When you engage in a diet plan and exercise routine to lose weight, it may seem discouraging when you weigh yourself and the numbers don't change. This is because as you exercise and change your metabolism, your muscles become stronger and even though your are slimming down, your actual weight may not vary significantly. Focusing on losing inches as opposed to losing weight is a more realistic way to gauge your progress, especially since there are aspects of your body, such as your bone mass, that contribute to your weight, which will not vary no matter how much your diet or exercise.
Losign Inches Represents Fat Loss
As you take steps to slim down, you may notice that your weight may remain the same and yet your clothes will begin to fit differently. This is because as you gain muscle mass, you also burn fat, which contributes to a slimmer and healthier body. This type of weight loss is more sustainable than just focusing on losing weight without building muscle mass. The key to sustainable weight loss is losing body fat, as your body will trim down slowly, but the weight is more likely to stay off.
Truth Behind the Number
The number that you see on your scale does not always represent your health in terms of weight. You may be an individual with a heavier bone structure and will therefore weigh more than someone else your same height. Remove any identity you have placed on the reading of your scale and focus more on losing inches from your waits, hips, stomach, arms and legs, where fat is usually stored.
Different Variable in Scale Readings
The reading on your scale is variable at different times. For instance, if you weigh yourself in the morning before having breakfast you will weigh less than after having a big meal. Some women experience bloating during their menses, which will also give a higher reading on the scale. For this reason losing inches as opposed to losing weight is a safer way to evaluate your weight loss progress.
Keep Scale Handy
Although monitoring your fat loss is more important than monitoring how many pounds you are losing, your scale is still useful, as it will show extreme shifts in weight loss. This shifts may be caused by muscle loss, due to a weight loss program that focuses mainly on an extreme diet plan but does not incorporate a daily exercise routine. Keep your scale handy, but don't rely on it to gauge your success.
Member Comments