Monday morning, 5:10 am . . . with my eyes barely open and my mind still in dreamland, I stepped onto our bathroom scale. My first thought was that I didn’t see the number clearly because of my early wake up call.
So I hastily got off, thinking FOR SURE the number would be lower the second time I stepped on.
It wasn’t.
What the hell? I couldn’t believe it! I exercise VERY regularly, I eat well and I FEEL good. Yet it was the highest number I had seen on that scale in a LONG time . . . and I felt completely defeated before the sun had even come up.
I hate scales, I am totally against BMI charts and I preach to my tribe often about how you are “much more than a number” . . . yet I STILL get sucked into that evil underworld of what I “should” look like and how much I “should” weigh.
Numbers on scales, size of jeans, BMI calculations, flat abs, thigh gaps, muffin tops . . . blah blah blah.
I compare myself to some other “body” daily . . . in spin class or Pure Barre, in the pages of a magazine, when admiring my friend’s new leggings, on the beach, while scrolling through Facebook.
Most days I catch myself doing the “compare and despair” thing, and can avoid the evil underworld of flat abs and thigh gaps corrupting me too much.
But sometimes, I am surrounded by too many size 4’s and flat abs and just too damn tired to avoid the powerful pull of that evil underworld.
It drags me down, convinces me that I am not good enough and then spits me out{right after I have eaten an entire bag of potato chips} . . . exhausted and defeated.
My hunch is that this happens to you too.
What do you “compare and despair” about?
What pulls you down to your evil underworld?
It sucks right?
Well my beautiful tribe, I am here to tell you that it CAN suck less with a little bit of gratitude.
I know this, because I am doing it.
Despite my skepticism {this whole “being grateful thing” just seems too simple to be that effective} . . . I decided to give it a try, and it actually works.
Creating a “gratitude practice” is powerful stuff! {That’s why it’s one of my Bliss Elements to help you kick butt as a human being}
Being grateful CAN rescue you from your evil underworld most of the time.
Being grateful CAN help you “compare and despair” less.
Being grateful CAN prevent you from eating that bag of potato chips, or being annoyed with your husband, or buying that pair of shoes that you can’t afford or yelling at your kiddos for no apparent reason.
Wouldn’t that FEEL good!
Just begin.
Start small.
Be kind to yourself.
Whisper it in the shower, say it out loud while driving in your car, write it in a journal or on a scrap of paper. Whatever feels good for you.
Creating a “gratitude practice” is simple . . . but simple doesn’t mean easy, and that’s ok.
Give gratitude a chance for the next 7 days and see what happens.
Patience. Consistency. Love
“I am grateful for _______”
And BTW: despite the disastrous 5:10 am bathroom scale incident . . . I still managed to get my butt to my 6 am spin class, be grateful for my strong body AND sing along with Beyonce. It was going to be a good Monday!
xo,
amy
Kate L. says
July 26, 2017 at 11:47 amHi Amy! Best blog I have read in a long time. And my gratitude for today (as I very much believe in being grateful daily) is for you writing this article. I feel what you describe any time I step on the scale and almost daily just because but to know someone like you who I consider beautiful and someone who I believe has a kick ass figure can feel the same things is just reassuring. I am hopeful I can get to the point at some point in my life to not care about numbers or size and focus more on how I feel and feel no guilt enjoying a delicious meal or desert because life is too short not to! Thanks again for sharing!
amy says
July 26, 2017 at 3:06 pmThanks for taking the time to read it Kate, and I am glad my struggles reassured you!! 🙂 We are all in this together and we need to support one another and know that we are not alone!!! Perhaps we need to just throw our scales in the trash, go move our bodies because it FEELS good and then enjoy that glass of wine and yummy dessert (in moderation) without the guilt on the side! You are rockin it girl, so go enjoy life!!