Throughout our gyms nutrition challenge I consistently hear “how come the scale isn’t moving?"
Checklist:
1) Are you eating lean meat, fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds?
2) Are you working out consistently?
3) Are you eating enough?
4) Are you drinking enough water?
If you are doing all of the above, chances are you are losing fat and gaining muscle, so the scale may not move, but in fact go up!
If you are losing size, and getting smaller, and know for a fact that you are losing fat, but you are still hung up on what your scale says, do yourself a favor, throw away your scale, and do it now. If you can't throw it away, donate it!
Our culture is so fixated on weight, it is no wonder many women find themselves trapped by the numbers on their bathroom scales.
Women especially, but increasingly more men, are obsessed with weight loss, not fat loss. When you care about weight loss, then you’ll do some stupid things that will cause you to lose more muscle and gain more fat. Example: stop eating or eat less = not the right answer.
I love watching the Biggest Loser, however I wish they were not so focused on lbs. Each week contestants get on the scale and compete to see who lost a higher percentage of bodyweight. Since the contestants are so dramatically big (some of them carrying 300 pounds of extra fat), weight loss is highly correlated with fat loss in the beginning. But, once they get nearer to their goal weight, it gets brutal.
The reason being, they are gaining muscle at the same time, and that makes weight loss hard. They can still be losing fat at the same rate they always were on the show, but because it’s based on percentage of body weight, and their overall fat levels are now lower, they can’t possibly lose 2% per week forever!
What’s wrong with all of this? Weight loss is not the same as fat loss. Period. It’s only marginally related. You can lose both water and muscle at a much faster rate than you can lose fat. And guess what, you’re body would rather you did.
Scale weight only tells you how much you weigh. It doesn’t tell you if you have a high body fat percentage, a large amount of muscle mass, strong bones (which weight more than weak bones), or if your carrying a lot of water. (Some women can gain a solid 10 pounds of water during their period – they didn’t get fatter. It’s just water, and it goes away when they are off their period.)
Since muscle weighs a lot more than fat, then you can lose a lot of fat, gain a little muscle and not change your scale weight AT ALL.
This is common. Especially among people who have not seriously worked out before. If you have never done any serious weight training, expect to gain about 10 pounds of bone-mass alone. This won’t show in the mirror. You’re bones have been hollow for a long time, and now that you have been lifting weights, they are filling in. This is a GREAT thing. But, it makes you heavier.
People associate “lean” with “light”. When in fact it is usually the opposite. Athletes are the leanest and strongest people around. They are also heavy. If you are both small and light, you are either under 5’3”, have a remarkably small bone structure, or you are “skinny fat” and you need to lift more weight. "Skinny fat" is not pretty and only looks good with clothes on.
Throw away your scale. Start paying more attention how you feel and how your clothes fit (and maybe a tape measure around your waist), and be more of an intellectual about your body composition. I promise you, you’ll be happier AND healthier.
This is a picture of Kate Moss (age 37) - I am not sure what her exercise routine is?
This is a picture of Nicolette Sheridan (age 47) - She runs, does pilates and weight training.
