F*ck the Scale
When you’re looking to improve how you look, it’s easy to hop on a scale, and compare progress of where you are now and where you want to be. It’s great to have goals. I would argue essential to help keep you on track and give you something to strive for. However if all you’re looking at is a scale for progress, you’re missing the forest for the trees.
I get the allure. It’s a simple, objective way to measure progress. You start at point A, and try to get to point B. Perfect. I’m on board. The trouble is, most people get too caught up in the number, and ignore everything else. You could be making serious progress towards your physique goals and not even know it if all you’re doing is looking at the scale.
So what’s the solution?
First off, ignore BMI. Body mass index looks at height and weight to give you a measure of “healthy weight”. This is me 10 years ago, very overweight and right on the border of obese according to BMI. I mean I guess I was a bit thicc, but I played football cut me some slack!
As soon as you start training, BMI is worthless. Building muscle skews the BMI scale drastically. Tell your doctor I said so.
When I am working with clients looking to lose fat, I do use the scale. BUT, it is just one piece to the puzzle. Here are a few other things to look at in conjunction with the scale:
Body measurements- waist, chest, hips, and legs can give a better picture of progress even if the scale isn’t moving. If you are dropping inches, we are making progress.
Skin fold tests- same as above, if my body fat is dropping and the scale is steady, I am building muscle
Before and after pictures- Your perception of yourself changes with your progress, so it’s very hard to judge where you are now to where you were. PIctures give more concrete evidence. The psychology of your body image is a tricky thing, I know from experience, and photos can help give better perspective.
Fit of clothes- those pants fitting a little looser? You moved a notch on your belt? Progress
The scale is too volatile to be a complete source of information. Water, fluid balance, time of day, exercise, previous meals, and for women hormonal balance is a big one, all can cause severe swings making it very difficult to measure linear progress. One day you're down 4 lbs, the next you're up 5. You didn’t gain or lose that weight in body fat that quickly, so don’t be disheartened with daily swings.
What I am looking for is slow and steady progress. Fad diets work in that you can lose 10 lbs in 10 days. But what happens on day 11? You’re back up 9. Now you’ve lost a net of 1 pound.
My target for weight loss is .5-1 pound per week. That’s it. That is sustainable and healthy. If we are dropping 0.5 lbs per week, I’m stoked. If I told you in a year you could be down 26 lbs, you'd be psyched right? That’s 0.5 lbs per week. You didn’t put the weight on overnight, don’t expect to lose it overnight. Be patient, play the long game, and trust the process.
What to do now
If the goal is fat loss, looking just at the scale is a waste of time and mental energy. Add in body measurements, and/or before and after pictures to get a better idea of total progress.
If you do have a goal of pure weight loss, not just fat loss, either measure once a week, at the same time of day, or use a trend line. Apps like Happy Scale for Apple, or Libra for Android average out your weigh-ins to give you a better idea of overall progress. If you are the type of person who gets tied to the numbers and freaks out when the scale jumps a bit, these apps can help ignore that white noise and help show the big picture. Disclosure I’ve never used the apps, I just love the idea.
The scale is a tool. It’s not the end all be all. Don’t be stuck to the numbers, and remember weight can fluctuate pretty drastically daily. Think big picture, and play the long game when it comes to weight loss, and for fat loss and body composition, look at more metrics.