s time to ‘go on a diet’ – which gives me alarm bells! Coz dieting just makes it worse in the long term!
STOP! Before you go on that diet, read this first…
You’ve seen the number on the scales go up and you’re beating yourself up for it. It’s tempting to try the latest trendy diet, but getting sucked into the New Year dieting bullshit won’t help you. Even if it’s not a super strict plan, it’s often about changing too much in one go or following a diet plan perfectly.
You’ll only end up feeling like a failure by the end of January coz you can’t keep it going.
Before you know it, you’ve slipped into a cycle of yo-yo dieting for the rest of the year. Same as you do every year… Sound familiar?
It’s time to forget the number on the scales! It’s NOT a measure of your self-worth.
You are MORE than the number on the scales.
If you’re ever going to feel happier about yourself, you need to accept that the number on the scales is just a number.
Yes, you may’ve gained weight over Christmas, it’s your body’s normal, natural response to having more energy than it needed. No need to beat yourself up & think you’ve failed. You may well be thinking that you need to make some changes to your eating & exercising habits to be healthier. Now the scales can be useful for telling you whether those changes are making a difference. But if you’re attaching your happiness or self-worth to what the scales say or how much weight you lose… Put those scales away.
Before you look at making any kind of changes to your eating or exercising habits, take some time to check in with how you feel about yourself generally. Can you see your own strengths? Do you value yourself and see yourself as worthy right now?
If you struggle with this then work on building your self-confidence and self-esteem before making changes. Or it’s too easy to start associating your self-worth with your weight. Losing weight isn’t going to help you feel happier about yourself.
I see self-confidence & self-esteem as being able to accept yourself as you are. Being able to recognise your strengths & self-worth, while accepting your weaknesses without thinking that you’re wrong for having them. It’s too easy to focus on & feel bad about your so-called flaws. But if you only think about all the things you don’t like about yourself, you’ll just feel miserable. Remember it’s part of being a human to have imperfections – they make us real and more interesting.
Stop using those so-called flaws as a stick to beat yourself, instead give yourself a massive pat on the back for all the things that are amazing about you. You definitely have these things, I don’t believe you if you say you don’t have any.
Here are two activities to help you feel happier about yourself. I think they’re good to reflect on as we enter a new year.
Activity 1 – write down your successes from the past year
I’ve been doing this activity for quite a few years now after Denise Duffield-Thomas recommended it in one of her emails. Grab a notepad and write down everything you feel proud of from the past year. It could be big things or small things but keep writing down everything you can think of until you have at least 30-50 things written down.
Keep asking yourself what else you achieved last year. Or you might find it helps to talk about it with someone you trust so you can keep asking each other what else you’re proud of having done last year. Your wins and successes could be things you did well in your job or business, no matter how big or small. They could be problems or challenges that you overcame. You could write down things that you like about yourself or things you finally accept about yourself that you previously didn’t like. Include any compliments you received or positive feedback you had. By writing it down you have evidence of your strengths and achievements to read and remind yourself how amazing you are. Give it a try and let me know how you get on!
Activity 2 – record your wins in the coming year
This is something that I’ve been doing since the start of this year, and it will help with doing activity 1! Grab one of those pretty notepads you’ve not used yet. I know you have one somewhere that you’ve been saving for something special, well this is it! Every time you do something you feel proud of in the next year, write it down in your book of successes. Try to write something at least every week if you can; spend some time reflecting on the past week on a Sunday night. Include anything you want to remember, all your successes and wins, no matter how big or small. It could be to do with habits you’re working on building, qualifications you achieve or those challenges you overcome. Include feedback and compliments you receive and anything that goes well.
By getting into the habit of writing down we can learn to focus on our strengths and positives rather than dwell on the negatives. Remember we all have both strengths and weaknesses, but it can be easier to only see the negative and be down on yourself.
It’s not vain or arrogant to be positive about yourself. Too often we’re brought up to downplay our strengths in case we’re seen as too big for our boots or a ‘show-off’. But then you’re more likely to feel shit about yourself. Write your list of successes and read them regularly especially if you’re feeling down on yourself or facing tough times. This is what will help you feel happier about yourself. This will help you face the challenges and feel more confident.
You’re more likely to find your self-confidence & self-esteem doing this rather than staring at those scales – so chuck out those scales and start a journal of self-positivity instead!
Need help to ditch dieting forever? Want to eat normally again AND lose weight healthily ..? While still enjoying the cake & chocolate? Hell yes!
I can help you ditch dieting forever, either with my 1-2-1 support. Or if you prefer to work independently, you can learn all the skills I teach my 1-2-1 clients, on my ‘No More Diets’ online course.
My Weekly Round-up! AKA; what I’ve been up to recently…
- Forget tea of the week – this week it’s been all about amaretto! I don’t normally drink much ever since I stopped drinking to get pregnant. This week I’ve had a few festive amaretto coffees though. Plus a few amaretto & cokes – yum!
- I’m not going to lie – this last week has mostly been about eating lots of festive treats and binge-watching Downton Abbey. I’ve now finished all 6 seasons and the film! Looking forward to seeing what happens in the 2nd film next year now…
- We did manage to get out for a family walk along the brook on Boxing Day, but I only saw a massive flock of magpies and a load of moorhens.
- I’ve been enjoying filling in more of my Goal Getter Books by Leonie Dawson – there are soooo many things I want to do next year and it’s making me feel pretty excited! I love spending some quite time reflecting on what I’ve done over the past year, what’s gone well and where I want to be in the next year. These books have been the perfect companion to do this. Oh and yes, I am a super fan with an affiliate link so I get commission if you follow the link & buy the books too!
- It’s been a really chilled week here spending time with family and playing games. The next week will hopefully be more of the same before we’re back to the usual school run routine.
