This One Habit Could Be Sabotaging Your Relationship with Food
It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of scales. In fact, I often encourage my clients to consider giving theirs away or throwing them out. Why? Because trying to break free from a dieting mindset and disordered eating while keeping the scales around simply doesn’t work. The two are fundamentally incompatible.
And yet, with the rise of subscription-based weight-tracking apps and wellness platforms that reinforce daily weigh-ins, many people are unknowingly stepping back into a dieting mentality that fuels obsessive thinking and keeps them trapped in the cycle of guilt and shame.
When someone comes to me struggling with binge eating, emotional eating, or any form of disordered eating, we explore why weighing themselves regularly can maintain the very patterns they’re desperate to break free from.
Many of my clients describe a constant stream of intrusive thoughts about food, weight, and body image. For them, stepping on the scales only intensifies that inner noise. It can dictate their entire mood for the day: lose a pound and they feel euphoric; gain one, and it can trigger self-criticism, restriction, or even a binge. The scale becomes a powerful tool for shame, and that shame becomes a barrier to healing.
Weight Fluctuation Is Normal, And Mostly About Water
Here’s something important to understand: your body is meant to fluctuate in weight. A 2017 study published in Physiological Reports found that adult body weight can naturally vary by 2.2 to 4.4 lbs over just a few days, even in the absence of any intentional weight loss. These fluctuations were largely due to changes in water and other components of fat-free mass not actual fat gain or loss.
In other words, when the number on the scale changes, it’s often reflecting hydration status, hormone levels, or even what time you last ate, and is rarely to do with how much and what you ate that day.
So if you’re someone who lets that number influence how you feel, how you eat, or how you show up in your life, ask yourself:
Where did my ‘ideal’ weight even come from?
Is it realistic or even relevant to the life I want to live?
What would it be like to be free of the scales altogether?
These are the kinds of questions I explore in my book, The Binge Freedom Method. Obsessing over your weight can sabotage your progress mentally, emotionally, and physically. Recognising this is a an important step toward building a healthier, more compassionate relationship with food.
If you’re looking for a place to start, download my Free Breaking the Cycle Starter Kit. This is your gateway to transforming your eating patterns and building a mindful, balanced, and joyful relationship with food and includes practical tools and insights to help you begin today.
And if you’re ready to go deeper, my book The Binge Freedom Method™ lays out the exact framework I use with clients to address the root causes of binge eating, providing clear action steps, compassionate guidance, and real-life strategies for lasting change.