Weighing In and your Scale
The dreaded bathroom scale and weighing in can be one of the hardest parts of a weight-loss/fitness routine. No other piece of equipment can take you to the highest highs and the lowest lows all in the space of a few days or even a few hours. On Tuesday of this week, I weighed myself in the morning, I went to the gym and did my weight workout and 30 minutes of HIIT cardio, I ate reasonably throughout the day and shortly before bed I saw my scale and even though I know better, I stepped on it. I weighed 9 lbs. more than I had that morning! 9 lbs! I was flabbergasted! and disgusted and worst of all–discouraged!!
I have sworn off my scale before. I should have stuck with it. Just throw it out and see if my pants fit instead of weighing. But I didn’t. The scale is just such an easy measurement. Just step right up and see if it has changed. No measuring tapes, fat calipers, hydrostatic weigh-ins, nothing difficult just step right up and see the changes! But unfortunately it may be easy but it is not always an accurate picture.
Even though some experts recommend weighing in often, it is very easy for the more obsessive among us to overdo it (as I did on Tuesday) and the scale can so often be so discouraging. After my first daughter was born and I was trying to get back into shape I swore off the scale and decided I would only weigh one time per month. As I look back that was a wise decision because I remember at one of my monthly weigh-ins, I had lost 10 lbs. That was one of the few times I remember that I was really happy to be stepping on the scale!
The scale is only a part of the entire picture. Muscle weighs more and is much more compact than fat. A person’s body weight can fluctuate between 5 and 10 lbs. in any 24 hour period. If you are retaining water because you have consumed too much salt, or you are in a certain time of your cycle if you are female, you will show a higher weight that is just water retention from extra-cellular fluid. Or on the other hand, if you have been sick with the flu or something and your body is dehydrated you can lose up to 10 lbs. according to the scale, but that is not real fat that has come off and as soon as your body becomes properly hydrated again the weight will be right back up there. Permanent changes on the scale take some time.
The scale can be a useful tool to keep you on track, as long as you don’t become overly obsessive about it. But you really should consider body fat measurements and circumference measurements which will measure a change in size or inches. Take these measurements every 3 weeks to every month and you will see differences if you are faithfully exercising and eating right.
If you do choose to use a scale on a regular basis, here are a few tips to consider. Try to weigh in at the same time everyday. The best time is probably in the morning before you eat anything and before you get dressed.
Make sure that your scale is on a hard surface and not a rug or a carpet. Also, use the same scale all of the time. Different scales will give different measurements.
And don’t get obsessed. The scale is just a tool to measure. The way your clothes fit, body fat measurements and the ability to do the things you want to do are really a better test of your fitness!
