Fit Fridays - more to measure!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Marilyn Monroe sang that "diamonds are a girls best friend", if that is true then our enemy is... the weight scale!
Most women (and some men) are totally besotted with the number on the scale. It's a love hate relationship that can make or break our mood for the day/week. When I was at my heaviest I was 148lbs. I know, I know, many would kill to be a size 6 but for ME and my frame it was overweight. I knew this not by the number on the scale but because those size 6 jeans were getting snug, too snug, and a little muffin top action was coming along for the ride too!
If you weigh yourself everyday you aren't doing yourself any favors! Our weight can fluctuate so much on a daily basis it's truly not funny! Seriously! Most "weight loss experts" advise weighing yourself once a week, fitness instructors advise that if you MUST weigh yourself then go for once a month, or once every three months. Why? Well instead we prefer other measurements, like body measurements or fat % (body composition). These can change without any weight loss/gain so really does the number on the scale really matter?
My personal experience has shown that body composition changes your SHAPE more than weight loss. The reason for this is that per lb fat takes up TWICE the area than muscle. So a person who is 200lbs but with a low body fat % can LOOK (and feel) much better than a 150lb person with a high body fat percentage. The difference is shown below as to why we need to switch our thinking from WEIGHT loss, to composition change.
If you weigh yourself everyday you aren't doing yourself any favors! Our weight can fluctuate so much on a daily basis it's truly not funny! Seriously! Most "weight loss experts" advise weighing yourself once a week, fitness instructors advise that if you MUST weigh yourself then go for once a month, or once every three months. Why? Well instead we prefer other measurements, like body measurements or fat % (body composition). These can change without any weight loss/gain so really does the number on the scale really matter?
My personal experience has shown that body composition changes your SHAPE more than weight loss. The reason for this is that per lb fat takes up TWICE the area than muscle. So a person who is 200lbs but with a low body fat % can LOOK (and feel) much better than a 150lb person with a high body fat percentage. The difference is shown below as to why we need to switch our thinking from WEIGHT loss, to composition change.
I'd rather see people with more muscle than fat any day, even if they end up weighing exactly the same (or slightly more) and change ONLY their body composition. This can drop inches, and clothing sizes. I haven't been losing anymore weight over the past month or so but my body is still changing. Dropping fat and building some muscle I have dropped another clothes size, now to a size 3 (Yep I fit in junior sizes! I apparently have the body of a teenager).
So instead of obsessing over a number on the scale, take some measurements, get some body fat calipers, or just go by your clothing size instead. It's too easy to step on the scale and get demotivated because you worked so hard yet didn't lose weight, but not see that instead of losing weight you lost 1" off your waist! So throw out the scale, buy a tape measure and join in the body composition revolution!
So instead of obsessing over a number on the scale, take some measurements, get some body fat calipers, or just go by your clothing size instead. It's too easy to step on the scale and get demotivated because you worked so hard yet didn't lose weight, but not see that instead of losing weight you lost 1" off your waist! So throw out the scale, buy a tape measure and join in the body composition revolution!
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