Take one simple step to prevent gaining weight over any holiday.
Literally, take a step.
On to the scale.
Weighing ourselves can be a touchy subject. Understandably, there can be hesitation and fear surrounding regular weigh-ins.
It’s similar to why people don’t go to the doctor. You feel like something might be wrong, but you don’t want to go to the doctor and potentially hear the bad news.
Often, we don’t want to step on the scale because we fear the result. We know when we haven’t been smart or diligent with our diet. We have a suspicion that our weight may have gone up.
Avoiding the scale means we don’t have to face reality, but that’s not the most effective solution.
In fact, research is telling us that avoiding the scale is actually the opposite of effective.
A study by the Obesity Society reveals that “daily self-weighing (is) a successful approach to prevent holiday weight gain.”
This study was conducted from Thanksgiving through the Christmas holiday season and had two groups navigate one of the hardest times of the year for our society to manage its weight. One group was a control group and did not regularly monitor its weight. The second group weighed itself daily.
The results were clear: the control group gained weight, while the daily self-weighing group experienced no weight change.
Definitely check out the link above to the study if you’re interested in more specifics on the study design and outcomes. It’s pretty interesting stuff.
Applications and Takeaways
Daily weigh-ins are something I stress with my clients because it flat out works. It’s hard, but it works.
If you’re consistently aware of your weight, you’re going to be more likely to maintain it (at the very least) if not successfully lose weight. Since starting my business, I’ve not had a single weight-loss client gain weight. A big part of this is thanks to daily self-weighing.
While this study was specific to the holidays, it can and should be applied to regular daily life.
Awareness is key with so many things, and your weight is no different. If you can simply set a goal of stepping on the scale every morning, you’ll be taking a huge step towards weight maintenance or loss.
From there, you can build a strategy around weighing yourself and track progress.
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If you’ve experienced struggles with managing your weight and are interested in coaching to help reach your goals, contact me and let’s talk about what coaching options might exist for you!
CGF