Coffee Talk: How Do You Find Your Happy Weight?

Nov 16, 2012

Coffee Talk: How Do You Find Your Happy Weight?

Women throughout time have had a long, complicated relationship with weight and food. When we’re constantly bombarded with ads for everything from diet plans to weight loss clubs, it can be incredibly difficult to find balance and easy to start viewing your body as an ongoing project. So tell us, Everygirls, how do you find your happy weight? In a society that’s striving for skinny, what are your secrets to making peace with the numbers on the scale?

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Stephanie Weers

http://twitter.com/CarleneRD Carlene Thomas RD

Part of the battle is the obsession with the numbers on the scale instead of how healthy you feel AT those numbers. I personally never weigh myself and track weight based on how my clothes fit and how energetic I’ve been feeling.
Sera Ellis

I do that too Carlene! we don’t have a scale and I think I’m happier for it.
http://twitter.com/jfrancesdesign Jillian Frances

I decided to stop weighing myself as well. After a summer of lifting and becoming stronger, I found my weight wasn’t budging. Seeing that number on the scale would ruin my day, and I didn’t want to be controlled by a number that is essentially meaningless as look as I look good, feel good and my clothes fit.
Christine

Eat whole REAL foods. By doing this, your body finds its happy weight Bikram yoga has not only helped me tone my body but staring in the mirror for 90 minutes at yourself half naked, you quickly become happy with what you see.
Shayna_Steel_Petal_Press

It’s so true and sad that women are judged so heavily on appearance. I personally have felt the pressure of this from a very young age, and I know I am not along. When I was in high school I was addicted to working out and 10 lbs under weight. Several years later I went through a bout of depression and meds and was 30 lbs over weight.

My weight has always fluctuated over the years and I am still mildly obsessed with it, but I’ve tried real hard to not let it get the best of me. I still weigh myself almost every day. But now I try to focus on being HEALTHY not skinny. So I eat foods that make me feel better and I exercise because it makes me feel stronger and more energized.

Also, being in Chicago I just have to come to terms with weighing 5 lbs more in the winter and 5 lbs lighter in the summer!
Alyssa Gapske

I actually don’t look at the scale. My goal is just to feel good in my clothes. If they start to feel too tight, I try to work out a little more or eat better. If I feel vibrant and my clothes fit, what else do I need?

I actually was just at the doctor and found out how much I weigh and now I’m trying to eat more! It’s an ever ending battle!
Natalia Contreras

I’m personally my own worst critic, but it’s not always about the weight. I try to work out and eat healthy not only to maintain a certain weight, but to also FEEL good about myself. There have definitely been numerous occasions when I’ve slacked off, throwing my diet out the window and staying out of the gym for weeks at a time. But that only resulted in me feeling “gross”. I think it’s true what they say… getting into the gym is hard, but the feeling afterwards can’t be beat. That’s why I do it anyway – an extra complement from random strangers is just an added perk
http://www.agirlaheart.com/ Melanie Stone

I used to be CONSTANTLY hungry, but I was very thin for the first time in my life so I trudged onward. It was like, I had to suck it up if I wanted to look that way. But I have since learned that I’d much rather feel satisfied than leave my brain/body starved. So now I eat plentifully, ignore the scale and workout to feel good rather than burn calories. I may weigh a few pounds more now… but I am finally feeling a billion times better!
http://www.thousandmilesfirststeps.com/ AdeOla

I don’t do scales. I climb on one once in a blue moon. I just do my best to live healthy and make good health choices. I exercise, I eat healthy and I am transitioning to yoga and a more natural way of living. These are more important to me, but I do track my weight by the fit of my clothes.
Jaqueline

After almost becoming obess i worked out really hard and lost close to 40 pounds. I was super skinny. But that became incredibly hard to maintain. If I ate any sweets or didn’t workout I’d feel guilty. I was eatting super healthy, litterly avoiding any sugar. I felt good but overwhelmed at trying to maintain that weight. I litterly had to work out 2 hours a day to maintain it. I had to gain weight again to find my happy weight a place where I could cut back my workouts to 1 – 1 1/2 only 3 to 4 times a week and not feel guilty if I ate a pizza, or a cupcake. I think a happy weight is where you feel most comfortable in your own skin. I’m like right in the middle between what I lost and what I was, and I couldn’t be happier. I still weigh myself from time to time but I let my clothes be the judgement of if I need to kick it up a notch
Danielle

eat real food! it really makes things a lot easier. i don’t bother to count calories! i also stopped weighing myself… way too much unnecessary stress and negativity.
http://www.theevangelista.com/ Christina Grace

