Busting The Diet Stigma Part 2: Smash the Scale

This is part 2 of a series of blogs that will help bust the Diet stigma and change the way you think about nutrition as a whole.

It is always a good day to forget the scale and turn your focus to other progress measures.

A lot of times the scale gets frustrating, addicting and even becomes a distraction. It can be good, IF you know what to expect, have goals that are NOT relying on the scale, and for understanding what other things you might need to measure (such as water loss after exercise).

Yes, the scale measures your body weight, but often our body weight changes from minute to minute and hour to hour based on a number of factors. Ultimately the best time of day to weigh your self with a scale is going to be first thing in the morning after you have made your trip to the bathroom and you are naked.

We often use the scale because society or our own self assessment has us feeling like we need to lose weight and we want to see the numbers change. However, as you change things like your diet, schedule and workouts your weight will change. When you start fueling your body with good nutritious foods and exercising more regularly good changes will occur in your body. Your body has a state at which it is happiest. In order to lose weight you need to have a small calorie deficit but you want to make sure it is not too much of a deficit and you need water. If your calories are nutritious and plentiful then your body will start to let go of extra water weight, start burning fat for fuel, and help aid muscle recovery and building.

I want to reiterate what I mentioned above. You will start to burn more fat and build more muscle. This is crucial to understanding how the scale can play tricks on us and get us worked up over the number so easily. Muscle weighs more than fat but fat is not as lean as muscle. So if you are dropping fat and gaining muscle, your number on the scale will GO UP! However, your body will lean out and actually get smaller! This is where dropping the scale and switching to other forms of measurements can be even more impactful and help change your mindset immensely. You will start to see yourself in a different light completely.

It is super important to understand that water weight, muscle recovery, bloating, period changes, and so much more can affect your weight on the scale daily. So, if you insist on using the scale to weigh yourself, then try and pick one day a week (preferably mid-week when your schedule is the most consistent). You will want to do this at the same time every single week. So if you pick Wednesday morning when you wake up, make sure you hit the scale every Wednesday Morning. Often weighing yourself after a weekend of activity that is not super normal leads to unusual readings on the scale (this is also true at certain times of your cycle). So finding times and days of the week that can be consistent are going to help keep you sane. Please don't do it daily. By measuring weekly, if it still feels important to you, you can actually identify if there are other issues going on. If you suddenly have major fluctuations on the scale that might be a sign something is off. 1-2 lbs weekly is completely normal.

NOW LET'S DITCH THE SCALE!

Here are some other tried and true ways to measure that can make all the difference in the world.

Take photos- Wear just underwear and a bra. Take photos at the same time of the day, in the same spot and with the same clothes to really track progress. Have someone else take them for you. Take 8 Photos. The first four should be with your arms at your side standing tall. Take one from the front, the back and each side. Then take each side with your arms stretched out at shoulder height. Then take one flexing from the back and flexing from the front.
Find an outfit that is just out of reach to try on occasionally- Do you have jeans that just don't fit right yet or a shirt you put on and think it would look so much better if you just lost a little weight? Use those. Every 4-6 weeks try them on again. Take pictures in them and just see how they feel.
Measure your body with a tape measure- Get a soft tape measure and a piece of paper. Measure around your belly button and waist, your arms (relaxed and flexed), your thighs and calves and even around your butt.
Write down the weights you are using- When you workout, right down the exercise and the weight/rep/set counts. This can be huge in seeing strength progress and helping you learn when you can go heavier.
Keep a calendar that you can check off workouts so you can see your consistency and progress- have a daily calendar where you write down your workout (ex: "30 min spin") or just put a check mark for working out that day. Seeing the check marks or the notations of workouts can really help identify consistency and keep you motivated for more!

CLICK HERE FOR THE WORKOUT LOG

CLICK HERE FOR THE BODY MEASUREMENTS

This is part 2 of a 5 part series "Busting the Diet Stigma". Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.

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Reach out if you have any further questions at any time!

Jen@momsfitlife.com

Live your life confidently!