Are you obsessed with the bathroom scale? Do you step on it weekly, or even daily, to check your progress? Are you giddy with excitement or downright depressed with the numbers that stare back at you? Do you allow the scale to define who you are?
The numbers on the scale do not define you. In fact, they could be misleading you in your path to fitness.
If your fitness plan includes strength training there is a good chance the scale isn’t budging. Not only will the scale not tell you if you are getting stronger, it also will not tell you if you are replacing weight with muscle.
Consider the saying a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. Have you ever really thought about what that means? What would take up more space in your body: a pound of fat or a pound of muscle? Obviously the fat takes up more space. What would you prefer to have?
It is typical for your bodyweight to fluctuate from day to day. It is also very common to weigh different amounts at various times of the day. This doesn’t mean that you gain or lose weight throughout the day but regular body functions throughout the day will affect the numbers on it.
Have you ever tried stepping on the scale right before and immediately after drinking a couple large glasses of water? The number on the scale will increase as it is also measuring the water as weight. A couple of glasses of water will not make you gain weight but the scale doesn’t know this. The scale can only measure the effect on gravity.
Where two glasses of water can’t make you gain weight, the same theory applies if weighing yourself after a long, sweaty workout. The scale may reflect less weight after your body has expelled fluids through sweat. Fat loss doesn’t happen immediately. That one workout isn’t going to result in weight loss; as soon as your body fluids recover your weight will be back where it was prior to the sweat session.
Save yourself the roller coaster ride and limit the number of times you use the scale, if you choose to use a scale at all. If you do choose to use the scale as a tracking method, hop on the scale at the same time of day, preferably early morning to get the most accurate comparison.
Personally, I save the scale for the doctor’s office. I don’t need to know my body’s affect on gravity. I focus on how I feel, how my clothes fit and tracking my progress with tangible measurements that tell me if I am losing fat, getting stronger, and improving my health.
Check out my article next week for details on how you can track your fitness and lose the scale and all the emotions it promotes.
