Screw you ED

I call him ED(ie eating disorder). That annoying voice in my head that creeps in whenever I have to get on a scale or put food in my mouth . Its a terrible habit never forgotten post addiction. I fight him daily but a lot less than when anorexia had a hold of my life. The reason I am telling you this is because when eating Paleo style came about part of your results are based on your weight. Getting on the scale when I first started eating Paleo style was the first time since I went to the doctors a year ago. I never allow myself to do it. I do not even own a scale. So you can imagine the crazy things ED had to say when I got on the scale yesterday only to see my weight had gone up 5 pounds. Not only had it gone up but it is the heaviest I have weighed EVER! 

I am not going to lie, part of me wanted to have a break down. I just didn't understand it. I feel great, my clothes don't feel snug and my confidence has boosted 10 fold (until I got on that scale). So WHY had I put on weight? BOTTOM LINE, its not about that damn number on the scale. We as a society have had it en-grained in our brains that we MUST be a certain weight. Hell even the doctor has it laid out for you what your weight to height ratio is. But why?

I have always asked myself this. Since starting Crossfit I feel better than ever, I am in the best shape of my life AND I put on weight. What does that mean? Well people, it means I am getting leaner. I hear a lot of people say "well muscle weights more than fat". Is that true? Well I did a little research and here is what I found. A pound of fat is a pound of fat, respectively a pound of muscle is a pound of muscle. "If your weight stayed exactly the same and we theoretically took off 5 lbs of fat from you and replaced it with 5lbs of muscle. You would weight exactly the same, but because muscle is more "dense" than fat, the 5lbs of muscle takes up less space, you would appear slightly leaner and/or thinner. A person can not add actual true muscle weight though without being in calorie excess. A starving person who lifts weight is not going to build much muscle, if at all" says Jeff Novick of Healthscience.org . My point here is that, yes I have gained weight, its good weight. I am replacing fats with muscle and in addition adding more muscle. Therefore my body should appear more lean and I should feel stronger in my workouts. Both of which I do. 

We cannot base our body composition on weight alone. We must take into account all that comes with it. If we are eating right and taking care of our bodies we should see the results we want. The scale is JUST A NUMBER. How do your clothes fit? Do you like what you see in the mirror? Can you walk up a flight of stairs without losing breathe? Can you go outside and run around with your kids? These to me are what we should be looking at not the scale. 

Crossfit has given me a lot of things. Leaner body, stronger body, and a place to let go of stress. But most of all it has given me confidence and the right mind set of what being healthy is. For that, I thank the heavens I have found Crossfit and I make it a part of my daily life. ED no longer controls me or who I am on a daily basis. I can finally look down on him and crush his every negative word. 

DO NOT LOOK AT THE SCALE!!!

ED Hater,
Samantha