‘WHAT I SEE ON THE SCALE NO LONGER AFFECTS MY DAY’

Emma Thompson, 26, is a student from Newcastle

I had an unhealthy relationship with food and scales, which led to weight gain – I was 16st at my heaviest. I became obsessed with weighing myself daily and crying whenever the number went up – it led to me having a terrible relationship with my body. Things changed when I moved to Holland last year and I had no access to scales. It was like going cold turkey. Around that time, there were so many articles and discussions about the negative impact of using scales, which made me see them differently. I started going by how I felt, rather than what the scales said and realised they don’t rule my life. The 4st I’ve lost since has been down to a better relationship with food and my body. I started using scales again recently after a stressful period saw me gain a lot of weight, but now I weigh myself weekly to monitor my steady weight loss. The number I see doesn’t affect my day any more, it just helps me know where I’m at – I finally have a healthy relationship with the scales.