Balancing

The Scales
with Danae Mercer
I'm Danae!
So often in life, we're obsessed I'm also an eating disorder survivor
with the scales -- and we let and self love advocate. I'm so lucky

them pull us down... This that every day, I get to speak to

millions of women around the world
journal helps balance that.
about body image, mental health, and

But before we dive into all that just feeling a bit better in who we are.

internal work, I just wanted to say hi

and introduce myself.. It's my hope that this journal will
bring a little bit of joy, reflection, and

I'm a journalist who has been in the warmth into your life. I'm so glad

media industry for over 10 years. For you're here, and I'm so thankful we're

a while, I was editor-in-chief of on this journey together.

Danae xoxo
Women's Health Middle East and
Men's Health Middle East, and I've
also written for folks like CNN, The
Sunday Times, and The Guardian.

WWW.DANAEMERCER.COM
 GROWTH
MEANS
CHOOSING
HAPPINESS
OVER
HISTORY.

ABOUT THIS
CHALLENGE
It's time to balance the scales -- without a single weigh
in required.

This self love challenge will ask you to reflect on how

you evaluate your days.

Do you remember only the mistakes you made, the

embarrassments you felt, the glass of wine you knocked
all over your fiance's family's dinner table (...me, that
was me)?

Does that kind of lens weigh you down?

And if so, what can we do to make you feel a lil' bit

better, brighter, more like the incredible and epic soul
you are?

In this guide, we'll go through all of that. By the

time you're done, you'll have some handy simple
tools to help you feel more confident -- not just day
by day, but year after year.

So here we go!

Danae xoxo
 HATING
YOUR
BODY WILL
NEVER
TAKE YOU
AS FAR AS
LOVING IT.

 PRE-CHALLENGE
ASSESSMENT
Ready to get started? Great! Me to. Try to answer these without too much
hesitation. Let your first, honest, real answer pop on out.

ON A SCALE OF ONE TO FIVE (ONE BEING WORST, FIVE BEING

BEST), HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU WAKE UP?

1 2 3 4 5

ON A SCALE OF ONE TO FIVE (ONE WORST, FIVE BEST), HOW

DO YOU FEEL BY THE END OF THE DAY?

1 2 3 4 5

ON A SCALE OF ONE TO FIVE (ONE BEING ALWAYS, FIVE

BEING NEVER), HOW OFTEN DO YOU RUN THROUGH THE
DAY'S 'MISTAKES' WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO FALL ASLEEP?

1 2 3 4 5

ON A SCALE OF ONE TO FIVE (ONE BEING AWFUL, FIVE BEING

GREAT), HOW DO YOU FEEL IN YOURSELF RIGHT NOW?

1 2 3 4 5

RESULTS

BALANCING THE SCALES PAGE 6

 NEVER
LET YOUR
MIND
BULLY
YOUR
BODY.

challenge Setting your intentions

TO DO: AT THE START ( 1 X)

Over the next 30 days, we will focus on all the wonderful, amazing things you are
doing in your life. But before we even start, I want you to take five minutes and
reflect on where you are now. How do you feel today? How do you feel in your
body? Are you hard on yourself? Mean to yourself? Do you speak to yourself like
a friend, or like an angry shouting coach? Write it down below and be as honest
as possible.

OVERALL, I TREAT MYSELF...

Speak to yourself like someone you love.

BALANCING THE SCALES PAGE 8

YOU WERE
BORN TO
BE REAL,
NOT TO BE
PERFECT.

challenge Honoring the good

TO DO: DAI LY ( 30X)

Print this 30 times or use a notebook. At the end of each day, give yourself five
minutes to write out a list of things you accomplished that you're proud of. This
could be walking your doggo, getting a great sleep, brushing your teeth, speaking
kindly to your body, anything. It's ok to also list things you want to work on - but
make sure that list is NEVER bigger than all the things you're celebrating.

Q
WHAT'S ONE GOOD THING YOUR BODY DID FOR YOU TODAY?

POSITIVE THINGS TODAY STUFF I'M WORKING ON

BALANCING THE SCALES PAGE 10

 CHASE
WHAT
MAKES YOU
FEEL THE
SUN.

balance Taking time for you

TO DO: WEEKLY ( 4X)

01
Day one: Reflect
Write out five things you have achieved in this last year that you are
proud of. Big or small, they are all worthy.

02
Day two: Respect
Write out five things that you have accomplished this week that you'd
consider successes. This could be drinking water, walking, anything!

03
Day three: Remind
Write out five phrases that your best friend would use to describe you --
positive and uplifting descriptions only.
04
Day four: Focus
Write out five goals you have for the next month that you'd like to
achieve. Think across your personal, professional, and social lives.

05
Day five: Find
Write out five goals you have for the next year that are focused on YOU.
How would you like to develop yourself? How would you like to grow?

06
Day six: Self love
Write out five positive, uplifting words that come to mind when you think
of yourself. Strong, passionate, determined, anything goes!

07
Day seven: Self growth
Write out one dream you have that you'd love to see accomplished in the
next five years. Give yourself grace to set the intention.
 YOU ARE
NOT A SIZE,
A NUMBER, A
SHAPE. YOU
ARE A SOUL
SEARCHING
FOR THE
STRONGEST
VERSION OF
HERSELF.

balance At the end...

TO DO: DAY 30 ( 1 X)
You've celebrated your wins. You've seized your days. And you're now here.
Congratulations! You are so gosh darn incredible.
Give yourself 10 minutes to reflect on this past month by answering the prompts
below. Here we go!

Q
HOW DO YOU FEEL NOW COMPARED TO 30 DAYS AGO? HOW DO YOU
FEEL ABOUT YOUR BODY, YOUR GOALS, YOUR WINS? AND WHAT'S
ONE THING YOU'VE DONE THESE LAST 30 DAYS THAT YOU'RE PROUD
VERY PROUD OF?

BALANCING THE SCALES PAGE 15

 MAKE THE
LITTLE GIRL
YOU USED
TO BE
PROUD OF
THE WOMAN
YOU ARE
NOW.

community

YOU DID IT!

NOW JOIN OUR COMMUNITY.
Did you know we've got a group of over 30k women from
around the world who support each other daily? Here's how
you can get involved (and yup, it's entirely free too!).

Search 'Talking Out Loud' on Facebook or just copy paste this into your
browser: facebook.com/groups/talkingoutloud

Make sure to answer all the membership questions! It's important to us

that the community stays safe and private.

And bam! Enjoy being with women from around the world to talk about
body image, self love, relationships and so much more.

Danae xoxo