Anyone that knows me, will know that I am not a fan of the weighing scales!!
There is a big difference between losing weight and losing fat..... When you lose weight (and see the number on the scales decrease), you could actually be losing a little bit of everything - fat, muscle, fluids etc, but when you lose fat, you just lose fat!
You want the majority of your inch loss to come from fat and not all of the other stuff, so if you're concerned about that number on the scales, you may well be losing valuable muscle too.
As a result of the above, it is possible to lose inches and get smaller and leaner, without actually seeing a change in your weight!
As a personal trainer, I don't weigh any of my clients (or indeed own a pair of scales), the tape measure is a much more accurate progress tracker..... And I've had clients who have lost, say 2 inches from their waist but no weight!
But the problem is, you may still be focused on the scales and believe if the number doesn't change, you're not getting results..... So please check out the reasons below that highlight why the scales don't always tell the whole truth:
* Scales measure everything - muscles, fat, bones, organs, food and water - so can be deceptive
* They don't reflect any changes in your body - if you're following a training plan of cardio and strength training, you may be building lean muscle at the same time as losing fat - and as muscle is more dense than fat, the scale may not change even though you're leaner and slimmer.
* They don't reflect your health - the scale can't differentiate between fat and muscle - so someone could have a very low body weight (number on the scales) but still have unhealthy fat levels.
* Scales can have a negative effect on your mindset!! - Do you get up, feel amazing, clothes feel looser, you look great in the mirror but then... step on the scales and feel unhappy?? Maybe it's time to ditch the scales!
So maybe you could change how you measure your inch loss success?? Even if you're not ready to completely get rid of the scales, why not use another measure for progress too, this can help keep a positive mindset.
Remember that bodyweight sometimes includes factors that are outside of your control so why not:
* Go by how your clothes fit you - maybe have a target pair of jeans and try them on once a month to measure progress?
* Take measurements to see if you're losing inches instead of weight
* Set perfomance goals - focus on completing a certain number of workouts a week, competing in a race, how many press ups you can do etc.
Always keen to hear your feedback guys - leave me a comment below!!
Chelle
