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#89 - Stop Fighting Against The Scale: How To Make It Work For You
26 Plays2 months ago
Tired of feeling like the scale is your worst enemy? In this episode, we’ll show you how to stop fighting the scale and use it as a helpful tool on your fitness journey.
Learn how to shift your mindset, interpret the numbers, and build a better relationship with the scale.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why the scale isn’t the enemy.
- How to understand what the scale really tells you.
- Best practices for weighing yourself.
- Other progress-tracking methods to use alongside the scale.
- How to overcome the emotional struggles tied to the scale.
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Transcript
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome
Introduction and Listener Appreciation
00:00:03
Speaker
back to the Fitish project with your host Latham Bass, where we make fitness and health simple for regular people like you and I. We have another weekly episode coming at you. Before we get into this, if you can leave a review, if you have not done that, really appreciate this. I recently looked at my Spotify wrapped, so if you have Spotify, you know that every year it gives you your Spotify raps basically all the music that you listen to well if you have a podcast and things like that it also gives you statistics on that and I was kind of looking through that and I saw that podcast over this last year has grown over 300% which is awesome got more people listening more views all that good stuff so getting this information out to more people which is really really cool to see and that only happens because of the people like you who listen and share this and leave reviews and things like that so
00:00:52
Speaker
Again, I really appreciate that because it is my goal, it is my mission to help make fitness and health something that everybody can do and help them better their lives through fitness and health. And so this is a small way that I can help do that. And so you guys helping to spread the word really helps to get this out to more people. So I greatly appreciate you and I do not take that lightly. So thank you.
High Engagement Social Media Post
00:01:15
Speaker
ah But today's topic, so I wanted to talk a little bit about something that I posted on my social media account that got a ton of just engagement, a lot of people commenting, a lot of people liking, just asking questions and things like that. Anytime I have a post that does really well like that, I know that it's a topic that people are very interested in and want to know a little bit more about. and so One thing that I talk a lot about is how to use the scale. And the reason that I talk about that is because a lot of people use the scale the wrong way. And you might be thinking, how do you use a scale the wrong way? You literally just step on it and it gives you a number. But what I mean by using it the wrong way is that they just think about it the wrong way. So they don't use it to their advantage. And they end up just trying to fight against the scale rather than actually using the scale for what it's for and using it to reach the goals that they want to reach. So.
00:02:06
Speaker
In
Effective Scale Use: Understanding Limitations
00:02:07
Speaker
this podcast, I'm going to explain some different things about how you can actually get the scale working for you rather than against you. I'm going to talk about why you maybe should or shouldn't use the scale, what info the scale actually gives you that's useful, best practices for using the scale, other things that you should be doing in addition to using the scale. And then a little bit about just the psychology and the mindset behind the scale, because a lot of people have just weird relationships with the scale. Maybe it was because of how you grew up and growing up overweight and using the scale and that number meaning more than it actually does. And so a lot of people just don't have a great relationship with the scale. And so by the end of this episode, you're going to have a better idea of how you can actually use the scale to benefit you rather than every time you think about the scale or step on the scale, you want to freaking punch a wall or throw that thing out the window. So
Factors Influencing Scale Fluctuations
00:02:56
Speaker
getting into this, why do we use the scale and what does the scale actually tell us? So the scale is actually a really useful tool
00:03:03
Speaker
if you use it the right way, but it definitely does have some limitations. So when we think about the scale, all it does is it tells you how much you weigh at a particular time. And so if you want to know how much you weigh in pounds or in kilograms or whatever, you just step on the scale, it tells you how much you weigh. But the one big issue with the scale problem number one is that it varies a lot day to day and even throughout the day. If you measure yourself three times throughout the day. Let's say you measure yourself when you first wake up, you measure yourself kind of middle of the day and you measure yourself at the end of the day.
