One of the problems faced by clients in Irvine, CA, and around the world for that matter, is the obsession with weighing themselves when they start a fitness regimen. While weight plays a role in your fitness goals, it’s not all about how much you weigh. If you’re muscular and weigh 120 pounds, you’ll look much thinner than someone with very little muscle mass. That’s because muscle tissue weighs more per cubic inch than fat tissue does, so a pound of muscle tissue can fit in a smaller container—body. Once you understand that weight is just one way to measure progress, you’re on your way to a no scale lifestyle.
Don’t let the scales trick you into getting discouraged or boosting your confidence.
If you’re one of those people that weigh yourself once a day or more or weigh yourself at different times, you won’t get an adequate picture of your progress. You weigh more or less at different times throughout the day, based on a lot of things, including water weight. Your body weight fluctuates for a number of reasons. It can come from hormonal changes throughout the month or even what you ate and the amount of sodium it contained. Those things can make you either feel like you’re not making progress and discourage you or give you false encouragement, even if you didn’t stick with your diet and exercise program.
Measure your body once a week instead.
Taking measurements will give you a better idea of how well you’re doing. If you’re building more muscle, the scales may not show you’re losing weight, but your measurement will show you have less fat. One of the best measurements to show your progress is your circumference around your midsection. That’s where visceral fat collects. It’s deep fat that’s the most dangerous type, since it crowds the organs. When that measurement is smaller, you’re boosting your health and making a great deal of progress toward your fitness goals.
Take a picture, it lasts longer.
Nothing can help you see your progress better than the before, during and after pictures. Getting into shape doesn’t happen overnight. It comes in very small increments. You forget how you looked unless you have a reminder. Take a picture once a month, ensuring you are the same distance from the camera, in the same clothing and it’s taken at the same angle. After the first month, you’ll have a collection to see how much progress you’ve made. It’s useful for those days when you need a boost.
- Your clothing won’t fit the same way after you’ve made progress, so use that information. Find a pair of jeans that fit uncomfortably tight and use them as your guide. When they fit comfortably or even loose, you’ve accomplished a lot.
- You shouldn’t ignore your scales completely, but just remember they aren’t that important and use other ways to measure your progress.
- One simple way to measure progress is to use a tape measure. You can measure your body at key points, like the upper thigh, belly, hips and arms. Depending on your goals, those measurements can be increasing (biceps) or decreasing (hips) to show your progress.
- Use your vitals to measure your progress. Is your resting heart rate lower? Is your blood pressure lower? What about your fasting glucose rate? Getting fit is more than just looking better, it’s being healthier.
For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness