[pullquote]Losing weight and getting back in shape is a journey. A journey to more energy, more confidence, feeling healthy and amazingly strong.[/pullquote]It’s time to throw your scale out of the window – get rid of it and let’s have a dance party instead. I’m probably a bit over dramatic here, but hear me out.
The Daily Weight Check Mania
Are you one of those peeps who are checking their weight first thing in the morning? Stumbling out of bed, standing on this cold metallic scale and letting the number determine whether you’re having an awesome or a shitty day?
Isn’t that somehow hilarious? Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’ve been there.
I remember times where I weight myself 152 times a day and if the number went even the slightest bit up, I felt like a rising piece of dough. I felt like crap and it was better not to talk to me for a while. So one could think I’ve been a bit obsessed with the scale and yes it’s true. Same like you, I just didn’t know better.
The truth is the scale is not an accurate indicator of your weight loss success, on the contrary. It solely sends you on an unnecessary roller coaster of emotions, and even though I love this thrilling feeling of sitting in a crazy roller coaster – I couldn’t care less about the emotional ones – they suck.
Why is the scale a waste of energy?
Simply put, it doesn’t accurately reflect the internal changes of your body. Especially while starting out with a training and weight loss routine, there will be changes in body mass reflected by the scale due fat loss, water loss and muscle gain.
You probably already heard the statement, ‘muscle weighs more than fat’ and that’s actually not true. If you compare one pound of fat with one pound of muscle – a pound is a pound – they both weigh a pound. But there’s an important difference – the density – and therefore the fact that a pound of fat takes up about four times the space of muscle tissue.
But what exactly does that mean?
[pullquote]This means the scale is not an accurate measure of progress, because it doesn’t tell you how much muscle versus fat you have.[/pullquote]You can look and feel slim but your body weight remains the same. Since working out builds muscles and burns fat you may not see the number on the scale move as much as you were hoping for. In some cases it can even go up a bit in the beginning. That’s totally normal, so don’t freak out if you’re not losing that much weight when you’re just starting out, this is simply due to an increase in lean body mass (bone, blood volume, muscle) and a decrease in body fat.
In other words, if your weight stayed exactly the same and we’d hypothetical took away 3 pounds of fat from you and replaced it with 3 pounds of muscle, you will weigh exactly the same, but because fat is less dense than muscle, you’ll appear slightly leaner and more toned because the three pounds of muscle will take up less volume.
Usually, when I start working with a new client I always explain them that we won’t focus on their weight as much, but rather on how they feel and how their clothes fit. The only measurement I suggest is monitoring the body fat percentage and taking progress pictures.
This may sound a bit wishy-washy, but I can assure you, once you get rid of the scale, your life will get so much easier and I got amazing feedback from clients who were as obsessed with the scale as I was.
You are not defined by a number. I had a client who wanted to get down to 120 Ibs (54kg) so badly. She went down from 132 (60kg) to 122,5 Ibs (55kg), and got stuck there for a couple of weeks. She was crushed, frustrated and felt like a failure for not losing that last 2,5 Ibs (1kg), even though in reality she already had lost more than 10 lbg (5kg), was in better shape than ever and completely redesigned her body and her diet.
Measure of your Success should not be a Number.
Two people can weigh the exact same, yet can be in totally different states of health and have totally different body fat percentage levels. Focus more on your health, what foods and how much exercise is going to help you optimize your health. The main goal is to feel at your best and the physical results will follow.
Now it’s your turn. Do you recognize yourself in this article? Do you weigh yourself often? How does that influence your mood? Please leave a comment down below and share with us your story!
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