The Number on the Scale

I’ve wanted to tackle this topic for a long time but was never quite sure how because when we define our body, this is what we think of. We are asked for this number at almost every doctor’s appointments, it is on our license, it’s on most of our health forms, it’s what we think about every day, it’s what is underlying every thought about body image, it’s at the forefront of our brains when we eat or drink anything. It’s the number on the scale. The number that glares back at us, that decides whether we are considered “skinny” or “fat,” that determines whether we are allowed to feel good about ourselves. And, frankly, it makes me furious. Furious that, as a society, we have allowed a number to push girls and boys to insecurity and starvation.

The part that bugs me the most is that, that number on the scale most likely does not even accurately represent your weight. It does not take into account your muscles or your clothes, your hair or how much you ate that day. But, more than that, it does not consider your intelligence, how caring and thoughtful you are, how loving you are and how loved you are. A number has no right to dictate how you live your life. We give our weight an enormous amount of power over us and it’s hard to convey how badly we need to release that baggage that we carry around with us but if there’s one thing that I always try to remember and to tell others is that we are all so much more than just a number.

I could go on for much longer. I could rant and rant about why we should not weigh ourselves every day and why it’s so inaccurate anyways but I know, in the end, society has placed too great of a load on our weight to ever just let it go. Because even though I know deep down it does not matter, every time I go to the doctors my stomach gets in knots when I know I have to step on that scale. I try to remember everything that I have just written down and sometimes I do and sometimes it doesn’t seem like enough. And it’s ok to not be ok 100% of the time, but always try to remember that one number does not make you not worthy or not enough. One number cannot, and should not, ever make you think that you are not beautiful.