I spent the last twenty minutes writing a really long post and just deleted all of it.
It was just a rambling mess of nonsense and I decided I’d rather just tell you a short story.
A few months ago, I gave away my scale.
One of my clients was going to buy one and I was about to take mine to Savers, so I gave it to him instead.
And it was one of the best things I’ve ever done for my training.
As you may know, I’ve had a long history with weight and body image issues.
At this point in my life, I actually think all of that is a giant load of horse shit and I don’t really care what I weigh.
I don’t really even care what I look like.
I just want to be able to do what I want to do as an athlete and whatever body allows me to do that is a body that makes me happy.
Yet it’s hard for me to separate myself from the societal noise around numbers because growing up, all I wanted to be was smaller.
So when I see the number on the scale go up, there’s a little hand in my brain that starts to pull an emergency brake.
And the fucked up part?
I don’t even notice it.
It’s not a voice.
It’s not a demon.
It’s not a gremlin.
It’s just a hand slowly pulling an emergency brake on my food intake.
I start skipping breakfast.
I forget to pack lunch.
I don’t replace the snacks at work.
And all of that leads to both underfueled training sessions and weekly binges where I’ll eat an entire extra-large pizza or three full burritos.
And none of that helps me.
I want to run faster.
I want to run farther.
I want to squat heavier and climb harder.
Undereating plays no part in any of that.
It sabotages everything I actually want.
So I gave away my scale.
And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the past few months of training have been some of the most productive months I’ve ever had (even with a couple of sprained ankles).
We all have these things.
These little emergency brakes that live in our brains and work to sabotage our greater interests.
For me, it’s a scale.
For you, it might be something entirely different.
But if you notice something is holding you back from your goals, then it might be time to get rid of that thing.