Do you find yourself constantly weigh yourself on the bathroom scale only to get frustrated with the number you’re seeing? What if I told you that dreaded number that pops up is not telling the whole story when it comes to your body weight and health.
As most of us know, every human body is unique in the way that we carry fat and muscle. There are different kinds of fat in the body––some necessary for life and some that can threaten the quality of life. Some people's bones are more dense than others, too.
Using the number on the scale as the end-all-be-all metric for health and body composition is simply outdated when it comes to evaluating whether your body is healthy, losing fat, gaining muscle, etc.
Literally, after having hundreds of conversations over the years with clients about the SMALLEST fluctuations in their weight (which was making them crazy), I had to tell them to throw out the scale! If you're dealing with the same thing, then I'm going to tell you, too: throw out your scale if it has become an obstacle in achieving your goals!
Continually weighing yourself can lead to you obsessing over the fluctuations you see on the scale. But what you may not realize is those fluctuations have nothing to do with actual body fat. Hormones, menstrual cycles for women, and whether or not you’ve gone to the bathroom that day (TMI, but it’s true!) can all affect the number on the scale! Yes, even how hydrated or dehydrated you are can shift the number on the scale by a significant margin. Weighing yourself all the time and seeing those numbers dip or rise constantly will only drive you bonkers.
Hopefully, we have at least established that the scale is just A tool, not THE tool when it comes to measuring health and progress. What other indicators can you use to ensure you are reaching your goals?
Other Tools To Measure Your Progress
- The Mirror
- Clothes
- Energy
- Mood
- Increase in Strength
- Cardio + Recovery
- Sustainability
- Dexa Scans / InBody Scans –– Other scientifically proven tools that factor in multiple variables to provide a baseline for body composition.
– By Amy Jo Palmquest, a NUTRISHOP® store owner/spokesperson, an ACE-certified personal trainer with a degree in exercise science and nutrition, a wife and mother of three. Learn more at AmyJoPalmquest.com.
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