Is your scale the problem or is it your attitude towards the scale?
Do you dread getting on the scale? The scale can be deceiving, right? One day you’re down a pound and the next day you are up 4 pounds! Did you gain fat overnight?! Absolutely not! It’s impossible to gain fat (or muscle) overnight. What is happening day to day with the scale fluctuating is water retention or inflammation.
Anyone can retain water or have inflammation for many reasons. After a heavy lifting day, your muscles hold inflammation as a part of the muscle building process. But even this can make the scale go up and it’s totally ok! On the other hand- you’re sick and fighting a cold, you might have some joint inflammation- still not fat, but the scale will show this.
Notice BMI didn’t even make my chart? These tools are all far more important than BMI in my opinion.
When you look at these, which one has the most power over you? First of all, none of them should hold power over you, but I do think it’s hugely important to work hard to feel our best and to try to lower blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, etc. as naturally as we can. Sometimes you’ll always need a med, but keep working hard because chances are if you stop working hard, the med won’t work as well and you’ll need a higher dose or worse…..
The scale ONLY made the cut for this list because it is a viable tool when you have body fat to lose to track progress, however pictures & measurements can change DRASTICALLY with little to no scale movement. For some very lean individuals, the scale might even go up and body fat will go down. This is why it’s hugely important to know what you weigh but become numb to daily fluctuations & the number that has so much power over you.
How do you become numb to the scales power you ask? I’m so glad you asked! I have two very opposing methods and both have worked very well depending on your mental state and attitude towards the scale. Neither one is better than the other one. 💕 With BOTH of these methods, you MUST train yourself to not overreact at the scale being down or up. Remember- it’s the LAST thing that matters! Random fact- some people can lose a HUGE amount of weight on the scale but they are not just losing fat. The goal is to try to lose ONLY fat. We want to keep ALL the muscle and big strong healthy thick bones that won’t break as we age (we are all going to age).
First method: weigh everyday (or super frequently)
🥗 I’ve found this method works best when you’re not obsessing over that number and can kind of take in this as daily data. It’s great for sustainable fat-loss along with maintaining a healthy body fat percentage. A free app to track daily weigh ins is “weight guru” and it’s so interesting over several weeks to months to years looking back at this chart and seeing certain trends. Remember even if you’re in maintenance, the scale rarely stays the same day to day. Find out what your range is. Some people go up to a 10 pound range where it’s JUST water or inflammation and the scale can jump up that much in one day and back down. Know your own personal range!
Second method: weigh once every 4-6 weeks
🍇This method can be for the busy person who forgets, this is also great for the obsessed individual who can really get discouraged with the number when trying so hard. If you’re doing everything right with your nutrition and exercise, the scale will move. But not much until after about 4-6 weeks and even then, it might only be down a couple pounds depending on how lean you already are (PICTURES & MEASUREMENTS!)
No matter what the scale says when you weigh yourself, know that this doesn’t define you and you shouldn’t give this object any power over how you feel about yourself. Keep up with your nutrition plan & hit those workouts regularly! You’ll see results! Solid progress takes time.