Don’t allow self-imposed ideals around diet and weight damper your spirit. Your worth is not defined by any number on a scale.
BY: LINDSAY SPARKS, RDN
You step on the scale, and the number is up or hasn’t budged. You feel sad, get frustrated, and feel defeat.
On the other hand, you may step on the scale. The number is down. You smile, celebrate, share about it, and feel “progress.”
Or sometimes, after having a “bad day” or a “bad week” of eating and exercise, you may not even bear to get on the scale out of self-imposed shame, disappointment, and defeat.
Does this all sound familiar?
Far too often, we base our happiness in our body’s relationship to gravity and its outside appearance. We let that inner spark dim because we have this idea that we can’t burn bright unless we look a certain way.
We go on and off diets – “eat clean,” count calories, track, remove favorite foods, exercise obsessively – because if we can “just get the weight off,” we believe we will feel better, be better, look better, move better. We may even get the idea that our friends, loved ones, and even strangers will love us more.
Or perhaps we believe that we will love ourselves more if we are able to look in the mirror and see less of ourselves looking back.
Does this sound grim? Yes. It’s a hopeless game that so many play in their lives. A way of life that promotes restriction, self-loathing, and obsession with numbers is not loving and does not serve your physical and mental health in any way.
It takes taking a deeper dive within to discover why this way of living does much more harm than good, and overshadows what’s within. Your inner spark is what makes you unique, and is not defined by a number on the scale or your outward appearance.
Your spark is fed by love.
And it is meant to open a door to living a life that allows YOU to be YOU at your fullest and with your spark burning bright. Your body is an amazing vessel that carries you through this life.
Learn to love it right now, in the present moment, for all of the wondrous workings it is doing to keep you alive.
Adapted from the original article.
Lindsay Sparks, RDN is a Registered Dietitian based in Springfield, MO. In her private practice, she focuses on empowering others to embrace their bodies and live a life well-nourished. Through food, health at every size, and intuitive eating principles, she helps others cultivate meaningful, happy lives. Learn more about Lindsay at Feed Your Spark.