KEY INSIGHT: The metrics society emphasizes for health (weight, BMI, clothing size) are poor indicators of actual health and wellbeing while more meaningful metrics (energy, capability, sleep quality, mental clarity, biomarkers, freedom from cravings) are largely ignored. This misplaced focus leads people to make decisions that optimize for weight loss while harming actual health – crash dieting, excessive exercise, muscle loss, metabolic damage, psychological distress. Weight is an outcome of health, not a measure of it. By focusing on what actually matters (how you feel, what you can do, how your body functions), you make better decisions that lead to both improved health and sustainable body composition changes. The scale has power over you only because you’ve given it that power.
PERSONAL REFLECTION:
Make an honest inventory of your progress over these past 27 days. Don’t look at the scale. Look at these questions:
If you answered yes to several of these, you’re succeeding – regardless of what the scale says. If you’re fixating on the scale number and ignoring these real improvements, you’re measuring the wrong things.
TODAY’S EXERCISE:
Create your personal success scorecard based on what actually matters. Rate yourself 1-10 in each category and commit to tracking these weekly instead of tracking weight:
My Real Success Metrics:
Total Score: __/80
Track this weekly. Watch your total score trend upward over time. This is your real progress. This is what actually matters.
If you must weigh yourself, do it monthly at most – and only as one data point among many, not as the defining metric of your success.