Let’s face it. We are a society obsessed with numbers. From our credit scores, our ages, to our scale weights, these numbers dictate how we feel about ourselves. Today I must take some time to address scale weight. In my experience as a fit coach, the numbers on the scale either pump people up or discourage them. Most people, when embarking on a weight loss venture, do not understand what the scale is saying about their bodies. They do not know how to use it as a tool and not as a mood predictor. Their whole nutrition/exercise program is focused solely on that daily number on the scale. Many people drop their new program when they see the numbers simply because they are disappointed.
If you have been practicing unhealthy eating and are 30+ pounds overweight, switching to healthy, whole foods is going to trigger a 4 to 5-pound loss in the first week. This simply means your body is getting rid of excess water and toxins. In the second week 2 of those pounds may return because you were dehydrated and your body is seeking its way back to equilibrium, not because you are doing something wrong. All you see is the numbers and your conclusion is the program isn’t working. After all that work in the first two weeks all you lost is 2 pounds. What do you do? Get discouraged and dump the program.
Let’s remember the scale does not track how much you eat or drink. It does not measure how much you exercise. It cannot distinguish that you gained 2 pounds of muscle and lost 4 pounds of fat. Both good things that you don’t realize because the numbers only indicate a 2-pound loss. You lost 4 pounds of the stuff you needed to lose and gained 2 pounds of the stuff you needed to gain. The scale can’t tell you that the 2 pounds of muscle you gained is going to rev up your metabolism and HELP you lose even more weight and gain even more muscle. You do not realize your program is a success if you focus solely on that scale number.
Here is how scale weight works when you are on a long term program that is helping you change your food and exercise lifestyle. (I do not believe in “diets”). This picture shows my own weight loss journey since June.
The solid line is my trend over time. The jagged line is a record of my everyday scale weight. Just look at all those ups and downs. Can you imagine my life if I let those ups and downs dictate my mood every day? It’s evident that even with all those up days, I was still following my program and making progress. It is important to weigh yourself everyday so you can follow your own trend. It is equally important to not fixate on each day’s number. You simply weigh yourself, log it and move on. Of course, on some of the days your weight goes up, you will probably be able to attribute it to something, and sometimes not. On the days you can figure out why you see the uptrend, you are learning about your own particular body. Tracking your weight daily will help you learn about your own unique system and how food and exercise affect it.
Embarking on a healthy lifestyle change REQUIRES you to tune into your body and educate yourself about yourself. Taking progress pics and measurements each month is a great way to examine what is happening to you. Noticing that your clothes fit differently is also a great way to measure your progress. If you have recently began a health and fitness program, please do not fixate on that daily number. Learn to use it as tool that gives you clues and insight as to how your body behaves.
Take a breath. Slow down. Results happen over time, not overnight. Our program here at Koko is 52 weeks long. We start slow and uncomplicated. As a coach, I give you time to explore how your body behaves before we begin making changes to your lifestyle. Once both you and I have a handle on how you live, eat and move, then we can devise a plan that you can live with the rest of your life.
And so, as another day goes by, another number gets logged in, and you are another step closer to your goal – whether the number goes up or down.
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