Scales LIE!!!

So throw yours away!!!

… or at least put it in the back of the closest, and only use is monthly.

Trade in the old scale “big fat” lies & give body composition a try.  Here are a few methods for understanding what is really going on with your body fat & fitness progress: body fat, skinny jeans, & the “long time no see” friends’ scale.

Body fat is a great way to know what is going on in your body and to put it in numbers.  You will know what you weigh, what percentage of your body is fat, and what percentage of your body is muscle.  Then you can set goals and see how you are changing.  Are you losing the right kind of weight (losing fat and maintaining or gaining muscle)?  Avoid getting discouraged by small scale changes. (My weight hasn’t changed but my closes are bigger) etc.  When doing body-fat testing, to get the most accurate measurements: use the same tester, same time of day, and don’t work out first, otherwise you may skew your results.

Use your clothes as a gauge, they won’t lie. Take a pair of jeans that are tight or a belt that you barely fit and put them on.  If you use the jeans, just pay attention to how they fit, then take them off and put them away.  (You must put them away though, because washing your jeans may depress you, they often shrink.)  If you use a belt, put a mark on where it notches, then put it away.  In 3 weeks to a month, take them out and compare.  If they are getting a little big on you, you are losing body-fat, no matter what the scale says.  Do this for a little while, keep up on your healthy lifestyle changes, and your retired clothes will move back to the front of your closest.  Once they are baggy, you will have to find a new measurement tool!

Long time no see… you’ve lost weight haven’t you? It is hard to see changes when you look at something everyday, you get use to things as they gradually happen.  So, don’t be discouraged if you don’t “think you look that different” or if your spouse “doesn’t seem to notice.” Think of this as the difference between video and snapshots, in a video, changes are gradual and you get watch them unfold, so they seem natural because you become accustomed to the changes little by little.  Conversely, when you look at two pictures with a time gap in between, the changes are obvious and drastic… i.e. the “wow factor”.

You are much more likely to get the “WOW factor” from people you don’t see everyday. All of the sudden, you will start getting compliments from extended family and acquaintances.  People, who have only two snapshots of you in their mind, then and now, will be able to realize how much you have changed.  Listen to them, they are telling you the truth.

In order to be successful in your health quest, whatever the goal, you need to make fitness a part of your life.  I promise, by avoiding the traps that people usually fall into, and taking control, by setting attainable goals with healthy guidelines to follow.  Before you know it, you will be feeling better mentally and physically, so you will have to go shopping and buy outfits that show off your progress.