00:03:37
Speaker
you're gonna probably get three different weights throughout that day. And this fluctuates for a number of reasons. um From day to day, it could fluctuate anywhere between two, three, five, sometimes even more than that. So the scale is always gonna be moving up and down and that's caused by a lot of different things. So it could be by certain things that you ate or how much you ate, it could be how much water you had or didn't have, it could be stress levels, it could be if you had more salt, if you had more carbs, if you had alcohol,
00:04:05
Speaker
If you haven't gone to the bathroom or you just went to the bathroom, all that kind of stuff is going to affect what that scale says on a daily basis. So those fluctuations are very, very normal and to be expected. And I think a lot of people put too much weight on the scale, no pun intended, but they put too much emphasis on the scale because of those fluctuations, thinking that if the scale jumps up two pounds or three pounds or even five pounds,
00:04:30
Speaker
overnight that they just magically gained all this fat and that is not the case. It's going to fluctuate for a number of different reasons. And again, a lot of that is just water weight because your body is primarily made of water and it can fluctuate a lot. If you have ever paid attention to like sports where they do, where they cut weight, you can see some people can cut 10 pounds, 15 pounds, 20 pounds in a matter of a day or two just based on water weight.
00:04:57
Speaker
So, just keeping that in mind and just understanding that when that scale is dropping, you know, a couple pounds here, going up a couple pounds there, that it's just water fluctuations that are happening. It's not fat gain going on. It's not that you just magically put a bunch of fat in your thighs or in your stomach or you ate a couple donuts or had some pizza and now you just put on a bunch of fat. That's not how the scale works.
Personal Anecdotes on Weight Changes
00:05:18
Speaker
That's not how fat loss works. That's not how any of that works.
00:05:21
Speaker
And one thing that I think people should realize too is that the scale is going to fluctuate more for some than it does for others. And I know specifically for me, I've had certain instances where that scale has jumped up in a matter of a couple of days, 10, 15, even 17 pounds at one point. So just recently I had had a weekend where some friends were in town. We went out, went out to eat several times, had alcohol, didn't get great sleep.
00:05:47
Speaker
all that different kind of stuff. And just over that single weekend, over about 48 hours, I gained 15 pounds on the scale because my body was holding on to a ton more water, felt really bloated, had a lot of salt, like I said, alcohol, more carbs, just not sleeping as much. And that caused me to gain 15 pounds in the matter of two days in Within a week or so, that weight was all balanced out and all that water weight was kind of flushed out. But it just goes to show you how easily that can happen. Every time I go on vacation, same thing happens. I gain anywhere from like five to 10 pounds or so just because I'm drinking more. I'm not working out as much. I'm just holding on to more water.
00:06:24
Speaker
And so I know initially these things can be kind of scary, especially if you step on the scale and you see that scale is up 15 pounds, you're like, I'm screwed. Like what happened here? Like I just messed up all this progress that I've worked months to get. Maybe you've been working on some fat loss and you've lost some weight and you're feeling better, looking better, you've lost 10, 15 pounds. And then you step on the scale and that scales up. You're like, dang, like I just ruined all this progress. But again, that's not what's happening. You didn't gain a bunch of fat. It's just water fluctuation. So I think just understanding that can kind of put your mind at ease a little bit.
00:06:54
Speaker
The second issue with the scale is that it doesn't tell you what that weight is made up of.
Scale's Limitations in Measuring Health
00:07:01
Speaker
So when we think about a scale, like it's useful in some contexts, like, you know, maybe you're going on a trip and you need to check a bag. You need to know exactly how much that bag weighs. You don't really care what's inside the bag. You just need to know that it's under the amount of weight that you need it to be and you're good to go. But when it comes to a human body, we care a lot more about what that body is actually made up of because that's going to affect how we feel, how we look, how we perform.
00:07:23
Speaker
So a scale can't really tell you how much muscle mass you have versus like how much fat mass you have. And there actually are some scales out there that say they do this, but they are not very accurate. And the reason being is because they use a form of tracking to do this that just varies way too much to give you an accurate accurate picture of what's actually going on. Even the scales that say they can tell you how much fat mass you have, again, not very accurate because it's based on your hydration levels.
00:07:50
Speaker
And as we've talked about, those water fluctuations can happen a lot and they can be pretty dramatic. So one day you might step on it. It might tell you that you have 25% body fat. The next day you could step on it.
00:08:01
Speaker
when you're more hydrated than it could tell you that you have 20% body fat. Did you lose 5% of your body fat overnight? Absolutely not. So these kind of scales aren't
Non-Scale Victories as Health Indicators
00:08:11
Speaker
really that accurate. And so using the scale for what it's mainly used for and just seeing how much you weigh is probably the better option to go with. And so when we're thinking about like, you know, this issue of the scale, not really telling you what you're made up of, like, it also doesn't tell you other things that are really important when we think about fitness and health. It doesn't tell you how your clothes are fitting.
