Praise for Weight Loss

Discovering Balance Series – Part 3

Suddenly, weight loss became my ONLY motivation. According to the BMI scale, I still hadn’t reached my “goal weight”. But up to that point everything I was doing had worked. I had changed my life; there was no going back. So of course I kept going, but I began making shifts to try to lose more. I started with small things but soon it morphed into way more. All I needed to do was make a few more changes and this last bit of weight would come off, too.

I wore a fitness watch 24/7, and started using an app to track what I ate. I began living by the ‘calories in-calories out’ methodology, cutting calories and increasing my workouts. Suddenly, hiking, biking and dancing weren’t enough, I had to do more. I started running and joined Crossfit because they were more strenuous, so I assumed that’s what I had to do. I worked out more and more, and ate less and less. It didn’t work, the scale refused to budge. It was frustrating but I kept going because felt I had to. It consumed me.

Instead of going out with friends, I worked out. If a get-together didn’t involve some type of physical activity or healthy eating, I declined. If my husband and I went out, it was only to restaurants that had salads, or online menus I could use to plan ahead.

My friends and family knew how hard I was working; often at the expense of spending time with them, but they cheered me on. They praised me constantly. “You’re such a healthy eater; you never cheat! You’re so dedicated! I’m so proud of you!” I loved hearing it. I’m naturally a people-pleaser so these compliments gave me what I needed to keep going, even if the scale wasn’t moving. Suddenly being “healthy” became my identity. I posted my workouts on social media every day which brought even more accolades. It was like an addiction.

What I know now is that when we praise someone for shrinking their body, we’re telling them that they are only worthy of praise IN a smaller body.

Tomorrow I’ll be sharing more about how these unhealthy thoughts affected my life.