Weighing yourself is a typical part of trying to lose weight. Your weight is not just a number but something that can actually change how you feel yourself. Step on the scale first thing in the morning, and if this number is lower than it was before, you may feel better about yourself. If it is higher, your day may start on a downward image. But what your weight really and how good is it when it comes to tracking progress weight loss? Learning the answers to these questions can give you a completely different perspective on the scale.
With a focus on fat burning, not weight loss
When you talk about losing weight, what you usually mean is lose weight. You want to lose weight around the hips, thighs, abdomen, and arms. But the odd thing about slimming down that doesn't always mean losing the actual weight of the wave.
It may sound strange, but it is possible to get thinner without seeing a change in your weight. This happens when you lose body fat while getting muscle. Your weight may remain the same, even when you lose inches, a sign that you are moving in the right direction. The problem is that you can focus on the scale, believing that if this number does not change, you simply do not get real results. Knowing the difference between losing weight and losing body fat can change how you see yourself, your progress, and maybe even how you look at your own body.
The truth about your weight
The typical scale shows your weight, but don't tell you how much of this weight is muscle, fat, water, bone or body. A bodybuilder's weight may be off the charts due to extra muscles, but that doesn't mean he's overweight or obese. Knowing your body composition is important information if you really want to get results and unfortunately not the typical scale doesn't tell it.
Another reason scale weight is not so reliable is that it changes constantly. You will see weight changes during the day, sometimes as much as 10 pounds depending on what and how often you eat and drink, how often you go to the toilet or if you keep water.
The scale has some important uses. For people who have lost weight, studies have shown that regular weighting helps them claim that weight loss. It is easy for weight to creep up over time, so a scale is a useful tool in this regard.
Although the scale is not completely useless, it may not be the best tool for people just starting a fat loss program. If it doesn't help you keep track and reach your goals, it is perhaps time to take a different approach to track your progress.
Focusing on fat burning is much more important than focusing on your weight. When you lose body fat, you make permanent changes in the body, move your body composition so you have less fat and more muscle. When you lose weight, you may be losing water or muscle. It is impossible to know if you see real results or just a product of your daily habits, hormonal changes, and change of hydration levels.
It measures everything: The number on the scale contains everything, muscle, fat, bone, organs, fat, food, and water. For that reason, you can scale weight to be a fraudulent figure.
It does not reflect the changes that occur in the body: If you do cardio and strength training, you can build clean muscle mass while losing fat. In that case, the scale cannot be changed even if you get narrower and narrower.
It does not reflect your health: The scale cannot distinguish between fat and muscle. It means a person can have a low body weight but still has unhealthy levels of body fat.
It is not always a positive driving force: If you step on the scale and you are dissatisfied with what you see, how do you feel? You can ask everything you do, wonder why you even bother at all. Focusing on weight can overshadow the positive results you get as fat burning, more endurance, and higher energy levels.
Change how you measure your success
Even if you are not ready to stop weighing entirely by other means of measuring progress, you can stay motivated and help you realize that you are making changes, no matter what the wave says. This is especially true if you do not lose weight wherever you want.
It helps to remember that your body loses weight in a particular order based on gender, age, genetics and other factors beyond your control. Just because you do not lose weight in your hips does not mean you do not lose weight anywhere. It can only be from a place you don't care much about.
Other methods for measuring success are:
Get rid of how your clothes fit. If they fit looser, you know you're on the right track. It helps to have a pair of pants that are a little too hard. Try them once a month and make notes of how they fit. Clothes are not lying.
Take your measurements to see if you lose inches. Measuring your body in different places will help you figure out if you are actually losing fat. Knowing who can motivate you to keep going and give your body the reaction to your training.
Alternatively, you can have your body fat tested or use an online calculator. These are usually guesstimates, but if you get tested every so often in the same circumstances, you can see if that body fat number is getting lower.
Set goals performance. Instead of worrying about weight loss or fat burning, focus on completing a certain number of passes each week or competing in one race. See how many push-ups you can make or how many days in a row you can train. These are concrete, reachable goals that give you more of the instant gratification doesn't wake up.
Final Thought
If the wave makes you crazy, taking a break from weighing yourself can only open your eyes to other possibilities. Your weight is not the only measure of your success. Put away the wave and you can only see how far you've really come.
