Shay Mitchell has never weighed herself ‘I don’t think you can trust the scale’

shapeshaymitchell
Shay Mitchell, 30, covers the March issue of Shape Magazine. She’s a Canadian actress you may know from Pretty Little Liars, which ended last year after seven seasons, and she’s been busy since. She has her own production company which has a deal with Warner Brothers, and a new Lifetime series called You, along with a show coming on ABC called Heiresses. She also has a music out and posts her vacations to Instagram. I’m interested in her fitness and wellness philosophy, which she of course discusses with Shape. She says she works out hard about three times a week, that she loves it and that she loves to eat too. She’s never weighed herself and doesn’t trust the scale. Here’s some of what she told Shape.

Her life philosophy
My message is, If I can do it, you can too. If you really want something, believe in it, and have the drive and focus, you can attain it. I’m more confident and optimistic than not. Every one of us has insecurities. I have a whole bunch of them, but I don’t dwell on them. Instead, I focus on my strengths. After all, what’s the worst thing that can happen if you try something new and it doesn’t work out? So what? You don’t know what you’re going to be good at until you do it!

Her workouts
Typically I work out three times a week. Boxing is great because it keeps me in the moment like nothing else. Usually, my mind is racing with a million thoughts and ideas, but when I’m in the ring or boxing with my coach, I really can’t think about anything else, or I could get hit in the face. I also love to Spin because it’s such a good sweat. I like the class environment because it makes you better than you were the class before.

She’s never weighed herself
For me exercise is all about getting stronger. It’s not about weight. I’ve never even weighed myself. I don’t think you can trust the scale … Exercise is about how I feel. I have more energy when I work out. It makes me amped for the rest of the day, and I feel strong.

She eats what she wants
People who know me can’t believe how much I eat. I’m not the kind of person who says ‘I eat pizza’ but then doesn’t really eat it. I eat the pizza! And I don’t stress out about it. I also have a million snacks. I’m the biggest fan of popcorn, which I eat throughout the day. Or I’ll have chips and guacamole or veggies and hummus. And there’s a sandwich in there someplace too. I’ve learned that as long as you’re moving, you can have the food you want.

[From Shape Magazine, some quotes via People]

I like to read celebrity advice but different things work for different people. Naturally weight varies based on how much water we’re retaining and other factors, but I’m a numbers person. I weigh myself every morning, I’ve done that for years. I also track my food and I work out almost every day. Of course I go out to eat and have pizza and burgers sometimes too. Some people are naturally able to eat the right amount they need without gaining or losing much weight and Shay is obviously one. I tried that and it didn’t work for me, not even at her age (30). That said, I really like her philosophy of going after life hard and following your dreams. It’s so simple and true. No matter how many celebrities say it, I need to hear it.

New album art 🤪 I #ShayLoTheRemixes

A post shared by Shay Mitchell (@shaymitchell) on

19th Annual Post-Golden Globes Party hosted by Warner Bros. Pictures and InStyle at The Beverly Hilton Hotel

#REVOLVE Awards Arrivals

Photos credit: WENN, Shape and Instagram/Shay Mitchell

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21 Responses to “Shay Mitchell has never weighed herself ‘I don’t think you can trust the scale’”

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  1. Beara ears says:

    Lol no.
    Bit suspect after the YEARS of rumours that the girls on the show were engaged in dangerous weight loss/maintaining competitions.

  2. Lisa says:

    NEVER? I believe that…

  3. Sherry says:

    I ate what I wanted to with minimal exercise up until I was 34 and stayed around 100 pounds (I’m 5’2). After I had my first child, the weight started to creep and it’s been a real struggle ever since.

    Everyone has different metabolisms and different caloric needs. There is no one size fits all.

    • Cate says:

      Me too. I had always heard weight loss/maintenance got harder after 30 and foolishly thought I was going to be exempt because I was still maintaining a slim weight easily up to age 33. Then I got pregnant since then it has been a constant battle to keep my weight in the “normal” range. I work out 4-5x/week, walk everywhere, track my food, and eat very “clean” healthy foods…and I still weigh about 5 lbs more than I did before getting pregnant. Every time I make a little progress it seems something comes up to erase it, and then it takes ages to get the weight back off again. I gained 2 lbs over Christmas and am only just now (mid-February) back where I was pre-Christmas. So frustrating!

  4. Reef says:

    I was with her until that she eats what she wants bit. Girl…

    • The dormouse says:

      Depends on what the meaning of ‘wants’ is.

      One could say everyone by definition eats as much as they ‘want’!

    • Veronica Shields says:

      Most of what she described was healthy food, anyway. A lot of it is about moderation and portion control, but still…let me assure you as a person who has never been skinny without intensive exercise and eating regimens, it’s not a universal. Some people would have to have to sacrifice significantly to look like that.

  5. greenmonster says:

    I’m not sure I believe that she NEVER weighed herself before… But I understand her point, although I can trust the scale – it’s me I can’t trust. I used to get obsessed about my weight and tried to get down to a certain number. It stopped being healthy, so I stopped weighing myself.