00:08:31
Speaker
doesn't tell you how much confidence you have. It doesn't tell you how your mental health is. It doesn't tell you how your mindset is improving. It doesn't tell you if your habits are getting better. It doesn't tell you if you're losing inches, if you're getting stronger, if your consistency is getting better. Like it doesn't tell you all these things that we also want to focus on when it comes to our fitness and health. And so the scale is just a tiny part of this entire picture. And I think it's important to keep that in mind and keep that perspective in mind about what the scale does and doesn't tell you.
00:08:57
Speaker
On top of that, if we think about just your body weight in general, like you step on the scale, it says you weigh 200 pounds. Well, 200 pounds at six foot four versus 200 pounds at five foot four is very different. 200 pounds at 12% body fat versus 200 pounds at 32% body fat is also very different. So it doesn't really tell us our body composition. It doesn't tell us all those other things. And so again, just
Tracking Long-Term Trends for Healthier Mindset
00:09:20
Speaker
keep that in mind. Keep that in context because as we're going to get into, it is useful for some things. It's useful for tracking weekly trends, tracking monthly trends over time. But as far as like the day to day goes, it doesn't tell you a ton other than what your body is doing with its water fluctuations. It doesn't tell you about your body composition. It doesn't tell you about all those other non-scale victories that we like to make sure that we think about as we're going through our fitness and health journeys as well.
00:09:47
Speaker
And so with all that being said, you might be thinking, well, why do I even wanna use a scale? Like it doesn't seem like it has all that much utility to it, but I actually am a fan of the scale. I like it again because you can track trends over time. So if you do have weight loss goals, it's really nice to see on a weekly and monthly basis if you're trending in the right direction.
00:10:06
Speaker
I also really like it as an accountability tool. Now, as I said, those fluctuations are going to happen a lot. So putting too much emphasis on the day to day can be a little bit harmful if you don't have the right mindset. But for me, I've been somebody who's lost weight and kept that weight up for a long time.
00:10:23
Speaker
This isn't just me, there there are studies that have shown this that people who have lost a lot of weight and kept it off do something that is called self monitoring. And one way that you can self monitor is to weigh yourself regularly. Because if I'm stepping on a scale every single day, it's just a good reminder that I'm prioritizing things that are going to help me keep that weight off. I'm focusing on eating quality diet. I'm focusing on exercising.
00:10:46
Speaker
I'm focusing on all these other healthy habits that I know I need to do in order to keep my weight in a general vicinity. Not that I need to be exact, and if that scale jumps up a little bit, I'm not worried about it, or if it's down a little bit, I'm not worried about it, but I'm staying in kind of a five pound range or so, and just routinely stepping on that scale and having that accountability can be really helpful if you have the right mindset behind what that scale can do for you to help hold you
Best Practices for Scale Use
00:11:11
Speaker
accountable.
00:11:11
Speaker
And so when we're thinking about the scale, like I said, yes, it does have some good utility. It does have some good use, but there are definitely some good best practices that you want to use if you are going to use the scale on a consistent basis like I do and like I recommend most people to do. So I prefer that people weigh themselves either daily or at least a few times a week, like two, three times per week.
00:11:33
Speaker
And there's a couple reasons for this. One, you're going to learn how your body responds to certain things. So like I said, there's a lot of things that can make that scale fluctuate, whether it's alcohol, carbs, stress, bad sleep, more salt. There's tons of different things that are going to affect how your body responds and what your body weight is. And the more that you weigh yourself, the more that you get used to these things.
00:11:52
Speaker
and you just develop a little bit better relationship with the scale just understanding what your body does and how certain things affect it and if you go out one night and you have some alcohol you know that when you step on the scale that next day or next couple of days it's probably going to be up a little bit or if you're having a really stressful time or some bad sleep you can probably expect that that scale is going to be up a little bit and so the more that you just get used to that seeing those things and seeing those spikes and drops in the scale you can kind of predict what's actually going to happen and it takes the emotion out of it and you don't feel so weird about stepping on the scale or have this just crappy relationship with checking your body weight from time to time. The other reason that I prefer to use it more often than just like, you know, once a month or something like that is because you have more data points. And that gives you a more accurate picture. If you only weigh yourself once per week, let's say you had a really solid week, you're trying to lose weight, you ate really healthy, you're in a calorie deficit, you're hitting your protein, you're getting your exercises in, getting your workouts in. But let's say the day before you weigh yourself,
00:12:48
Speaker
You had a crappy night of sleep. You had a really hard workout and you ate a bunch more carbs. You had more salt. You had more water. Well, you could go throughout that entire week and that scale could actually be up three pounds, four pounds from the week before, even though you did everything right throughout that week. And now it's kind of causing you to question like, well, am I doing the right things? Do I need to change my plan?
