One thing that the majority of people tell me when they walk through the door at Optimum 3 is that they weigh themselves on a set of scales, more often than not, excessively. While I don’t discourage anyone from paying attention to their weight, shape and overall health, is jumping on the scales the way forward?
Not for me. Stepping on the scales isn’t the best way to measure your results. More often than not I listen to people saying they weigh themselves AT LEAST daily, the worst being 3 times a day. This is just crazy! What meaningful results are you hoping for, weighing yourself daily? Our bodies don’t work that way and more often than not, measuring like this just leads to disappointment, reduction in motivation and sometimes despair. So you see a pound loss then two pounds gained. Your body weight changes and fluctuates for various reasons such as water retention. ‘I’ve gained a pound I’ll start weighing myself first thing in the morning, I’ll be lighter then.’ Stop it! Seriously, this approach isn’t healthy or sustainable when it comes to real results nor is conducive to what you’re trying to achieve. It’s a marathon not a sprint!
Scales have their place but by no means are they the ultimate tool in measuring your success. If anything at all, they fail you in measuring accurately. While I’m on the subject, neither is BMI. BMI is a height and weight measurement based on your age. For example, every male that is 5ft 10” tall, weighs 14st and of the same age, should be of the same BMI. But this calculation for me is floored as it does not take in to account body mass, amount of fat, or muscle mass. So here’s what I recommend. Leave the scales alone and don’t let them become an unhealthy addiction. Step on them every 3 to 4 weeks, this way you stand a chance of seeing something meaningful and motivating. I would advise to use other tools alongside scales for more accuracy when measuring weight loss & fat loss. For sure I would use a tape measure to measure your waist circumference. I would also strongly recommend using skin fold callipers to work out your body fat percentage. If you have gym membership a member of fitness staff should be able to sort this for you. You will need a weight measurement along with the skin fold measurements to calculate your body fat percentage. This method gives you a three pronged attack, weight measurement, waist measurement and body fat percentage. In terms of looking, feeling and performing better, dropping body fat and becoming leaner is a huge part. With this in mind solely using scales as the marker doesn’t make sense does it?
So to conclude. Step away from the daily scales habit. Stop beating yourself up when the scales don’t show you what you want to see, they’re not always giving you a true picture. Look at a more substantial way to measure as suggested above. And ask yourself ‘what is my real goal?’ What the scales say or my body shape and how I look & feel?
If over a longer period of time the results aren’t coming then consider your approach to nutrition and exercise. One plan does not fit all and a slight tweak to food intake or the way you train can make a big difference.
For more information on this or if you have any questions please feel free to email me at james@optimum3.co.uk
Look, Feel & Perform Better!
James