  6. JA says:

    Most people who “never” weigh themselves most likely never had weight issues. I was chubby growing up and constantly teased about my weight growing up by family/strangers..there’s never a time when I’m not thinking, perhaps I need to lose some weight, do I look fat in this? I use to weigh myself constantly but now not so much because it gives me anxiety. I try and focus on what my clothes tell me, how I look in photos and overall how I feel instead. It’s easy to not focus on a number when you never had issues to begin with. I don’t hate her for having an extremely lovely figure but can’t applaud her either

  7. littlemissnaughty says:

    Don’t involve me in this. If you can do it, I can do it? What do I have to do with this? Leave me alone. I cannot eat what I want. I have a desk job. I can’t run around and then eat all day.

    So much of the advice graciously given out by celebs is just … ugh. I don’t need it. I’m not interested. Their lives are nothing like mine so they rarely give advice that suits me.

    • Veronica Shields says:

      Skinny people sure love to brag about how they can JUST!! EAT!! EVERYTHING!! don’t they? As if it’s some sort of f*cking accomplishment they have over the rest of us.

      I used to be very fit. I never bragged about being able to eat everything because I COULD NOT. I literally had to track everything I ate and was exercising more than two hours a day. (I walked a total of 1.5 hours a day to and from work, worked on my feet, and I went to the gym on top of that.) I *still* did not look like that. I didn’t have a perfectly flat stomach. My thighs still touched. I love asking the pro-skinny groupies exactly what I should have been doing. Cut my calories below what was physically necessary for basic health?

      Even if I hadn’t developed a metabolic disease that dumped fifty pounds on me, it’s unlikely I could have maintained that into my thirties. At some point, I would have gone from “very thin” to just “in shape,” simply because I honestly just don’t have the time to maintain that kind of schedule anymore.

      • littlemissnaughty says:

        Yes! If your body doesn’t gravitate towards thin naturally, you need to work HARD to get there. And if you do and it works, good for you. If you’re naturally skinny, good for you (if that’s what you like). But yeah, the bragging. “I eat pizza all the time.” Why not be honest? It is, in fact, an accomplishment. Why lie? This is the sh*t that makes young girls feel bad.

        I don’t run around and brag to women with stringy hair that mine is just naturally lush. WTF? And it’s not. I have the genes but man, the maintenance! The money spent on conditioner. The root dying! Just be honest, people will like you a lot more. And if you’re just blessed all around, don’t tell a magazine! It’s just not nice.

  8. Veronica Shields says:

    First of all: LOL SURE you don’t. If not a scale, then you’re definitely going by dress size. Girl, we are all aware of the demands of the industry where female bodies are concerned. GTFO. Most of us do not have careers that allow us to clear out hours of the day to make our bodies top priority over everything else.

    As for actually weighing yourself…I did recall reading a study that said people who routinely weigh themselves are better at weight regulation than people who did not. Obsessive weight behaviors are not healthy, but doing it once a week or even twice a month can go a long way to catching eating or exercise habits that may be causing weight fluctuation (loss OR gain).

    I used to do it at the beginning and end of the month. I fully admit I’ve stopped doing it recently for my own psychological health because I’ve had major weight gain as a result of unclear health issues. Until my doctor and I can figure out what’s causing it, reading the scales just upsets me given that I’m doing everything “right” (tracking calories, exercising routinely) otherwise.

  9. Hazel says:

    She’s still young. It’s not so hard until you’re in your 40s, then you really have to pay attention. And even if she doesn’t weigh herself, she gets on a scale at the doctor’s office. She knows what she weighs, within a pound or two.

  10. T.Fanty says:

    I don’t weigh myself. I do it when I have my physical, and otherwise, I just go on how my clothes fit. Once in a while, I’ll do it at the gym, but it frustrates me because then I feel like I get hung up on numbers so I try to avoid it. I’m not skinny, and currently need to diet, but I think it’s more important to go with how I feel and look than to aspire to a number.

  11. Georgia says:

    I try not to step on the scale often too. I am curently on my heaviest but working out regularly and have visible muscles . Just came back from visiting my family. Most of my family haven’t seen me in person for about 1 1/2 years because I live overseas. Everyone asked me if I have lost weight. Scale is not the most accurate tool of fitness.

  12. InVain says:

    I’m one of those people that have never owned a scale and the only time I get on one is when I’m at the doctors. I just have never cared about the number. For me, it’s about how I feel and how my clothes fit. If they start to get snug, I don’t go up a size… I just readjust my diet and work out some more. I realize everyone is different. This is just what works for me.

  13. Melissa Melissa says:

    I’ve always eaten what I want including pizzas and burgers. I rarely drink soda and have worked out consistently since I was 15 and I’m 26 now. My mother was an anorexic in her teens up until her early 20s and knew how to instill healthy habits. Maybe I’m skinny, maybe some people would think I need to lose five pounds, but I’m healthy and enjoy great food. It is that easy for some people and it’s okay if it’s not the same for others.

  14. serena says:

    I also never weigh myself, unless I really have to (before medical analysis or for weighing my cats lol) because I find it unnecessarily stressful. I can’t imagine what must feel like weighing oneself every day, and I don’t mean to sound judgy, but I don’t think it’s healthy.