Shaking Old Thinking Patterns About Weight and The Scale

I fell into an old thought pattern the other day. I received some information from my primary care doctor that included what the BMI chart claims my weight should be: a full 15 kilos less than what I currently weigh.

For data purposes, my current BMI falls just within “normal,” yet my doctor’s printout said that I was significantly overweight. To follow up my stance that muscular healthy bodies are going to be heavier, I had my body composition analysis completed. And as I suspected, my skeletal muscle mass is what drives my scale weight up. But, even with this information… I still couldn’t shake the idea that I was apparently 15kg overweight. And this is not pounds…this is kilos we are talking!  

I found myself spiraling, letting the old thoughts and beliefs I used to hold about my weight take precedence over what I currently know to be true. When these old thoughts resurface, it’s so important to have the power tools in your arsenal to tackle them head-on.

So what is my point? Our brains categorically take inconsequential events and build these huge stories and narratives around them that may or may not be true. The best thing you can do about them is to recognize them for what they are, understand that you will have them, no matter what, and learn to reevaluate them so you can reframe your thoughts into better intentions.

I believe the most important part of developing new, healthier thought patterns is to have emotional self-care practices in place. One of the best ways to do this is to talk about, and set, boundaries - not just with the people in your life, but also with yourself.

I’d also recommend being aware of “should” statements. They’re limiting and restrictive and don’t often tell you what you actually need to do in your own personal circumstances. They’re also usually tied into your old thought patterns and beliefs - you know, the ones you’re trying to get rid of!  For example…"I should weigh 15kg less," based on nothing scientific is not helpful.

I wanted to bring this up because the idea is to not get rid of the thoughts completely, but to develop power tools to address the thoughts that do not serve us. I thought this was a very good example of how my career is devoted to helping women with body acceptance and optimizing their genetic potential, yet I forgot about this for a brief moment when an automatic negative thought took over.

Moral of the story… we are all human.

Sending you love and comfort and normalizing the old beliefs that will resurface from time to time.