00:13:10
Speaker
did I gain weight because I'm eating too much or like what's actually going on here. But if you have more data points, like if you weigh yourself two times, three times, four times throughout the week, you can get a more accurate picture of where you're actually at. You can kind of look at the averages and see where you are versus just doing that one time per week. And so again, I'm a big fan of measuring more than once per week or more than months once per month. And once you're out of that mindset of like being so emotional about the scale and just putting so much emphasis on what that little number is telling you every single day, it makes that process of weighing yourself much easier more often. And I think you get a better picture of what's actually going on and you can use the scale in a little bit better fashion.
00:13:53
Speaker
And so when it comes to using the scale, if you're using it, let's say you're using it, you know, Monday through Friday is typically what I do. I'll wake up in the morning, go to the bathroom, and then I'll weigh myself. You typically want to weigh yourself after you go to the bathroom, same time every day. Try to wear similar clothes, like maybe you just do it in your pajamas or your boxers or your underwear or whatever the case may be, but just try to keep that similar so that you get a more accurate reading. the more consistent and routine you can be with it, the more accurate readings you're going to get, because again, that's that can easily fluctuate based on the time of day that you're weighing yourself. And just to emphasize again, we don't care about what it's saying each individual day, we care about the trends over time. So look at those averages over the week, look at those weekly trends over the weeks, over the months, and that's going to give you a picture of what you're actually doing. And if the things that you are doing are leading you to the goals that you have for yourself,
00:14:47
Speaker
And so with that being said, the scale can absolutely be helpful, but there's also some other things that I recommend you use in addition to using the scale, because the scale again doesn't give you the whole picture and there's a lot of other ways that you can measure progress to let you know if you're moving in the right direction towards your goals because the scale doesn't measure your muscle, it doesn't measure how much fat you have, it doesn't measure your body composition, it doesn't measure all those other
Body Composition Changes and Scale Inaccuracy
00:15:11
Speaker
things. and so While the scale may not be moving a ton in certain instances, there's a lot of cases that I've seen where people are having body composition changes. So like the shape and look of their body is actually changing, but the scale might not be changing that much. And in some instances, sometimes the scale is even going up and they can still have different body compositions.
00:15:31
Speaker
So, for example, I see this a lot with females, especially like who really gets serious and get into weightlifting. They may see that scale not move much at all or even start to go up, but their body shape starts to change. They start to look more lean. They start to look tighter. They start to look more toned. And the reason that this happens is because muscle does not weigh more than fat. It's something that you hear all the time, like a pound of muscle and a pound of fat weigh the exact same.
00:15:56
Speaker
But I think what people mean is that muscle is more dense than fat. So if you've ever seen like what a pound of muscle looks like versus a pound of fat, the pound of fat takes up a lot more space, a lot more volume in your body. And so people who are very dense who have muscle mass and not a lot of fat mass,
00:16:11
Speaker
oftentimes will end up weighing a lot more than you think because they are more dense than people who have a lot of fat. So people who have a lot of fat, they take up more space, but people who have a lot of muscle, they're a little bit tighter, leaner, more put together, but they could still be a little bit heavier than you might actually think. And so again, that scale could be going up. You could actually be looking better, feeling better, all those different things because you are gaining muscle and losing fat.
