The Power Within… Just Change Your Mind

That Stupid Bathroom Scale

Are you a victim of weighing in every morning and do you look at the ounces that you may or may not lose on a daily basis? Does it frustrate you as much as it frustrates me? Ok, how it frustrates a very good friend of mine (which is how todays topic has come to be)? Ive learned over the course of my own weight management obsessions and then my non-obsession times of my life to chill-out when it comes to weighing in every day of my life. It can be the most frustrating time of your day, the minute you step up on the scale and wait for the numbers to beep in. To weigh-in or not to weigh-in, that is the question!

There are so many reasons why we should throw our scales into our back yard fire pit! Yet, there are equally as many reasons why we shouldnt and I think that it comes down to our overall attitude and understanding to what the scale is telling us on a day to day basis. As a quick preface to this topic, we must keep in the back of our minds what society has done to our thinking patterns when it comes to weight management. Keep in mind the daily, weekly, minute-by-minute media coverage on what the media considers healthy in the minds of the media world (losing 17 pounds in a week on The Biggest Loser is not realistic or healthy). Its a sick, unhealthy world out there and thats what we are constantly being bombarded with as being whats beautiful. Talk to your husbands, kids, girlfriends and family members about what is a physically beautiful body, I think youll be surprised!

Back to the scale! In a recent discussion about weight loss, my good friend expressed her frustration of how after a good week of eating right and exercising she can lose a few ounces on her morning scale but then after one evening of dining out (still watching every bite) she will gain two full pounds! It just doesnt seem right, five days of good gets trumped by one evening of not so good. I agree, its frustrating and my suggestion to her and to everyone is that this is when the scale is used too much!

There is good scale use and bad scale use! In fact many dieticians dont believe in using the scale and I know a lot of individuals who believe that the scale is evil. It reminds me of an article that I read a while ago about the scale and the one thing I remember from this article is that the scale is a good tool for weight management, when used properly. Its been proven through research that individuals who use a scale on a regular basis, with a healthy understanding of weight management, are able to control their body weight much better than those who dont use a scale. If body weight is checked on a regular basis (weekly or monthly), then creeping obesity is easier to stop, one to two pounds creeping up on you one month can be seen on the scale and then lost the next month. Often times, these one to two pounds on the scale cant be felt in the jeans, which still remain the all-out best weight management tool.

Daily fluctuations of weight on the scale can be affected by so many things! Thats why the difference of a few ounces and a pound or two need to be understood. On a daily basis our body weight can fluctuate up to five pounds. Thats a lot of weight when you are trying to lose five core pounds of body fat. Sorry, its impossible to lose five pounds of body fat in a day. In fact five pounds of body fat will take you three to five weeks (or more) to lose depending on what you are doing to lose weight. On the other hand, gaining three to five pounds of muscle is also a myth, particularly if you are a woman. Yes, we can all gain muscle mass which will equate to a few extra pounds on the scale, but it wont be muscle weight that you gain after a few strength training sessions. Like weight loss, muscle gain takes a few weeks to be seen on the scale. The biggest misunderstanding with regards to muscle weight is that we are only talking a few pounds of muscle, not tens of pounds. So for a woman who strength trains regularly, you might convert four to seven pounds of your mass to muscle weight. That converted muscle weight should burn equal to more fat weight off of your structure so that the scale in this instance doesnt matter.

Remember, that daily fluctuations of body weight as measured on a bathroom scale is affected by hydration, bowel movements, menstruation, food, sleep, medications, exercise and perspiration on a minute by minute scale counter. The best use of the scale would be to keep track of body weight on a week to week/month to month basis, weighing yourself first thing in the morning with no clothes after a few days of regular living (eating and exercising). So maybe a Wednesday morning weigh-in is a little more honest than a Monday morning weigh-in. Thats for you to decide.

Deborah Holmes

September 21, 2008