Given that it's New Year's Eve, I'm sure everyone has heard about (or made) New Year Resolutions. That's kind of a given. So question, how many of you have a New Year's Resolution about losing weight? I'm going to guess that most of you reading this have that resolution. Whether it's 5 pounds, 50 pounds, or 500 pounds, it doesn't matter. What matters is WHY you want to lose the weight.
If your New Year's Resolution for losing weight is about losing weight for your health, that's awesome! However, if you want to lose weight this next year so you can feel better about yourself, because you feel like you should, or because you want to fit in, I'd encourage you to make a New Year's Resolution about Smashing the Scale instead of losing weight.
What is smashing the scale? Smashing the scale is the idea that people are more than their number on a scale. This goes for everyone on the scale. Let's face it, we live in a society of catch-22s. If you're "too fat", you are automatically labeled as lazy, sloppy, weak-minded, and don't care about your appearance. On the flip side, if you are "too skinny" you are automatically labeled as cold, anorexic, mean, and you've probably been told to just "eat a freaking sandwich!". Are you serious? Talked about damned if you do, damned if you don't! So what if instead of labeling based on a number on the scale and started looking at personality? That's what Smashing the Scale is all about!
I can give you some personal examples from my life and a few from my close friends' lives, just to give you a taste of what happens on a daily basis.
Freshman year of college I went to the doctor for a prescription for strep throat. Before giving me the prescription, the doctor felt the need to tell me that "every health problem you're currently experiencing is related to your weight". The only health problem I had was strep throat. Pretty sure that had more to do with working in a classroom of sick kids than my weight. He then asked about my exercise habits and was skeptical when I said I didn't have a car and walked everywhere, and that I participated in at least 2 exercise classes a week, as well as personal workouts. When I left, I was given tons of information about weight loss, dieting, making healthy habits, a "Summary of Visit", and finally the prescription I'd come for. Listed as the primary reason for me visit? "Obesity". The secondary reason for my visit? "Strep Throat". Umm excuse me? I came in for Strep Throat, not once did I ask you about my weight, nor did I ask you about weight loss. Thank you for making me feel like scum under a rock because my BMI isn't exactly where it should be.
A friend of mine went to the OB/GYN because her birth control had stopped working, even though she was taking it properly. The doctor came in, glanced at her file and immediately said my friend needed bariatric surgery (weight-loss surgery) to correct the issue and refused to run no further tests. After going to another doctor, it turned out my friend just needed a different type of birth control.
A different friend of mine is tiny. Sometimes her size 00 pants were too big on her. It's how she's built. We walk around campus together and people express their surprise when she eats something from the Chinese place of KFC in the food court. More than that, people ask if she's anorexic or if she's ever enjoyed ice cream before. That's a pretty common occurrence for her, and naturally it bugs her.
The last story I'll share is actually from a 5 year old girl that I was babysitting. Dress-up was one of her favorite activities, so after dinner I asked if she wanted to play dress up. She agreed and ran upstairs. I helped her tug her box of costumes into the middle of the room, and pulled out her Beauty and the Beast dress (the yellow ballgown that Belle wears) as it was her favorite dress and princess. "Want to be Belle?" I asked holding up the gown. She looked at the dress queerly then said, "I can't be Belle, she isn't fat like me." I was shocked and then instantly broken-hearted. This 5 year old girl, who wasn't not very large nor unhealthy, had already started comparing her body to the body of the princess on TV. I hugged her, told her she was too pretty to be a princess anyway and put the dress back. I asked if she'd rather run in the sprinkler and catch fireflies before bed instead of playing dress up. She heartily agreed and we spent the rest of night acting like 5 year old girls should. Not comparing bodies to models or worrying about how the swimsuit looked.
These stories are just examples of why we need to Smash the Scale! Two girls berated at the doctor's office because the number on the scale said they were too big. Another girl embarrassed almost every time she eats because the number on her scale says she is too small to eat. Last, a 5 year old who thought she couldn't be a princess because her stomach wasn't completely flat anymore.
So for New Year's? Let's Smash the Scale! Let's see people personalities, achievements, and potential without regard as to what the scale says about them. Let's focus on healthy instead of on skinny. Let's stop counting calories and let our bodies be the judge. Let's challenge the labels we're given based on our weight, because we are more than any label given to us. More than that, let's learn to love our bodies, any shape and/or size, because there will never be a person just like us. Start Smashing the Scale!
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