00:16:35
Speaker
And so remember to keep that in mind as well. And with that being said, there's some different ways that you can measure that because again, the scale doesn't really give you a good accurate picture of that, because it's just telling you what you weigh on that certain day is just a number. And so some other things that you can do to measure to see if you are having some of these body composition change, if you're gaining muscle, losing fat,
00:16:56
Speaker
is you can take measurements. So this is a really easy one. You take measurements around your waist, your stomach, arms, legs, chest to see if you're losing inches. Because if you're losing inches, that means you are losing fat, which is a good thing. If your clothes are fitting better, this is a very, very easy one to track. Like if you have maybe some jeans that are a little bit tighter, are those jeans getting looser? If you have a belt that you use on a regular basis, like are you starting to have to go down on the belt loops if you have ah shirt or some sort of like suit or something like that, that you wear? Is it getting looser in the right places and getting tighter in the other places? Like if you're gaining muscle, you know, in your legs and your butt and your arms, like are your sleeves of your shirt starting to get tighter or the belly part in your shirt starting to get a little bit looser? Like are your clothes just fitting better and looking better as you put those clothes on? Because if they are, that's a good sign that you are moving in the right direction. You're losing inches, you're losing some fat,
00:17:51
Speaker
and you're making those body compositions that you want to make. Progress pictures are another really good one. You can use these you know every two weeks, every four weeks, every month and a half or so. Take a progress picture and just compare them side by side.
00:18:03
Speaker
And when you start to do that, maybe the scale hasn't moved all that much or maybe it's moved, you know, only two pounds, three pounds. But like when you look at it, you can see more muscle definition. You can see that you're less chubby in certain areas. Maybe your stomach is starting to go down. Maybe your love handles are starting to go down a little bit. You don't have as much back fat or maybe as much fat on your legs. And you just have that appearance of just being a little bit more put together, a little bit more toned, a little bit more fit, lean, athletic looking. So progress pictures can be a really good thing.
00:18:33
Speaker
to use as well and then with that being said there's also so many other important things a lot of other non-skilled victories that I think people forget about especially when it comes to like weight loss and just aesthetic goals and fitness goals like people get really really focused in on just specifically what they look like and there's that's important like I think aesthetic goals are important there's nothing wrong with having aesthetic goals like I have aesthetic goals and I think most people do have aesthetic goals because we all want to look good. Like we all want to look how we want to look, but and we also want to realize that there are other things that are important outside of just how we look with like how we feel and how long we're going to live and just our quality of life and all those other non-scale things that we sometimes forget about because we get too hyper focused in on.
00:19:21
Speaker
just what we look like. And
Psychological Impact of Focusing on Weight Numbers
00:19:22
Speaker
so making sure you're paying attention to those non-scale victories and things like your energy levels improving, are your strength levels improving? Are your mood and mindset improving, getting better? Are you building better habits? Do you have better confidence? Like all those things are really important things to think about as well. Because again, those non-scale victories are super, super important as well.
00:19:43
Speaker
And then the last part of this that I wanted to talk a little bit about and a part that I think a lot of people struggle with is just kind of like the psychology and the mindset behind your relationship with the scale. And I think the most critical thing to remember when it comes to using the scale is like, what's actually important here? Do you care about a specific number or do you care about how you feel, how you look, and how you can live? like If you feel great, you look great, you can live life the way you want to live, you can do all the things you want to do, then like that number on the scale should not really matter all that much. Yes, it has some value in it and it can tell you some certain things, but like if that scale says that I'm 230 pounds and for whatever reason, I want to be 210 pounds, but I look the way that I want to look,
00:20:30
Speaker
I feel the way that I want to feel and I can do all the things that I want to do. I can live the life I want to live then like who cares like that doesn't matter. It's just data and it's nothing more than that. And I think that people will sometimes get really hung up on like certain numbers or specific numbers for whatever reason because maybe at a certain time they think back to like maybe they were in high school or in college and they were like well at this time I was 185 pounds and like that was the best I ever looked and like I felt so good, but it's like now you're 10, 15, 20, 30 years older and you're thinking that you're going to be 185 pounds. Well, things could look a lot different. Like you might have more muscle mass. You might not be as active as you used to be. You might not you might not have as much time as you used to have. Like things could be very different. Like maybe when you were in college, you were
00:21:16
Speaker
a college athlete like and you were spending 10 hours exercising and you were eating a super clean diet and you didn't have kids, you didn't have a job. And it's not that any any of these things are excuses, but I think a thing that a lot of people overlook is that they just don't have realistic expectations about what they're willing to do and what they have the ability to do in order to get the body that they want or hit the goals that they want to hit. So like if you're somebody who maybe you only have three hours a week to put towards exercise, like Yes, you can get some pretty great results at doing that. But like, that's a little bit different than training 10 hours a week when you were a college athlete and when you could burn calories like crazy and you had all the time in the world and you have all these other responsibilities of a job and kids and relationships and ah social life and all these other things. So just being realistic about that and just understanding again, what's actually important here? Do I care about that number? Or do I care about how I feel, how I look, how I'm able to live?
