The Scale is a Lie

Ever feel like your scale might be working against you?  In battles of losing weight, this feeling is common.  Scales are unflinching and uncaring, they tell you what you weigh, and hold nothing back.  For someone trying to change their body’s shape, get healthy, and feel better, the daily trip to the bathroom scale can be a real downer.

But it doesn’t have to be.

To start off, you really shouldn’t be weighing yourself every day.  Seriously.  Your body fluctuates quite a bit in weight on a day-to-day basis, and unless you’re averaging the weight out, it does nothing to demonstrate real change in your body.  Pick a day of the week, and weigh yourself only on that day.  Seriously, you’re looking for a gradual, change-over-time effect here.  Expecting improvement day to day is only going to set you up for disappointment.

Also, you should make sure you weigh yourself at roughly the same time every day, preferably in the morning, before you eat anything.  This will give you the most accurate depiction of your weekly weight, by attempting to eliminate outlying factors like food you’ve eaten, or waste you may be carrying.  You should also be weighing yourself naked.  Remember, you’re not trying to make your clothes healthier, you’re trying to make yourself healthier!

There’s something else you need to keep in mind through all of this, though…

Weight Isn’t Everything

Ewwww.  That looks gross, right?  But take a look again, anyway.  Holy crap!  A pound of fat is way bigger than a pound of muscle is!  What does this have to do with our discussion?  Well, sometimes losing inches is more important than losing weight.  In a totally hyperbolic example, imagine if your thighs were nothing but fat (impossible, but stick with me here).  Let’s say they’re 30 inches around, so they’re kinda big.  Since they’re all fat, there’s gonna be tons of cellulite and jiggles going on as well.  Now, imagine those same thighs were pure muscle, and they’re 22 inches around.  They’d look awesome!  You’d have a great pair of legs, for sure, and much healthier, too!  But guess what?  You’d weigh just as much, maybe even more!

You can be really skinny, but still not look great, or feel great, or be healthy.  Similarly, a guy that works out every day with a clean diet is going to look awesome at 220 lbs, but the same guy who eats poorly and doesn’t work out at all is going to look awful at 220 lbs, and probably feel even worse!

A better way to measure progress is through deeds and pictures.  When you start a new fitness plan, take a picture.  Keep a monthly photo log of yourself.  Worry less about the number on the scale, and more about how you feel, and what you think you look like.  Don’t just take your own word for it, though, trust others when they compliment you, or say you’re doing well, or you look like you’ve lost weight!  Measure your fitness by how many miles you can run, how much weight you can lift, or how many pushups you can do!  Keep a log of these things, too, so you can see your progress!

Don’t measure your personal fitness level, or your physical attractiveness, with a scale.  Scales tell your body’s relationship with gravity, and nothing more.  Your own feelings decide how attractive you are, and how fit you are.  Are you in good enough shape to be able to do anything that you want to do in life, without your body holding you back?  Do you feel confident enough in your looks to be able to wear the clothes you want, interact with people as you choose, and not feel self conscious about your physical appearance?

If you answered yes to these questions, way to go!  You’re doing well!  If you answered no to these questions, that’s okay!  You’ve just found what should be your real motivations for getting in shape!

Don’t let other people, other things, or your scale decide how happy you are with yourself.

That’s it for today!  I’ll see you again on Sunday, with my own photo log update, as well as my wife, Jackie’s. Please don’t forget to like the blog on Facebook, and follow on Twitter and Tumblr.  While you’re at it, if you enjoyed this post, please share/retweet it to your friends!  As always, remember to live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome.

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace