“Have you checked your weight today?”
When you walk in the east entrance of Calhoun Square, you’re immediately confronted with two great promises. On the left, you have Famous Dave’s, which promises to show you what world-famous bbq is really all about (and the smells wafting outside almost make you want to give them that chance). And, on the right, you have GNC, promising you a perfect body and with it, everything you’ve ever wanted. The irony of the all-you-can-eat-buffet signs juxtaposed with supplements promising to make you lose a pound (or more!) a week is not lost on me.
“Have you checked your weight today?”
If the GNC signs of sculpted human specimens, diet supplements, and juice machines aren’t enough, there is a scale next to the store front. With its magical scale powers, it knows every time a person (or maybe just me?) walks by, and through its anthropomorphic skill says, “have you checked your weight today?”
I know, it sounds as though this could be a metaphor for the way scales call out to us – “weigh in, weigh in!” But this situation holds no such poetry. This scale really talks.
BUT WHY?!
Is the scale genuinely curious if passersby checked their weight that day, a different version of asking “how was your morning?” Does the scale think this question will reveal something important and insightful about the life of a stranger, perhaps sparking a meaningful relationship? I think not. Quite simply, the scale serves as one small cog in the $61 billion weight loss industry in the U.S. (no, that number is not made up. yes, that number is per year).
GNC doesn’t care about making you healthier, they care about getting money from consumers, and they clearly think a talking scale is one effective way to so. If GNC did, in fact, care about the health of its customers (or people in general), I cannot imagine any reason why they would put a talking scale outside their storefront. Implicit within the question of, “have you checked the weight today,” is the suggestion that if you have not, you should. And if you have, maybe you should do it again for good measure. What is the point of weighing yourself? I’m pretty sure it’s not so you can decide you need another cheeseburger. It’s so that number (number: an arithmetic value expressed by a word, symbol, or figure) can somehow reflect your self-worth (self-worth: confidence in one’s own worth or abilities). It’s an inverse the relationship, or so the story goes. Number goes up, self-worth goes down. Lower the number (GNC supplement packs, anyone?), you’re queen of the world.
Problem is, the inverse relationship is one big lie. As you struggle on the treadmill and dutifully turn down birthday-party brownies and opt for salad at dinner (no olives, hold the cheese, dressing on the side), that number might drop, but what are you giving up?
Things that are not worth giving up for the weight of an eighth grader:
- evenings with friends
- unique food
- sharing in celebration
- enjoying the most basic of human pleasures: eating
The message that dropping the number on the scale will somehow lead to a happier, richer, or more fulfilling life is a lie. A very sad lie that does NOT make people healthier (in fact, it often leads to the opposite) and results in $61 billion in the pockets of weight loss companies each year. So the next time the scale – or anything else for that matter – gives you grief for weighing or not weighing, walk away. The time it takes to weigh yourself could be better spent eating a cheeseburger enjoying your life.
Treasure Your Being 