Hi everyone!

Here is a little bit of a long post; since it's the start of a new year, there are probably a lot of you who are wanting to get in shape, which is awesome!

Here is a little bit of advice, which has worked for me, and might work for you too!

If you are exercising to get into shape, don't look at the scale!!

It can be so off-putting when you have poured your heart and soul into months of exercising and healthy eating, to see the numbers on the scale going up instead of down, and thats what happened to me.

Before I started doing yoga, I weighed round about 52/53kgs. This was with absolutely no exercising, and you could see that my body wasn't looking so toned, ahem, if you know what I mean, even though the number was low.

I decided to start leading a healthier lifestyle, and the numbers on the scale definitely did drop at first, and that was a huge encouragement. I would hop on the scale every morning and give myself a pat on the back.

After a short while the weight stopped dropping, and stayed in round about the same place. I had already reached my goal weight so I didn't really mind,

but,

To my horror, the weight soon started to go up, steadily! And I started to feel completely hopeless. Every day pushing to go to yoga, walking past the sweets isle.. and for what? For nothing according to the scale.

It wasn't until quite a while afterwards, and many unhealthy relapses, that I realised that I was so focused on the scale, and nothing else, that I didn't even realize that I was looking better than ever.

See the thing is, muscle weighs more than fat, and even though I was well aware of this fact, I still relied on the scale to tell me if I was doing a good job or not.

When you start working out a lot, you will notice an initial fast drop, which is usually just excess water weight, as well as the loss of some fat. This is normal, but after a while, the body starts to build muscle at the same time as it is losing the fat, so you reach a still point and the weight remains the same for a while. If you continue to exercise, however, the body will keep building more muslce, and the scale will go up. This doesn't mean you will be looking like a body builder, but the ratio of fat to muscle will be changing, so you will see increase.

Long story short, don't let the scale rule you like I let it rule me. It is not an accurate representation of how you are doing.

What can you do instead?

• Invest in a tape measure, and measure yourself instead. That way you can see how the body is changing in different places, instead of one overall weight. You can also just look at how your clothes are fitting you. Maybe that super tight pair of pants is a little looser now, or you can fit into an old shirt. That will tell you a lot.

• Get rid of that "goal weight". Yes. Throw it away! Make your goal to be healthy. You can always use little goals as motivation, but don't let one number rule your life. You can bring yourself a lot of unhappiness that way. Some people can never be a size zero, I know this because I am one of those people. I exercise 6 times a week and my body has stayed the same for a year. After a while you get to the shape you are meant to be, and that's perfect!

• Don't look at others. As I mentioned, everyone has their own set of genes. If you use someone else's body as goals, you may not get there, because your body isn't built the same. Not because you aren't working hard enough.

• LOVE YOURSELF! Life is too short to worry about what people think. As long as you are healthy, then you are doing perfect.

At this point, you're probably thinking, "Oh boy, this damn hippie yoga instructor with her body positivity bullshit. Next point will probablt be about how singing Kum Ba Yah at a bonfire will improve your fitness levels." I know, because I often say the same thing.

But trust me, I truely believe that the whole "goal weight" story can lead you to a lot of pain. If your body isn't made to be that weight, you won't get there. Unless you start doing unhealthy things to get there. There are cases where a setting a certain weight can be a good way to motivate you, and thats not a problem, but when you have been leading a healthy life for a long enough time, and you arent getting there, let it go man. Don't let it hang over you and make you feel less proud of what you have already achieved.

To end off, all those years ago, my goal weight was 50kgs. And I have been exercising regularly for 4 years since then, and I am now 60kgs. It hardly ever goes lower than 58ish.. and I'm happy with that! I feel good, and my body feels strong, and that is all that matters! I have accepted that this is what my body is meant to be. That doesn't mean that it's not still difficult, when I see someone who is closer to society's conventional idea of "fit" and "beautiful", and I still sometimes find myself wishing to look like that, aaand it sometimes sucks to know that I work so hard and still cannot achieve what others naturally have; but when I am able to run after a paper that has blown away, or pick up heavy groceries with more ease than ever before, I realize that I am infact doing okay.

This is me now. Far from perfect, but happy!

I hope this helped a little bit, and I hope you have a lovely day further!

Namaste