When I stepped on the scale at my fitness center last year, my aerobics instructor sidled up to me and stage-whispered, "That is the tool of the devil."
I know what she means. Daily fluctuations make a daily weigh-in both inaccurate and frustrating. What looks like a loss one day - due to last night's skipped dessert, or exercise-induced dehydration - disappears with a normal caloric intake the next day, or a little extra salt that causes you to hold onto water.
Yet, the TV reality show "Biggest Loser" uses the scale as its only criterion of success. Is the scale a tool of the devil or the only tool that matters? Well, neither.
The scale is a tool by which I hope to track a general downward trend, but slow consistent weight loss comes with the ups and downs. As well, I have learned that muscle is denser and heavier than fat. Herein lies the paradox: converting fat tissue to the same volume of muscle tissue is likely to increase your weight, if only temporarily. Eventually, using your larger muscles will burn more fat all day long, resulting in overall weight loss.
This is not new to most people. It gets me to my point - my first weigh-in. I have to report that I just weighed in at 150.5 this morning. That put a big smile on my face. But did I think I'd lost nearly 4 pounds in two weeks? No chance.
In fact, I ran over (figuratively) to the Group Health near me and asked to use their scale. No sense reporting my weight at all if my scale isn't accurate. It's off by a pound, in the wrong direction! That is, I was 151.5 this morning, not 150.5. Shoot, does that mean I started at 156?
I'll write more about my exercise regimen and eating habits later. But the most important thing that keeps me on the right track now is FOCUS. I don't mean I think about eating, or not eating, all the time. Rather, I think about what and how much I put in my mouth because I know I have to write about it and I have to be accountable to those who read this darn blog.
What is your best strategy for maintaining or losing weight?
I know what she means. Daily fluctuations make a daily weigh-in both inaccurate and frustrating. What looks like a loss one day - due to last night's skipped dessert, or exercise-induced dehydration - disappears with a normal caloric intake the next day, or a little extra salt that causes you to hold onto water.
Yet, the TV reality show "Biggest Loser" uses the scale as its only criterion of success. Is the scale a tool of the devil or the only tool that matters? Well, neither.
The scale is a tool by which I hope to track a general downward trend, but slow consistent weight loss comes with the ups and downs. As well, I have learned that muscle is denser and heavier than fat. Herein lies the paradox: converting fat tissue to the same volume of muscle tissue is likely to increase your weight, if only temporarily. Eventually, using your larger muscles will burn more fat all day long, resulting in overall weight loss.
This is not new to most people. It gets me to my point - my first weigh-in. I have to report that I just weighed in at 150.5 this morning. That put a big smile on my face. But did I think I'd lost nearly 4 pounds in two weeks? No chance.
In fact, I ran over (figuratively) to the Group Health near me and asked to use their scale. No sense reporting my weight at all if my scale isn't accurate. It's off by a pound, in the wrong direction! That is, I was 151.5 this morning, not 150.5. Shoot, does that mean I started at 156?
I'll write more about my exercise regimen and eating habits later. But the most important thing that keeps me on the right track now is FOCUS. I don't mean I think about eating, or not eating, all the time. Rather, I think about what and how much I put in my mouth because I know I have to write about it and I have to be accountable to those who read this darn blog.
What is your best strategy for maintaining or losing weight?
Actually, that thing about muscle vs. fat is a myth. Muscle may be more dense, but reality is 1 lb. = 1 lb.
ReplyDeleteAs for weighing in - just do it once a week or you will drive yourself crazy. If you do it the same time each time you weigh in and the same conditions (i.e. first thing in the morning, no clothes, before you eat), you will at least have a better idea of the trend.
Thanks for your response. Let me clarify.
ReplyDeleteWell, one pound of feathers weighs the same as one pound of lead, too. But stuff a pound of feathers under your sweater and you’ll look a lot “fatter” than dropping a one-pound lead weight in your pocket. It’s all about body composition. You’d prefer muscle tissue to the same volume of fat tissue. Muscle is 20% denser than fat. The concept of density is important here.
Often people are frustrated by daily fluctuations in weight. When people begin resistance training, for example, their weight may not change much, even while their clothes start to fit better. That’s OK as long as you don’t use muscle as an excuse for not reducing your size, as in, “I can’t lose weight – it’s all that muscle.” Here are some sources that address this issue in more depth: http://www.everydayhealth.com/weight/busting-the-muscle-weighs-more-than-fat-myth.aspx OR http://ifitandhealthy.com/muscle-weights-more-than-fat/.
Exactly!
ReplyDelete