Have you ever been part of a fat loss program & you are working out, and eating a healthy diet, but for some reason the scale doesn't appear to move. You are not alone! Most people rely on the scale when trying to lose weight, and they focus on it so much that when it doesn't move they want to give up. But you must not let it get you down, because the number on the scale does not tell you whether you're making full progress.
Here are seven reasons why the number on the scale isn't the best tool to use to track progress:
1)YOUR BODY COMPOSITION IS CHANGING
You may be the same weight, but you see that you're losing inches. That's a sign that you're moving in the right direction. You are losing body fat while gaining muscle.
2)YOUR WEIGHT FLUCTUATES EVERY DAY
If you weigh yourself every day you're going to notice that the scale weight fluctuates. This could be due to water retention, hormones, pms, your cycle, excesssive salt intake, a cheat meal, constipation, lack of sleep, & high stress.
Therefore is not advised to weigh yourself every day. Due to the fluctuations, weigh yourself once a week to see where you are at.
3)DOES MUSCLE WEIGH MORE THAN FAT?
The answer is no! As you do work out you're going to build lean muscle which weighs exactly the same as fat, but it is leaner, so if you clothes fit looser but the scale is staying the same that's because you have the lean muscle you are building. Building lean muscle has a lot of benefits. It helps boost your metabolism and burn fat more efficiently, even while you're at rest!
4)YOUR CLOTHES WILL TELL
IF YOU‘RE MAKING PROGRESS
The clothes don't lie! Instead of determining whether you're getting results based on the scale, go by how your clothes fit. If your clothes are fitting better and looser than you are losing and making progress, and therefore the scale number is not important. So gauge your progress by how your clothes fit.
5)THE SCALE WEIGHT CAN AFFECT HOW TOU FEEL
Relying on the scale can make or break your day. It can have people feel disheartened. When the weight is up, you are happy when the number is down you become sad. The scale number dictates how we feel for the day. But then it could also hinder progress due to stressing out about the number. However, it should not be a driving force of whether to track progress, you should focus more on adapting a healthier lifestyle, getting stronger, & being healthier.
6)THE SCALE WEIGHT DOES NOT SHOW YOUR HEALTH
Just because someone is thin doesn't mean they're healthy. We all come in different shapes and sizes so we can't have the scale gauge our health. What we can focus on is getting better blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels, have good energy levels & getting stronger which may not change the number on the scale but are markers of improved health.
7)YOUR SCALE WEIGHT DOESN‘T ACCOUNT FOR EVERYTHING
Your scale weight is weighing every tissue cell, muscles, bones, water and organs that you have. Therefore it is not the best tool to use to show the bigger picture of fitness and health. You want to focus on better health, feeling good, and making health changes, so you can lead a healthier life through a diet and exercise routine. You also want to focus on keeping your stress levels down and get good sleep good, because that can affect your health.
Your weight will come off in a fat loss program, but you have to understand the factors mentioned above that affect the scale weight, and that there are other tools that are more accurate to gauge your progress. Therefore, progress pictures can also be a great tool to use to track your progress. How you look ultimately will show if you're truly losing fat. So remember this scale weight does not define you! It is not the ultimate tool to use to track progress.
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