You can hear people say that the weight scale is their best friend. Some claim that it is in fact your worst enemy.
So let me ask you something. What is your opinion? How often do you climb on the weight scale?
Many people going through some weight loss program are now probably thinking “well, every day” or “couple of times per day”. But looking more objectively on this matter may result in realizing just how stupid that is.
I stand firmly on the belief that the scale is your worst enemy when it comes to weight loss, shaping your body the way you like and improving your life in general.
And here is why :
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Unreal expectation
Seriously, what did you thought? That somehow, overnight you will see such changes as if someone threw a spell on you? Even though the fat burning process is on its highest somewhere in the night (That is if you’ve incorporated strength training in your program), chances are that it will NOT reflect on the immediate measuring the day after.
It all happens on molecular level, so it’s downright stupid to expect that your body made couple of days progress during just one night. The same goes for binge eating and getting depressed over the bad choice. Don’t worry, nothing happens with the speed of light, you need to give it some time.
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Gives you the wrong impression
How come? Well if you are one of those who take every chance to hop in on the scale, then you probably get all the mixed signals all of the time. The days you thought you made the biggest progress, are not showing as well as you thought on the scale, and vice versa. And measuring yourself all the time just doesn’t gives you the feeling of progress since it’s always so little at a given time.
I remember when I was coaching a woman who wanted to get slim by only changing her diet. She hated counting calories, hated figuring out what to eat, so we decided to settle on the boiled eggs diet and see what happens in two weeks. However, she kept watching the scale at home, and came to me quite depressed because she wasn’t seeing the results that she expected to see. I talked with her and tried to calm her down. Thankfully, she kept with the same pace, and lo and behold, there she was, after 10 days, with a much slimmer waist, and 7 pounds lighter.
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Kills your motivation
As I mentioned in the one above, you can surely tell what will happen as a result of that wrong impression. And if you guessed questioning your progress, or loosing motivation, than you are right.
You see, making tremendous effort to stick to your diet, your exercise schedule, new acquired healthy habits… All of that is not easy at all, and the last thing you need is to question whether you are doing well or not.
That alone can demotivate you in a way that you will soon lose confidence in what you are doing, and certainly lose your determination more quickly as a result of that.
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Simple mathematics
I’ve seen many people exercising a lot while hoping to lose some weight. And the interesting thing about many of them is going on the scale after doing couple of days strength exercises.
What is wrong here? Can you guess it? Well I know I can. If you are doing some strength or bodybuilding exercises then hopefully your muscle mass will in turn increase.
So the next time when you go to the scale you not only get the picture that you are not doing some progress, but you also see some set back- you’ve gained some pounds. And while this is a good thing if you are doing those types of exercises, many will simply get plain confused.
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You focus on the wrong thing
Tell me something. Why do you want to lose weight? Is it in order for you to fit into your favorite jeans? Or is it because you want to be fit, therefore more energetic and younger? Or you just want to look good, plain simple as that?
Well no matter which one of this you choose, neither one of them is in any way connected with the weight scale and the way it measures the progress.
If any of the above are your reasons, then other things are more important. For example whether you’ve built some muscles and gave your body more form; whether you defined your muscle mass in a way that you are now looking fitter; whether you are losing fat on certain areas, therefore being able to fit into that jeans of yours, or finally wear that tight blouse.
All I want to say is that your progress was never centered on numbers.
Count more on things like looking into the mirror, explore things with touch. You will for sure have better understanding that way, and stop the obsession with the numbers.
Can you share your thoughts about this? You are addicted to the scale, or you measure your progress otherwise?