Fitness journeys are much like roller coasters—full of ups and downs, sharp turns, dark tunnels and loops that seemingly come out of nowhere. You work your way to the top by holding yourself accountable, eating well and remaining consistent with your workouts, but yet, sometimes, you end up hurdling downhill because you allow one tiny thing to dictate your mentality: the number on the scale.
Stepping on the scale every day and allowing those digits to decide your worth is the single most effective way to sabotage your progress. Seeing a higher or lower weight than expected can derail an entire fitness regimen that is otherwise effective.
Understanding the scale and why the number always seems to fluctuate is important, but perhaps what's even more important is understanding what the scale does not tell you.
The scale does not recognize how hard you're working.
You're at the gym consistently, playing sports, walking, running, playing with your children and pets. You're cooking meals for yourself instead of ordering take-out or visiting the nearest drive thru. Basically, you're doing everything you can to improve your health and enrich your life. The number on the scale cannot place a value on that.
The scale cannot tell what you're really made of.
Literally! While the number on the scale may move one way or another, it's difficult to determine why it's moving. If your general focus is losing weight (or, more accurately, losing fat), but you see the number gradually increasing, it's easy to get discouraged. However—remembering that muscle weighs more than fat—it's likely that you're building muscle mass.
If your goal is to gain weight (or pack on muscle mass) but the dial is moving in the opposite direction, direct your attention to your body composition. It's possible that you're losing weight through loss of muscle mass. You're probably not feeding your muscles the proper nutrition needed for them to grow. Your body is a mechanism built to move, but it only performs as well as it's treated.
The scale cannot tell you how much water is in your body.
You are almost entirely made up of water, but the scale doesn't know that. Your body weight can fluctuate day by day—even multiple times per day—and that's normal! If you wake up one day, step on the scale and see a number you don't “like,” don't place too much value on it. Sometimes your body holds on to water and eventually will let it go. Think of wrestlers: In order to make their weight class, they depend upon losing water weight for a short period of time. Once they make their weight, they rehydrate, put those pounds back on and perform. The entire process lasts a few hours, so don't be surprised if your weight changes from hour to hour!
The scale cannot tell how you're feeling.
There are so many positive side effects of physical activity and healthy eating. The scale does not know how much more energy you have. It cannot tell how much stronger you are now compared to how strong you were before you started your fitness journey. Stepping on the scale won't tell you if your clothes fit better. And most importantly, it cannot determine your confidence and self-esteem—unless you let it.
Last but not least, the scale does not decide your worth.
Your scale has no idea how inspiring you are to those around you. Your successes and struggles may serve as motivation for someone who was once too intimidated to try. It's okay to take a step back and admire the progress you've made. Give yourself some credit for all of your hard work! Enjoy the highs and appreciate the lows, because through it all, you're learning more about yourself every day, and none of those lessons have come from your scale.
Oftentimes, the scale generates more questions than it answers. Identifying the reasons of why your scale weight carries so much significance in the view you have of yourself will allow you to come to terms with all of the information the scale fails to provide. That number is not equal to happiness. There is no magic number that will make you feel comfortable in your skin. Instead, turn your focus toward how you're feeling, the progress you're making, the healthier lifestyle you're creating and the individuals you're motivating. Those are the aspects that will continually bring you happiness long after your scale has flashed that meaningless number at you.
Forward Thinking Fitness | 6750 Iroquois Trl. Suite 12, Allentown | trainftf.com
This post is a sponsored collaboration between Forward Thinking Fitness and Lehigh Valley Style.
