It doesn’t align with other indicators: 5 pounds on the scale doesn’t reflect the whole story when it comes to reaching your goals.The scale shows everything: No bowel movement, sufficient nutrition that maintains muscle, like on Ideal Protein or drinking all of your water for the day does not reflect the hard-won results of your progress.Step on the scale first thing in the morning, and if that number is higher than expected, your day may head downhill fast. What’s worse, seeing that number can change how you feel about yourself. If you’ve been doing everything right and then step on the scale, you may think your program isn’t working. It can derail your progress: We’ve all been there, on track with our weight loss diet plan and exercise program, and then a bad weigh-in.If you focus on the scale, you may stray unnecessarily. It reduces the fat and inches and maintains your metabolism. If we think about weight loss vs fat loss, fat loss creates permanent changes in your body composition. If you are embarking on a weight loss journey, the scale alone may not be the best tool for tracking your progress.
Is That Scale Number Real? No, It Lies If That’s Your Sole Marker for Progress If you weigh yourself multiple times in the same day, you may be shocked to see your weight fluctuate by as much as 8-10 pounds depending on: Your Weight Fluctuates Dramatically – All Day, Every Dayįor those that weigh themselves regularly, you know that the scale varies throughout the day. Instead, the focus should be on body composition. Scale weight as a sole indicator is why BMI alone is not a good reference point for weight loss.
This higher weight on the scale doesn’t mean they are overweight, but if that’s the focal point, you can see how deceiving this may be. Take an athlete for instance, they may weigh a lot on a scale but can fit into smaller-sized clothing. A Traditional Scale Doesn’t Tell the Whole StoryĪ traditional scale measures pounds but doesn’t delineate muscle, fat, organ weight, and even water weight. If your weight on the scale isn’t moving, and that’s your only reference point, you may abandon your weight loss diet prematurely. If you are on a diet, this can be mind-bending, but we promise you that this may actually be a good thing. The subtle slimdown happens when you are losing fat and gaining muscle or losing fat and retaining muscle. It’s possible to get slimmer without seeing a change in your weight. It’s not all about the scale (in the traditional sense). So, What’s the Truth About Weight and Weight Loss?
While this reference point may be helpful mentally, it doesn’t reflect the full picture and can guide you straight down a rabbit hole instead of moving you closer to your goal. Some of us may think back to a time and weight when we didn’t have these problem areas and associate a past weight on the scale with success.
When most people think of losing weight, they first think of their troublesome “problem areas” – arms, waistline, “the muffin top,” thighs, and backside. Can You Lean Out Without the Scale Moving?