It’s interesting, isn’t it, how a number on a piece of plastic, metal, and circuits can strike so much dread, terror, and hopelessness in the hearts of so many people? Maybe even you!

Every so often I see evidence of some “movement” to throw out all bathroom scales and love yourself as you are.

Hey, if you’re 350 pounds and battling multiple diseases, but you still truly love yourself, more power to you.

In my experience, most people aren’t able to do that. (I say “most” because there are always exceptions.)

That’s because,  in my experience, a weight problem is a symptom of a deeper problem…of fear, of abuse, of someone who might be in need of emotional or mental healing. Obviously it’s also a symptom of eating the wrong stuff for your body, in the wrong quantities. Maybe not every bite you eat, but enough that it’s showing up as extra body fat.

I get that there are entire industries built around you hating yourself, so you’ll keep buying stuff to try and fix yourself.

And if all this messaging wasn’t out there, would you even know the difference when it comes to your size? Hard to say.

What’s NOT hard to say is that avoiding a number on a scale won’t fix your problems.

So rather than HIDE from the number, and treat it like some toxic cause of all your woes, let’s take a more logical look at the bathroom scale.

Like a doctor’s stethoscope, a blood pressure cuff, your blood glucose monitor, or an EKG, a bathroom scale is a tool that measures ONE aspect of your health.

No, the scale doesn’t tell the WHOLE story, of your health, but neither does a blood pressure cuff, or a blood glucose monitor.

If you were almost hit by a runaway bus, and someone took your blood pressure immediately after, it’s gonna look like you have high blood pressure.

If you eat sugar-soaked fast food cooked in inflammatory oils, and someone measures your blood glucose shortly after you eat, it’ll look like you have high blood sugar.

But those measurements are snapshots in time. They don’t paint the WHOLE picture of your health.

And no one’s chanting about throwing out all blood glucose monitors, or all blood pressure cuffs, are they?

That’s because we know those devices don’t measure your worth and value as a human being. They’re just metrics you can use to track one element of your health.

Well, guess what? The number you see when you step on a bathroom scale works the same way. It’s a metric you use to track one element of your health.

If stepping on the scale is an experience you dread, throwing out the scale isn’t gonna solve what’s causing that dread (though there are exceptions with regard to some people doing better without a scale, like people with certain eating disorders, so please see a mental health professional if you have concerns about whether this applies to you).

Avoiding the scale, in most cases, is just you avoiding problems instead of facing them.

Hey, I get it. Facing problems is hard. It’s uncomfortable. It doesn’t feel good.

But then again, neither does being so heavy, sick, and miserable, that you miss out on most of life because you’re in no shape to participate (or you’re too embarrassed).

Bottom line: The scale is just a tool. Blaming it – or avoiding it – won’t fix anything, just like blaming a rock in your yard won’t fix anything.

I’m not saying it’ll be easy to separate your worth and value as a person from the number on the scale. It probably won’t be as easy as snapping your fingers.

And I do think how you feel about yourself doesn’t HAVE to be tied to your size.

What I want for you is to be healthy and happy with who you are (including how you look).

A lot of times, extra body fat represents NOT being healthy and happy (on many levels), and not valuing yourself.

Losing that weight, and eating in a way that helps you get healthier, can be ONE step in your healing journey…and getting on the scale can help you track a piece of that healing journey.

If it’s a step you’re ready to take – or at least, look at taking – then Code Red is here for you!

Have you created your free Code Red Lifestyle™ network account yet? If not, here’s how to get your account!

1) On your computer, create your account at www.CodeRedLifestyle.com/App.

2) If you want the network on a mobile device, go to the App Store or Google Play Store and search for Code Red Lifestyle.