With a huge party coming up, tons of beach days, and lots of short-shorts, and crop tops, I decided to do the unheard of and actually stop caring about or even addressing the number on the scale.

My reasoning? Being health-conscious is essential, and these days there are many easy and efficient ways to tell simply whether you are healthy or not. One of the most common ways to measure health is in weight. However, in our society, weighing has become something that is not just a number or measurement of health, but a symbol of self-worth, beauty, and value. It once was something done every couple months upon having doctors appointments, but has transformed into something a lot of women do every day which can become unhealthy, obsessive, and even abusive to your mind.

So what really happened when I stop weighing myself for an entire 3 months?

1. I listened to my cravings and honored them. Sometimes, if your weight that day is a little higher, you could find yourself trying to shy away from specific foods, but I learned that you should always be an intuitive eater. I found that when I listened to my body and honored my cravings, I would actually eat less and get rid of them quickly. 

2. I became less stressed. Instead of thinking about my weight or worrying about the scale, I began to focus on what's important. I realized that stressing out over your weight is a waste of the time and energy you could be putting into something else.

3. I cared less about what people thought. Taking a step back made me notice that to be honest, nobody cares! While we all stress out about the right thing to post on Instagram, what to wear out to dinner, or how we need to look just like the girl in the advertisement, I finally saw that the only person who is criticizing you, is you! I learned to stop being my harshest critic, and cut myself some slack.

4. I put things into perspective. From not thinking about my weight, I realized that while tons of us girls worry about how we look, there are people that are less-privelaged or sick, and compared to that, our problems become so small. Now I am thankful everyday for everything I have and I realize how lucky I am to have a body that allows me to do so many amazing things.

My overall takeaway is that I'm probably going to weigh myself every once in a while, but I have learned the value of not letting that number affect me, and instead allowing it to just be a measure of my health.