The Scales are Your Worst Enemy
I am currently on a mission to get lean. A common
response is, "I know what you mean, I'm trying to lose weight as well.
How often do you weigh yourself?" Polite, but clueless. Though getting
lean will probably result in me weighing less, that isn't the
objective. Therefore why would I weigh myself?
So, if you are "trying to lose weight" is that the "right" mind set, and should you be weighing yourself?
Let me give you two examples. First I know two women; one aged 50 the
other aged 25. They are the exact same height and wear the exact same
size. I know this because it’s a mother and daughter and they share
clothes. All clothes, dress and casual. So everything from blue jeans
to dresses. They both are fit and both look great. The
25 year old out weighs the 50 year old by 22 pounds. Exact same size
bodies. How can this be? Guess which one is stronger and firmer?
The second example is me personally. If I had a phone conversation with
an old high school buddy, someone that hasn’t seen me in over 30 years,
if asked I would say “I am 45 pounds heavier today than when you last
saw meâ€. What do you think my friend’s mental picture of me would be?
We both know the answer to that question. But what if I had answered
this way, “My waist size is 1 inch bigger than when I was in high
school.†His response would be something like “wow, that’s great, you
haven’t gained a pound, eh?†To which I would say, “No, I am 45 pounds
heavierâ€. NOW what kind of mental picture does he have?
Does this put a person’s weight into a different perspective for you?
It should. It is for all practical purposes a useless number. The
entire premise of “losing weight†does not take into account the
BIGGEST reason people USUALLY want to lose it, to look better (health
reasons would be the other big reason). What
you weigh has nothing to do with how you look, when taken as the
“absolute†measure of “getting fit†as the above two examples illustrate. So, for starters having weight loss as the goal is not specific enough or even accurate.
I want to lose body fat.
A much better mind set.
So, what is the correct way to measure this? A cloth tape measure. Oh,
you can spring for a fancy scale that also measures fat content, but
it’s not as reliable as measuring your self. When you stop focusing on
what you weigh and start focusing on your critical measurements, this
is when your appearance starts to take literal shape. Let’s be honest,
when people say they want to lose weight what they really mean is they
want a smaller gut, lose the love handles, reduce the butt size and
shrink the hips. Right? What do any of these things have to do with
your weight?
Stop focusing on weight and start focusing on SIZE.
I want to lose body fat, AND NOT LOSE MUSCLE.
This is what your goal ought to be.
Correct me if I’m wrong but when people are trying to lose weight to
look and feel better, the role model is not a “concentration camp
survivorâ€. Usually weight loss statements are coupled with comments
like, “firm upâ€, “get toned†and so on. What exactly do you plan to
“firm†and “tone†if during weight loss, you lose muscle as well?
The notion of "losing weight", running and walking, doing cardio in
general, and weighing yourself to monitor progress as a LONG TERM
weight loss strategy is so flawed and
inefficient that anyone that promotes it as THE WAY to get fit should
be outlawed. Cardiovascular training is indispensable for heart heath,
but weight loss? Only if how you look and how you feel are secondary
goals to seeing a number on the scales get smaller.
