Yupp, the title says it all.. this is the blog post behind my mysterious facebook update…
And let me tell you this is a good story.. borderlines on a rant… but heyy… a girls allowed to rant on her blog from time to time. Okies ready?
I have been terrified of the scale since I can remember. Probably right about when I got my “friend” when I was 10.. and shot up to like 110 lbs. because of well… you ladies understand {and guys… just .. you don’t even want me to go into detail}. Anyhoo, ever since then the scale and I have been mortal enemies. I mean it’s held me back a lot. I’d be like most people, see one pound gained and completely fall apart {ok..well .. maybe not most people}. Part of the appeal of paleo for me wasn’t just getting healthy… it was the lack of calorie counting and the lack of weighing myself. It was a reason for me to not face this completely irrational fear that I’ve had for 10+ years.
Well… No more! I woke up this morning and said F-It. I’ve got goals, I’ve got big lofty goals {like 15% body fat, super in shape, shin-splint free and just all around happy body-wise}. But I can’t do that if I’m still afraid of something as small as a scale. How much has this scale been holding me back? How many excuses have I made about not loosing the weight when I should because when you’re paleo you don’t need to weigh yourself as often … if not at all? I mean between last October and Holiday season I probably gained 10 pounds, but just brushed it off as “normal” and figured once I was done editing a million and one sessions and the Holidays were over I’d “get back to it”. That right there is bull… it’s lazyness on my part. And maybe if I had gotten over my fear of the scale ahead of that I’d have seen the pounds creeping on and could have stopped them before. Instead I had not only make myself get on my own bandwagon I had to undo the crap I did to myself.
No. More. I’m sick of it, I’m sick of hiding from some silly number, I’m tired of letting it rule my life. It was even ruling my life without me owning one! This is how stupid this whole thing really is!
So I walked into Target today… Got me a super cool scale. It’ measures body fat, water weight % and weight. It’s lightweight and is stylish {Yes, I like my scales stylish}. And in true POAB style, it was on clearance! So my wallet was equally as happy {as was Mr. Not So Paleo!}. Not only did I buy a scale today {and got an ice coffee with my shiny new cheap starbucks giftcard} but I’ve changed up my eating again. I’ll do a more detailed post on that a different point just because this would be forever long if I didn’t. But it’s still Paleo so don’t worry, I’m not changing that!
So here’s my question to you {and the bigger reason for this post}: What in your life is holding you back from what you want? It doesn’t have to be body / weight related. What fears do you have that are stopping you from doing what you want and being who you want to be? And what the heck are you going to do ASAP to change it?
First, props for facing fears.
But!
Remember that the body fat measurements are pretty inaccurate on those things. 10-12% body fat is really low for a woman. I thought 18 was the limit before potential disrupted menstrual cycles comes into play? Maybe I am mixing that up with bmi, which e ask know it’s much useless but the lower range for being underweight before”technical”anorexia is 18.
This one on the reviews I’ve read say it’s pretty accurate {they went to the drs. and had it done and then comapred to scale and it’s roughly 1% off give or take..} it’s a nice cheap reference point 🙂 Women I believe to even have abs showing need to get down to the 10-12% body fat mark.. I think 18 is the bmi…. Because “healthy” BMI is right about 25 I think… Which is absurd because you could weigh in the “Obsese range” but have 10% body fat… silly bad numbers game!
I probably won’t get to 10-12% range, but it’s a nice goal to get me to the more realistic 15%!
“Healthy” BMI is 18.5-25. Above is considered overweight and below is under. Anything over 30 is obese.
Sorry, recently gave birth and my midwife is giving me crap about my BMI. It keeps creeping towards underweight even though I try to eat.
Ande thank you!!
Congratulations on the Baby!!
Cheap reference points are helpful (hence the scale!). I looked it up, and a woman athlete’s body fat % is usually 14-20%, with 10-12% being the essential range. I think it would be hard to get that low, but it’s true that setting the goal lower can help you get to the right range 🙂 I always thought I’d want to get back to my high school weight, but I’m much happier 5 lbs heavier, since that’s muscle!
I had some decent arm muscle in high school {thank you string bass} but I’d like to be able to do that whole bikini thing! But yeah realistically we all know I’ll hit 20% and be all happy and dance-y about it and stop there…. but it would be cool to see what 15% looks like on me considering I was never athletic or anything. It’d be nice to know that I can if I want to!
It is also my fear, I hate scales. When I go to see my dr. I turn around so I don’t see that number, begging the nurse not to tell me. Since gone Paleo (7 months) I have only weighted myself 4 times. I am still afraid of it even though that I have lost 20 lbs.
Rossana I am the same way! I’d always close my eyes and tell the nurse not to tell me {of course they always tell you anyways}. But yes, I completely understand what you mean and I’m totally here if you need a friend to talk to about it 🙂
But congratulations on those 20lbs! That’s absolutley amazing 🙂
I agree with Tasha, 10-12 % body fat is really low for a woman, and unhealthy. I’ve been that low before, and looked terrible! 14-17% is where most elite women athletes are, which is a better range. I’m at 15% and look much, much better now than the time period I was between 10-12%!
Oops, I mistyped. I am at 17% body fat, not 15. For some reason, the number 15 was in my head. My bad. I was slightly off on the elite athlete thing too, it’s actually 15-18%, not 14-17%. Anything under 15% is considered too little body fat and can present health risks for a woman. Anyway, pardon my mistypings! Had to correct myself!
Thank you Alisa 🙂 It’s amazing how you think you do enough research and then still get bad information lol! I always thought the 10-12% range was the lower of the “ok” range.. but like I told Ms. Tasha… I’m guessing I’ll end up at 15-20% but it’s always nice to have a bigger goal in mind so when you get to where you should be it was easier than you thought!
I am skinny fat. I look pretty good in my clothes, but my body fat is about 30% in a size 6 dress. I weigh less now than I have weighed in 8 years, totally achieved through nutrition. I had an injury nearly 3 years ago that derailed my fitness and I haven’t regularly worked out since. My kids are older now, 17, 15, and 9, and I don’t have to invest as much energy and time taking care of them. I “should” have time to invest in an exercise routine. I work part-time in TV, and I have an agent really interested in representing me, so that I can follow my dream of working in front of the camera, instead of behind it. I am terrified of success as much as failure, and I’m struggling to give myself permission to put myself first.
I’m going to play tennis this morning with some friends, the third time I’ve played in three years. I know I need to lift weights. I’m having hormonal issues and in two weeks I’m going to have a hysterectomy, so taking care of myself is going to be more important than ever. So besides playing tennis today, I’m also going to work on organizing my clothes and accessories for a photo shoot for my comp card that’s happening next week.
Thanks for sharing your fear Liz, and allowing me to share mine with you.