The Scale Lies!
I’ve had a hard time throughout this whole process with the scale loving to hate me! But it just dawned on me that I’m in a place far different than what the scale says. I recently bought a pair of shorts, size 12. The last time I bought a size 12 I was 20lbs LIGHTER than what I am now. Not to mention, I was almost 10 years younger!
Who says you have to lose muscle as you get older!?
June 3, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I have found as has my wife (bodyspace: judimax) that the scale is just about the last thing we should be using to gauge our fitness results and yet it is the first thing we turn to.
We both have had a love/hate relationship with the scale and have finally found that it does have a purpose but not to tell us if we are getting fit. It is to only tell us how much we weigh on any given day and nothing more and should be the last thing we use to check our progression.
First and foremost but almost never done is to take our body measurements. Using a flexible or tailor’s tape measure record the size of your neck, shoulders, chest, waist (at the bellybutton) hips (yes, men too) thighs, calves, biceps, forearms and wrist. You should do this once a month and record the numbers and check to see where you are losing inches. I call it shape-shifting and it is a better indicator of whether your workout routine is working than the scale. If you are losing inches you are making progress and although it may not show up on the dreaded bathroom scale mostly because of the possibility that you are gaining muscle along with losing fat and the fact that muscle weighs more than fat it does prove you are going in the right direction.
Next I believe comes bodyfat. There are a number of devices on the market that will give you a close estimate of your bodyfat percentage, none will give you an exact unless you are willing to invest big dollars and get tested in a dunk tank device, which for most of us is taking it to the extreme. The one I use is a hand held device that you hold in both hands after entering a few things like your age, height and sex and a few seconds after you hit start it gives your bodyfat percentage and BMI readings. By recording the results of this device once a week you will get a fairly decent indication if what you are doing and how you are eating is working.
Last and definitely least, I check my weight on the bathroom scale and enter that in my log and by looking at all three of these I can ascertain whether I am progressing towards my goal or regressing back to where I no longer want to be.
Another not so accurate but still useful way to see if you are getting fit is to check how your clothes are fitting. If pants that used to be tight on you now slide way down your hips on their own then you are doing something right and need to be keeping on doing what you are doing. If you can no longer get into those same clothes then I believe you should reevaluate your current program and choose another that has you consuming less and exercising more.
The bathroom scale does play a role in your fitness program but it is not the end all – be all, and although we are going to be tempted to judge our progress by what it says it is best to use some of the other more accurate ways to evaluate our progress.
June 4, 2008 at 7:48 am
I definitely use other means to tell me I’m making progress. At this point, it’s hard for me to look at the number on the scale though, it’s much higher than I can stomach somtimes. BUT… I know I’m on the right track when my BF% and measurements are going down as well as my clothes fitting better, this keeps me centered.
June 4, 2008 at 8:19 am
I always believed that the scale always lies. When you look in the mirror or can feel the difference your self, you realize that the scale only represents numbers. I know that a lower number is always deemed as good, but I believe more in myself and my peers. After all whos knows best, you or your scale. ….Keep it up girl, your awesome