So there I was a few morning’s ago, standing on my bathroom scale after eating 1300 calories the day before—which, let's be honest, is basically surviving on hopes, dreams, and 14 cherries to be exact—and the thing had the audacity to show I'd gained 2.2 pounds overnight.
My first thought? Maybe I should just switch to a rice cake diet.
I wish I was kidding.
Here's the thing about me and scales: we've had what you might call a complicated relationship. For years, I lived by what I called the "jeans-are-getting-too-tight" method of weight management. You know the drill: weigh yourself maybe four times a year, tops. Otherwise, avoid the scale completely—until your favorite jeans start cutting off circulation. That's when you know you're pushing it, and that dreaded reality check can't be avoided anymore.
Those occasional weigh-ins were not fun. I'd step on that scale and get hit with numbers that felt like they came out of nowhere. "How did I get HERE?" And to be honest, I’m not a big eater so I'd wonder if those pounds would just sneak in overnight like uninvited houseguests.
Then came menopause. I could stop right there. Right? LOL! But with it, the realization that something had to change is my current reality.
So I downloaded Noom, thanks to a friend at church letting me join her family plan, joined a gym, and suddenly found myself in a daily relationship with that bathroom scale whether I wanted to or not. Every. Single. Day. No hiding. No avoiding. No "I'll weigh myself when I feel ready" luxury. Can we say, “Yuck!”
Now I’m only 2 weeks in here, but the first week I felt trapped. Noom was like that overly cheerful friend who insists you face reality every morning with a chipper, "Time to step on the judgment platform!" Meanwhile, I'd shuffle to the bathroom, negotiating with myself: "Okay, if it's the same as yesterday, I'll be happy. Just don't let it go up."
But then something surprising has happened.
The daily weigh-ins have actually started removing the fear instead of creating it. Instead of devastating quarterly "shock numbers" that hit like freight trains, I have begun getting real-time feedback. No more denial. No more "how did I get so far?" moments.
The scale has become… predictable. Familiar. Even when it was being dramatic (like the mysterious 2.2-pound overnight appearance), I have started understanding my body's patterns—how it responds to sodium (thank’s to my love for homemade popcorn) and the delightful roller coaster called menopause.
But, then this past week I added weightlifting.
Now, I know muscle weighs more than fat. I KNEW this going in. I told myself, "Expect the scale to go up before it goes down." And sure enough, it has. Two weeks in, I haven't lost a pound, but and hallelujah there is a but —I can feel myself getting stronger and changing in ways the scale can't measure.
Now, the real question is: Is it happening fast enough? Um, No. But…… it's happening.
Isaiah 40:31 keeps circling my mind: "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." While I realize this scripture wasn’t written for my daily weigh-in’s, it’s helped to encourage me that while I’m in a battle to get my scale to head down in numbers, I will not lose hope because God IS MY STRENGTH, regardless what my scale says.
That's when this God-revelation hit me.
I realized as I looked back at my life that I often treated my relationship with God the same way I treated the scale—avoiding daily check-ins until something felt wrong, until my spiritual "jeans" didn't fit anymore, until I was forced to face the battle of a season that I could not walk alone.
But just like I’ve learned the power of daily honesty with the scale, I’ve also learned in my life that daily spiritual check-ins aren’t about God tracking numbers or waiting to shame me. They keep me from those overwhelming “how did I get so far away?” moments. They keep me close to Him and take the panic out of life’s uncertainties. That’s the power of relationship with Him—daily weighing in. It’s freeing!
So let me ask you this - what if the very thing you dread (daily accountability) is actually the very thing that could set you free?
Just like the scale, God’s daily presence in your life isn’t about judgment—it’s about grace. It’s Him walking with you through the ups and downs, helping you notice your patterns, showing you where you run when stress hits, and how you react when life presses in. And here’s the wild part: sometimes the real growth doesn’t show up right away. Just like lifting weights, the strength is being built underneath long before it shows on the outside. You may not see the muscles yet, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t forming. Spiritually, it’s the same way—God is building something solid in you, even on the days it feels like nothing’s changing.
The scale has taught me that daily honesty beats quarterly shock every time. Yes, even after menopause. And that progress doesn't always look like progress. That grace shows up in the process, not just the results.
And maybe that's the biggest truth: God's love doesn't fluctuate with your daily performance any more than your health actually fluctuates with an overnight weight change. His love is steady and His grace is sufficient.
So tomorrow morning, I'll step on that scale again. Not because I'm afraid of what it might say, but because I've learned that daily truth-telling—with the scale and with God—is where real freedom begins.
Some mornings, I still want to launch that scale straight out the bathroom window—no lie. And some days, I catch myself wondering if 1300 calories is too much, too little, or just plain ridiculous. But then 2 Corinthians 12:9 whispers back: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Even in weakness—even in those rice cake–contemplating moments—His grace is enough.
And the scale? The scale may measure my weight, but God's grace is the only thing big enough to measure my life. And He's never once been off by 2.2 pounds.
Coming next week:
The Scale of Worth
Part Two: Confessions of a woman and her bathroom scale and what it will never tell you about how God sees you.