Foe or Friend? When to ignore the scale.

Let's face it when I say "get fit" everyone automatically hears "lose weight". Why? I wish I knew the exact reason but it seems that weight loss is the first thing most people mention when hearing the word fitness. Sadly too many people only pay attention to the numbers on the scale when trying to get fit. When people are only focused on pounds they can easily get caught up in diets that aren't healthy for their body (don't get me started on the HCG Diet again) If you set a goal to go from 155 pounds to 125 pounds and try and achieve that by simply just dieting and maybe doing cardio here or there you could most certainly reach your goal weight if your diet is extreme enough and achieve some fat loss but often your end result is flabby thin. Now one could argue that flabby thin is better than flabby overweight, and I suppose it is but I will tell you there is a better alternative and that is toned and firm. Fat loss is good, but muscle gain is even better and the more muscle you gain the more fat you will lose and keeping it off is easier. When it comes to weight loss your metabolism is key because your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories, and if calories burned is more than calories taken in then pounds will be lost. So what do you think has the biggest effect on your metabolism? Nope it's not what you eat or your age or even your activity level all though all those do effect it to a degree and it most certainly is not a miracle pill. Muscle tissue is the biggest contributor to controlling your metabolism. Simply put, the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn. Two women who weigh the same at 145 pounds, but one woman has a higher muscle mass than the other, the woman with more muscle will burn more calories than the woman with very little muscle even though they weigh the same. Even if they are just sitting in a chair typing on a keyboard the woman with more muscle will burn more calories. Your body is burning calories all day everyday 24/7 even when you sleep; but people with muscles burn more calories snoring then someone lacking in the muscle department.

So when I say you need to gain muscle now you are probably thinking "but I don't want to look bulky". Once again I do not know why there are so many misconceptions about these things but the last thing muscle is, is BULKY. When someone says muscle maybe we think of a body builder and yes they are bulky but that is because they have gone to an extreme with building muscle. Muscle is lean and takes up a whole lot less room then fat in your body. Growing up I remember often hearing the saying "muscle weighs more than fat" I think I heard it so much because people were constantly trying to cover up their surprise when they would pick me up or weigh me. I was a very active little girl, from the time I was six I was swimming competitively and playing soccer plus mix in some gymnastics and dance here and there and I continued these activities through high school. I had a great deal of muscle and I remember going to the doctor in high school for a physical and him slightly gaffing at the scale when he weighed me. I looked at him wondering what was wrong and my expression was enough to prompt an explanation from him. "I didn't think you weighed that much, you certainly don't look like you do. Well muscle weighs more than fat" he said. This was a doctor telling me this. But enough with the blast from the past the point is muscle does NOT weight more then fat. A pound is a pound, is a pound either way you put it. A pound of feathers will weigh the same as a pound of metal.... ummm yeah they both weigh a pound there is no other answer, but there will be more feathers then metal. This is the same with fat and muscle in our bodies. Check out this picture below of 5lbs of fat versus 5 lbs of muscle.

I think it is obvious that you would rather have 5lbs of muscle versus 5lbs of fat, it takes up less space and has a smoother shape. So why am I going into such detail about muscle and weight loss and fat? Well #1 just to help educate people but also to help change your mind set. While we are doing these workouts and EATING RIGHT  , eehhhemmm let me emphasize that a little more, eating healthy and balanced food which will fuel your body, you are gonna be jumping on the scale and some of you will instantly see some weight loss but a lot of you will not. Does this mean these workouts aren't doing anything for your body? Absolutely not.  As long as your not out eating Big Macs and fries or things of the sort but are watching your caloric intake then these workouts are changing your body but it won't always immediately manifest itself in pounds lost. These workouts are designed to build muscle as well as deliver cardio but, muscle building is the focus. Why? Well I already said why earlier in this post, because the more muscle you have the more calories you burn and the more calories you burn the more fat you will lose. To super charge your fat burner, a.k.a metabolism, you need to have muscle! When I first began training the way I do I hit it hard and only saw 2 pounds weight loss in a month, but I didn't get discouraged because my clothes were obviously loser on me and I could see a big difference in my body. Currently I weigh 8 pounds more then I did when I got married but I can fit into my wedding dress. Now I am only 5'3" and 5lbs has a much bigger effect on me then it would a woman who is 5'7". If I gain or lose 5lbs we are talking a full dress size here so when I say 8lbs, it is a big deal on my short frame. Yet I can fit into clothes I wore when I weighed 8lbs less. It's because I have more muscle today then I did 10 years ago and muscle is leaner. 

So what is a healthy way of measuring your fitness success? I am not saying you need to toss the scale out the window but you do need to change your focus. Get a measuring tape and take waist, hip and thigh measurements, pay attention to how your clothes fit or just how you feel. Do you feel stronger, leaner, healthier? Can you run further, lift heavier, endure longer? Focus on these types of improvements so you do not get discouraged when you hop on that scale and see minimal or no movement. The weight loss will eventually come but you must endure and stick through the muscle building phase and if you do you will hit a place where the pounds are melting off with very minimal effort. Muscle is also beneficial in keeping the fat off for the long haul. 

To sum it all up the next time you step on that scale  remember you are building muscle and stay positive. Positive thinking will get you everywhere in life but negative thinking will get you nowhere but depressed. I have been there I know exactly what it is like to want that fat to be gone and be gone fast, I went from 122 pounds to 178 with my first pregnancy. Like I said earlier I am 5'3" and 56 pounds made me unrecognizable. Even after I had my baby and my initial water weight came off I was left with a solid 40 pounds to lose. I had scarcely gotten down by 20 and then I was pregnant again. I didn't gain as much weight this time but I started at a higherweight and ended up being 169lbs. After my second baby I literally felt like I had mountains to climb, but I stuck with it and after 7 years and 3 more pregnancies I am on my way to being in the best shape of my life. It takes time, it takes effort and most of all dedication and positive thinking. So think happy thoughts,  ignore the scale and just stick with me, because you can do this!