|  | | Freedom from Eating Disorders | | Eating Disorder Recovery |
| | Eating disorders and the scale is a challenging issue. For many with eating disorders, the scale is an enemy of eating disorder recovery. Its numbers have far too much influence on eating disorder sufferers. Still, it can easily put a person into a panic to consider getting rid of the scale. There’s a sense of security in knowing one’s weight. However, that security is misleading since knowing one’s weight often serves to feed the eating disorder. There is freedom in getting rid of the scale and no longer needing to know that number.
Eating disorders and the scale - consider what's best for you. How do you feel about ceasing to weigh yourself? Are you frightened about or resistant to the idea? If you’re resistant to get rid of your scale, you are not alone. This is very common. Nevertheless, when it comes to the subject of eating disorders and the scale, I encourage you to ask yourself the following questions.
1. When the number on the scale is down, does that satisfy you or does it drive you to lose even more weight?
2. When the number on the scale is up, do you feel down about yourself?
3. When the number on the scale is the same, does that frustrate you?
4. Does the number on the scale determine how much or how little you’re going to eat throughout the day?
5. Does weighing yourself hinder your eating disorder recovery efforts?
If you’ve answered yes to these questions, please consider cutting back on weighing yourself and eventually getting rid of your scale. It may seem impossible to do, but do you want to continue letting the scale prevent you from breaking free of your eating disorder? There’s no doubt that getting rid of the scale is tough to do, but you don’t have to do it alone. Lean on your support system in this endeavor. Find out how other eating disorder sufferers did it.
Eating disorders and the scale can be handled in different ways. Perhaps for some people, it’s easier to get rid of the scale and not look back. If that’s the case for you, determine to do just that and follow through. For many, though, it may be only be possible by cutting back on weighing one step at a time. How about weighing yourself one less time a day? If you weigh yourself once a day, why not try skipping one day a week? From there, take the next step and the next. You may get to the point where you weigh only when you go in for appointments. In time, you may even want to get on the scale backwards at appointments and ask not to be told your weight.
If you get rid of your scale and later buy another one, don’t let that stop you from getting rid of the new one. Things like this happen sometimes. Everyone takes steps back during the recovery process. However, if you got rid of the scale once, you can do it again.
God is ready to assist you in this endeavor is you’ll just ask for His help with this matter of eating disorders and the scale. As His creation, you mean more than the number on the scale could ever convey. Consider that it may be time to focus on the inner you. Let getting rid of your scale be a step toward seeing yourself as the special person God created you to be.
With eating disorders and the scale, you are so much more than a number, so try your best not to let the scale define you. Don’t let the scale hinder you in your eating disorder recovery. It doesn’t deserve to deny you of freedom from your eating disorder. The scale is just an object and shouldn’t be allowed to hold you back. Leave it behind you and go forward in your recovery. There is a better life waiting for you that is more fulfilling than the number on the scale could ever be to you.
By Laurie Glass
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