00:22:12
Speaker
And when you can focus on that, I think it brings out what's actually important and allows you to prioritize the right things.
Behaviors to Avoid Regarding Scale Use
00:22:18
Speaker
And it takes some of that pressure off about trying to get to this certain number just cause. And so when it comes to the scale and the psychology behind it and just the mindset about it, there's three big don'ts that I really want you try to try not to do. So number one, don't attach your self-worth to the scale. Again, I think a lot of people have this weird relationship of like, if I'm not at this certain weight, if the scale doesn't say this, like then I don't feel like I'm who I should be, or I don't feel confident, or I don't feel good about myself. And it's like, I've had conversations with people about this exact thing, about like
00:22:53
Speaker
They're like, I need to get to this weight on the scale. And I'm like, why? And they're just like, well, I just feel like I'll, you know, I'll be better. I'll feel better. I'll look better when I get there. And I'm like, but you just told me that you feel great where you're at right now. You're able to do all the things you can do. You have more muscle mass. You're stronger. Like you feel better than you have in 10 years. Like what is getting to this number going to do for you?
00:23:15
Speaker
And a lot of times people don't have a good reason for that. And so again, it's not that having a certain goal in mind is a bad thing, but just be realistic about how you approach that and just keep top of mind what's actually important. Number two, don't let the scale dictate your emotions. The problem is never with the scale. It's how you think about the scale and what you think that number says about you. So A lot of people get emotional about the scale. They step on the scale and they're like, oh, I feel crappy because the scales up five pounds. It's up 10 pounds. And like, what does that say about me? If the scales up 10 pounds? Well, it shouldn't have anything to do with your emotions. Again, it's just data. It's just a number. And it doesn't really affect you in your day to day, or at least it shouldn't affect you in your day to day because it doesn't tell you anything other than data. So stop letting the scale dictate your emotions and ruin your day. like If you step on that scale in the morning and for whatever reason, it's up three pounds, four pounds, that should not piss you off and put you in a bad move to the point where it affects your day. If it is, you have a crappy relationship with the scale and you need to work on improving that. And I get it because I used to be the same way. Like when I was just hyper focused on losing weight and I was really obsessive about like being a certain weight and getting to a certain way, like I was the same exact way, but it's not doing anything for you. And in the grand scheme of things, like
00:24:32
Speaker
When that scales up a couple pounds, like you don't really look any different and it's not really telling you anything important about like who you are, like your physical health, anything like that.
00:24:43
Speaker
Number three, the last don't that I want you to try to avoid is do not let the scale dictate your behavior. So the scale is going up. Sometimes people will like, they'll hop on the scale in the morning and that scale is like up two or three pounds and like, Oh, I'm not eating today. Like I'm going to only eat a salad all day. I'm not going to eat anything else. And it's just that because they think that they gained a bunch of fat overnight. It's like, no.
00:25:04
Speaker
understand again fluctuations happen. Do not let the scale dictate your behaviors. If you are doing all the right things, like if you're focusing on eating a lot of protein and fruits and vegetables, you're exercising regularly, you're walking, sometimes that scale is still going to spike up. Sometimes it's going to drop like it's going to happen. And you just need to normalize that because using that as a reason to either like not eat that day or whatever, it's just not it's not a good long-term habit to get into. And and sometimes I'll see too, like people will step on the scale and the the scale's up five pounds after they just had a really solid week of like doing a lot of good habits and things like that. And they they're discouraged. They feel like, well, why am I not losing weight or why am I not losing weight fast enough? And so it causes them to fall off to quit because they think what they're doing is not working. They think it's not worth it. And that's just a really bad mindset to go into this. so like
00:25:58
Speaker
You have to just focus on that delayed gratification because that scale is going to do a lot of different things when you're going through the process of losing weight or even maintaining weight. Like that scale is going to move around. It's going to fluctuate. It's kind of kind of it's going to move a little bit at its own pace. It kind of has a mind of its own. And so you can't attach too much to that scale and let it dictate your behavior. Because if you do that, you're always going to be stuck. You're always going to be spinning your wheels and feeling feeling like you can never make progress.
