Stop Letting the Scale Rule Your Day

I wanted to write this post because I know it is something that the majority of women struggle with. Including myself. The scale, for many of us, gives us an anxious feeling. It's the thing that no one brings up. It's the number that can start our day off great or start us off with a negative attitude towards life. Why is that? Because for so long, we have been told things that make us think that the scale defines us and that the scale is the end all, be all measure of progress. I'm not going to lie..I still have my days when I let that number bring up some negative thoughts, but I have come so far and I now KNOW FOR A FACT that the scale doesn't mean sh*t (well in terms of overweight and obesity that leads to real health issues, yes it matters...but you will see my point). I'm going to cover some (of many) reasons why you should stop letting the scale determine your happiness.

 

 

1.  Weight loss and fat loss are not the same thing. Many people are looking for quick weight loss and they may get it by doing some crash diet BUT that weight may not be what they were wanting to lose. When we lose weight at too quick of a rate, we can lose muscle along with it. And if your goal is physique improvement and fat loss, this is not what you want. Muscle is a very metabolically active tissue in the body, whereas fat plays a storage role which does not burn as many calories. The more lean muscle tissue you have, the more calories you burn even at rest. This aids in fat loss, of course, plus the appearance of muscle is what is going to give that "toned" look that most people are after.

    

2.  Muscle tissue is more dense than fat tissue. Therefore, if you have more muscle tissue, the scale may increase due to POSITIVE body composition changes. Many people who are beginning their fitness journey or who finally decide to take the gym seriously after years of just going through the motions may see that the scale stalls or even goes up at points in their fat loss journey. This is due to the fact that overall body composition is changing. You can still be losing body fat but if you are building muscle too, the scale may not move much.

    

3.  Inflammation. This is a HUGE ONE!! Inflammation can cause the scale to show an artificially inflated number. Inflammation can happen for many reasons but two of the most common that I see are: beginners who's bodies aren't used to weight training which leads to an increased systemic inflammatory response AND overly stressed systems. For example, I've worked with many clients who have been stalled for months yet their calories are super low and they are doing tons of cardio/training hard. More times than not, if I tell them to take a break from the gym for a few days and increase their calories, the scale drops.

    

4.  Stress. Increased stress levels in the body whether it be from environmental factors, lack of sleep, too much caffeine, life stressors, the gym, cardio, or even stressing about the scale leads to elevated cortisol levels in the body. Elevated cortisol levels can lead to a whole host of issues that can stall our progress. I make this point to stress taking care of your body AND YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. Your body will fight you if you don't.

    

5.  Water. This could be for a few reasons. Number one, increased cortisol levels can throw off fluid balance in the body and lead to water retention. Sometimes just controlling our stress (physical and mental) can fix this immediately. Number two, salt. Salt is not the enemy AT ALL but sometimes we can see the scale go up if we eat a meal that is higher in sodium than we are used to eating. This is nothing to worry about- water retention does not mean you put on 3 lbs. of fat overnight. Number 3, not drinking enough water can actually cause you to hold onto water. So drink your water!!!!!! A gallon a day keeps the bloating away ;)

    

6.  Digestion Issues. Obviously, if we aren't digesting our foods properly and we don't have regular bowel movements, the scale is going to show a bit higher. Get down to the bottom of these issues as it is super important that our body is digesting and utilizing the foods that we eat properly. Look into things such as stress, caffeine intake, foods that irritate your stomach that you may need to lay back on, timing of meals, etc.

    

7.  Carbs. This does NOT mean that carbs are bad or make you fat. Carbohydrates are stored in the body as glycogen. Glycogen molecules contain water and therefore, the more glycogen we have, the more water retention we have, and the scale may be a bit higher. But again, this IS NOT body fat.

    

   Overall, there are so many reasons that the scale fluctuates. On top of that, body composition changes (yes, even very positive one's) may actually be an INCREASE on the scale. In fact, if you are wanting to take your physique to the next level and put on some real muscle...say goodbye to that current number. And be confident in that! Learn to be objective when you step on the scale. Rather than a certain number meaning "fat" and a certain number meaning "good", why can't they all just be numbers? Analyze the above reasons and don't let that number determine your mood for the day. And lastly, focus on other things: mood, energy levels, PROGRESS PICS, how your clothes are fitting, your strength in the gym, etc. The scale can be used as a tool (& should be sometimes), but it is just one tiny piece of the puzzle. Oh and side note!!!! Quit holding onto your old pant sizes. Giving up all of my size 4 Lulu clothes was so so hard for me but guess what.. booty gains. Why should I feel ashamed of that?!!! I shouldn't!

F THE SCALE & WHAT SIZE PANTS YOU WEAR. FOLLOW YOUR PLAN, WORK HARD IN THE GYM, AND BE CONFIDENT IN THE BODY YOU ARE WORKIN FOR!!!!! WHO CARES WHAT THE NUMBERS ARE!!! LET'S GET OVER THAT "NUMBER" AND FOCUS ON ALL THE OTHER STUFF. BECAUSE IT'S JUST A NUMBER.💪🏼