Since I struggled with an eating disorder during college, I no longer weigh myself. Ever. When I go to the doctor, I turn around so that I don’t see the number on the scale. I can tell when my weight fluctuates by how my clothing fits, and that’s all I need to know. After a lot of therapy and getting back on a healthy exercise routine and diet (I’m grain and sugar free), I know what my normal weight is and am able to keep things under control without becoming controlling. It’s been a long process, but I cannot emphasize the importance of therapy and learning NOT to compare yourself with others (or with a number on the scale).
BusyVP

I decide to find my happy weight over 2 years ago. I joined a fresh meal service and stuck to it for 6 months – dropped 26 lbs. I was at a “perfect” weight for my height, age and frame, but miserable. I could never have a treat and over time became angry. I still use the fresh meal service but am more relaxed about an occasional treat and wow I am so much happier. Yes 6 lbs more than the “perfect weight” but who cares! THIS is my perfect Happy weight.

And I agree – dump the scale. For me it was a game. If I thought I was a good girl that week and gained, I would be devastated and eat. If I had an ok eating week and amazingly lost weight I would eat to reward myself. If I exercised on schedule and gained I would be mad and eat. If I exercised and lost weight I would eat because I deserved it.

I read an article about not weighing yourself and decided I didn’t care what I weighed as long as I could fit in to my favorite size 8 jeans (non stretch) jeans. They are my marker. I try them on/wear once a week and look to lumps, bulges, muffin-tops etc. I don’t care if I weight 300 lbs as long as I am the size I want to be and look nice in my clothes.

I also got rid of all my sweat pants – they are dangerous. Waistbands are the best gauge of how I am doing.
Brittany

I just don’t look at the scale. Instead, I look in the mirror. My body is not defined by a number, but instead my own mind and what I think looks good. If I feel that my thighs are looking a little bigger, I will first think to myself, “Do I mind? Is it something that I can live with?” and then if the answer is negative, I change it by exercising.
http://www.eatwellnz.co.nz/ Nicola-Registered Nutritionist

I don’t often weigh myself. I know if I’ve gained weight by how my clothes feel. Back at school, I’d weigh myself and become obsessed with hitting the magic number I liked to see. Today I focus on eating healthy food, exercising regularly and allowing the occasional indulgence I’ve stayed around the same weight for a long time now.
http://sugarsocial.wordpress.com/ Kristen

I still haven’t found it yet! Even at my thinnest, I wasn’t happy. I tried everything, from starving myself all day until dinner, to all kinds of fad diets. I’m now working on getting healthy on the inside by eating all-natural whole foods, cutting out processed junk, watching my sugar intake, and working out religiously. My weight has been an ongoing project for most of my life, and my goal now is to get to a weight that’s realistic, sustainable, and healthy–along with developing life-long healthy habits. This is something I should’ve tried years ago, instead of the fad diets.
http://finedestination.tumblr.com/ Hannah

My ideal weight isn’t a number, it’s the size and shape that I feel most comfortable in. I tend to hang around right where I am currently, but I’ve been heavier and I’ve been thinner — neither of which I felt good about. It was interesting the reactions I got when I was thinner, too. I was going through a very stressful period, meaning I wasn’t eating much (lack of appetite) and doing too much physically. I lost about 10 pounds and an entire pant size in just a couple weeks, and the people who knew me best were constantly telling me how thin and rundown I looked. I’m very content with my body now. I’m active but don’t work out like crazy, mostly walking, yoga, and horseback riding. I’m also a big believer in giving yourself what you want, so I don’t deny myself sweets and stuff like that when I want them — I just try not to overindulge, and balance it with something very healthy.
mallen11

I struggled with feeling good about my body after gaining weight in college…I’ve come to realize that that was my body trying to find its grown-up, happy weight. I don’t own a scale, I’ve tossed out all the old pairs of pants that no longer fit, and I’ve realized that I’m at my happy weight because I’ve found a good balance of eating healthily and allowing myself to eat whatever I like. I only exercise minimally, so the fact that I can enjoy bacon for breakfast on weekends and a glass of wine every night means I’m at my body’s happy place!