00:26:25
Speaker
And I think one thing that really started to help me when it came to just dealing with this stuff and like creating a better relationship around like what the scale actually means and how to use it and how to actually use it to my advantage and have the skill work for me is when I started thinking about it logically. So if you think about this logically,
00:26:44
Speaker
To lose one pound, you need to burn 3,500 calories. There's 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. And so let's think about this. If that scale spikes three pounds overnight, in order for you to have gained three pounds of fat, you would have to have eaten over 10,000 extra calories on top of your normal eating to gain three pounds of body fat.
00:27:08
Speaker
Did you do that? No, you did not. So you can just relax. So like you didn't gain a bunch of body fat overnight. You didn't lose a bunch of body fat overnight because as I've said multiple times throughout this and hopefully you're starting to understand that scale will fluctuate based on all the water fluctuations going on in your body.
00:27:28
Speaker
And when you start to think about this more logically, you know that you're not gaining a bunch of fat overnight. You're not losing much fat overnight. You can relax a little bit. You can take a deep breath. You cannot put so much emphasis on what that scale says day to day. And it just helps to create a more long-term, better relationship with just weight loss, just being healthy, being fit, all those different things that we are trying to achieve.
00:27:50
Speaker
And then the last
Focusing on Non-Scale Victories and Holistic Health
00:27:51
Speaker
thing that I just wanted to touch on, which I've already mentioned a little bit, is to continue to focus on non-scale victories. This is something that I talk about a lot with my clients, is focusing on those non-scale victories, as I've already mentioned a little bit. But like have clients that come to me, and you know sometimes they're a little bit frustrated because that scale isn't moving as quickly as they want.
00:28:09
Speaker
But then I remind them about all these different areas, all these different things that they're starting to see and all these little non-scale victories that they're having. You know, things like clients will come back and say like, my knees aren't really hurting as much as they used to. I'm fitting comfortably into an airplane seat now and I'm able to put the seatbelt buckle on and I'm not like stressed about the seatbelt buckle not fitting. My face is looking slimmer when I'm on Zoom or in pictures. I have a better relationship around food. I'm not feeling so guilty about eating certain things.
00:28:38
Speaker
My energy is way better and I feel like I'm actually becoming a better parent because I can play with my kids and chase after them and do all these different things. it's like That to me is way more important than what that scale says. If you're having these non-scale victories and it's improving the quality of your life, that's what's actually important. So remember the scale is a useful tool, but it is not the end all be all. It does not tell you the entire picture. And so make sure that you're focusing on some of these non-scale victories as well, because in my opinion, those non-scale victories are more important than what that scale says.
The Scale as One of Many Health Data Points
00:29:14
Speaker
And so hopefully after hearing all this, you know, this gives you a little bit of insight. You can use this to help you on your fitness journey, on your health journey and create a better outlook with using the scale and use the scale to your advantage versus always feeling like you are fighting against the scale. And so with that being said, just a couple of key points as we wrap this thing up. Remember that the scale is just data. That's it. It's nothing more. It just tells you a number. It's useful to help you track trends over time.
00:29:43
Speaker
But we also want to make sure that we're measuring our progress in other ways as well, focusing on those non-scale victories and focusing on some of those other methods to make sure that we are moving towards our goals. Make sure you're using it the right way if you are going to use the scale. Again, the scale is not good or bad. It's just a way to track trends, track data. But if you are going to use it, make sure you're using it the right way. And then lastly, just remembering that that number on the scale can tell you a little something, but the overall goal here is to feel better, look better, be able to live better.
00:30:13
Speaker
And the scale that is not always indicative of that. So remember to keep the important thing in mind, keep the right things in perspective and continue to focus on those things that actually change your life and affect your life the most because that's what's truly important here. And with that
One-on-One Coaching for Fitness Goals
00:30:29
Speaker
being said, if you're somebody who struggles with this stuff, if you have some weight loss goals, if you're wanting some help, you know, we're getting closer to moving into 2025.
00:30:38
Speaker
You can always apply for one-on-one coaching if you do want some help with this kind of stuff, want someone to help you with accountability, figuring out a plan for yourself, losing weight, all that different stuff that comes with weight loss goals, that comes with fitness goals, that comes with trying to figure all this stuff out. You can always apply for coaching, see if we you are a good fit. But with that being said, I appreciate you listening and we will see you next week.