How often do you weigh yourself?
Hey there. Following on from last week and my posts around progress indicators/measures, today I’m going to talk about the ordinary Bathroom Scales.
I’m sure a lot of us have a set in our bathroom. How often do you weigh yourself?
Personally I weigh myself most days. I started this as an experiment to see how much fluctuation there is and it’s gotten to be a habit. By weighing myself daily, I realise that my weight fluctuates quite considerably between one day and the next (sometimes 2kg) and this could be for any number of reasons such as what I’ve eaten, what I’ve had to drink, water retention, recent exercise and quality of sleep. Also, just moving your scales to a different place may change the reading. I do use the scale reading as a guide. If my weight is creeping consistently up or remaining consistently up then I know that I’m not eating correctly, or not drinking enough water and I know that I need to pay myself some attention.
So whilst the scales may give you a general guideline as to your weight it might not be the best way to monitor weight loss if you are on a weight loss programme. What if you have the goal of weight loss and weigh-in once a week and what if on that one day that week you are retaining a little water for whatever reason and your weight shows higher than it was? For some people this could be the point at which they give up or get depressed, especially if they feel they’ve been ‘good’ all week.
The scales won’t show body fat or muscle mass. It doesn’t show whether you are retaining water. It is possible for your weight reduction not to show on the scales, especially if you have started exercising and improving your diet. It could be that you are losing body fat and gaining muscle.
So I guess what I’m saying is that, by all means, use your scales, however don’t get hung up on the number. It is only a number. The scales are not the only indicator of progress and might not tell the true story. Don’t let your scales send you in to a blue funk. Look for other signs of progress such as having more energy, sleeping better, generally feeling better, or your clothes are fitting better, as well as the options I mentioned last week.
Karen is a qualified personal trainer and nutrition coach living in Cyprus near Paphos with her husband Mal and their cat Dave. She has been a personal trainer for 14 years and a qualified nutrition coach for over 2 years. She is passionate about working with people of any age and fitness level to improve their health and wellbeing.
Click here to see more of her posts.
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