With a focus on fat burning, not weight loss
When you talk about losing weight, what you usually mean is lose weight. You want to lose weight around the hips, thighs, abdomen, and arms. But the odd thing about slimming down that doesn't always mean losing the actual weight of the wave.
It may sound strange, but it is possible to get thinner without seeing a change in your weight. This happens when you lose body fat while getting muscle. Your weight may remain the same, even when you lose inches, a sign that you are moving in the right direction. The problem is that you can focus on the scale, believing that if this number does not change, you simply do not get real results. Knowing the difference between losing weight and losing body fat can change how you see yourself, your progress, and maybe even how you look at your own body.
The truth about your weight
The typical scale shows your weight, but don't tell you how much of this weight is muscle, fat, water, bone or body. A bodybuilder's weight may be off the charts due to extra muscles, but that doesn't mean he's overweight or obese. Knowing your body composition is important information if you really want to get results and unfortunately not the typical scale doesn't tell it.
Another reason scale weight is not so reliable is that it changes constantly. You will see weight changes during the day, sometimes as much as 10 pounds depending on what and how often you eat and drink, how often you go to the toilet or if you keep water.
You will like to read: 10 reasons You do not lose weight
The scale has some important uses. For people who have lost weight, studies have shown that regular weighting helps them claim that weight loss. It is easy for weight to creep up over time, so a scale is a useful tool in this regard.
Although the scale is not completely useless, it may not be the best tool for people just starting a fat loss program. If it doesn't help you keep track and reach your goals, it is perhaps time to take a different approach to track your progress.
Focusing on fat burning is much more important than focusing on your weight. When you lose body fat, you make permanent changes in the body, move your body composition so you have less fat and more muscle. When you lose weight, you may be losing water or muscle. It is impossible to know if you see real results or just a product of your daily habits, hormonal changes, and change of hydration levels.
What you should know when you get on the scale
When you first start a program, you may need extra encouragement to keep up and proof that what you are doing works. The scale can't give you that. Here's why the scale can mislead you.It measures everything: The number on the scale contains everything, muscle, fat, bone, organs, fat, food, and water. For that reason, you can scale weight to be a fraudulent figure.
It does not reflect the changes that occur in the body: If you do cardio and strength training, you can build clean muscle mass while losing fat. In that case, the scale cannot be changed even if you get narrower and narrower.
It does not reflect your health: The scale cannot distinguish between fat and muscle. It means a person can have a low body weight but still has unhealthy levels of body fat.
It is not always a positive driving force: If you step on the scale and you are dissatisfied with what you see, how do you feel? You can ask everything you do, wonder why you even bother at all. Focusing on weight can overshadow the positive results you get as fat burning, more endurance, and higher energy levels.
Change how you measure your success
Even if you are not ready to stop weighing entirely by other means of measuring progress, you can stay motivated and help you realize that you are making changes, no matter what the wave says. This is especially true if you do not lose weight wherever you want.
It helps to remember that your body loses weight in a particular order based on gender, age, genetics and other factors beyond your control. Just because you do not lose weight in your hips does not mean you do not lose weight anywhere. It can only be from a place you don't care much about.
Other methods for measuring success are:
Get rid of how your clothes fit. If they fit looser, you know you're on the right track. It helps to have a pair of pants that are a little too hard. Try them once a month and make notes of how they fit. Clothes are not lying.
Take your measurements to see if you lose inches. Measuring your body in different places will help you figure out if you are actually losing fat. Knowing who can motivate you to keep going and give your body the reaction to your training.
You will like to read: Tips to Lose Weight
Use a scale that measures body fat through a bioelectric impedance. These scales are readily available at a variety of price ranges, or one may be available at your gym or health club. Although they may be affected by various factors, they will give you a more accurate picture of whether you lose fat and gain muscle or not.
Alternatively, you can have your body fat tested or use an online calculator. These are usually guesstimates, but if you get tested every so often in the same circumstances, you can see if that body fat number is getting lower.
Set goals performance. Instead of worrying about weight loss or fat burning, focus on completing a certain number of passes each week or competing in one race. See how many push-ups you can make or how many days in a row you can train. These are concrete, reachable goals that give you more of the instant gratification doesn't wake up.
Final Thought
If the wave makes you crazy, taking a break from weighing yourself can only open your eyes to other possibilities. Your weight is not the only measure of your success. Put away the wave and you can only see how far you've really come.
