With the pandemic over the last year I was forced to pivot on how to continue my group detoxes with people without doing their bioimpedance measurements (weight & body fat) as an objective measurement of results.

And I have to say, the pivot has turned out to be better than the original way of doing it.

The focus has turned from outward to inward. Instead of focusing on weight, there is more focus on how they feel.

Previously participants in the detox would become so focused on the numbers and if they weren't getting the results they expected, or in many cases, they were getting the "right " numbers, but they weren't high enough for their expectations, they were disappointed. This was regardless of how great they felt!

Even if all their symptoms were better, or in many case gone, but they lose 5 pounds instead of 10 pounds they viewed it as a failure.

Too often we focus on the external environment instead of the internal. And, even worse, we let something as innocuous as a scale, determine how we feel.

It was time to break up with the scale. It was time to put more value on a change in energy levels, quality sleep, digestive function, reduction of pain, and better mental function and less value on what we weigh.

So what did I do instead?

I still needed some kind of objective measurement, after all I am a scientist. So I decided to have participants do two different things:

1. Complete a metabolic symptom questionnaire and compare the before and after AND
2. Complete waist, hip, arm, and leg measurements

Neither dependent on the scale. Both as effective as a monitoring and accountability tool.

Now I would love to hear from you! Have you caught yourself focusing on your weight instead of something more important like your energy level? Leave a comment below and I'll be back next week with another edition of Doctor as Teacher Tuesday!