6 REASONS TO STOP WEIGHING YOURSELF (other ways to measure success)

All of the women in the picture weigh the same. The one on the end was added to show how much difference muscle weight can make on your size, verses fat only weight.

"I work out so hard and it seems that the more I work out the heavier I become! I am never going to get to my ideal weight at this point. "

"The other girls just diet and sit around and they have lost each time we weigh in. I work out every day and watch what I eat and never lose weight. Yeah inches but never weight. I hate being fat!"

I'm sure you've heard these before.  Maybe even said it yourself but I'm here to tell you STOP IT!  There are better ways to measure your success and the scale is by far they very worst way.  

It tells you nothing.

Here's 6 reasons to stop weighing yourself right now.

1) Muscle.

You have heard this before, and yet, you still harp on the weight thing, especially when you train: muscle is more DENSE than fat and takes up LESS SPACE. The more muscle you have on your bone rack, the heavier your weight will be...because you have more muscle.  You will look smaller and  than someone who might weigh less but also has less muscle or a higher body fat %. 

I stay between 115 and 120 lbs year round at 5’1″. “But, it’s because you have so much muscle!!” Exactly!!!  I learned not to worry about the scale a very long time ago. So stop making yourself miserable.

2) Water weight.

You can literally gain up to 5-7 lbs within the same day. It’s simple. When you wake up in the morning, you are relatively dehydrated and in a fasted state, and then you hydrate throughout the day and eat food. Understanding this can help prevent melt-downs for people who weigh themselves multiple times a day.

Also, having a super-salty meal one evening can lead to excessive water retention the next morning. You can literally feel that you are holding water based on fluctuations in rings (tighter or looser) or joint swelling or looking at your midsection if you are fairly lean. This does not mean you are destined to keep that weight on…you rehydrate with 3-4L plain water, get back on your clean nutrition plan, eat lots of fibrous veggies and you can shed that retention within a single day.

3) Your weight is not an accurate reflection of how you look in clothes.

Once again, coming back to that muscle versus fat argument, your body fat % dictates what dress size you wear, though two people can wear the exact same size and look completely different.

Both are a size 4, yet look completely different because they have drastically different body compositions (or muscle-to-fat ratios). (Side note, Cheryl looks like she is on vacay, so we should give the girl a break (margaritas anyone?), which can lead to drastic water retention in a matter of only a day or two). Likewise, two women can weigh the exact same (one at 20% BF and one at 40% BF) and look drastically different. Thus, using your dress size and how your clothes fit are both much more applicable indicators of your health, fitness & fat loss than your weight in pounds–far and away.

4) Your weight is not always an accurate measure of health.

Ever hear of “skinny fat?” This is someone who tends to have a higher metabolism, stays thin, but might be flabbier with a high body fat percentage. They often have sarcopenic obesity, meaning they are in the “normal weight” range for their height, but their body fat % classifies them as “obese” while also putting them at a higher risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and even cancer, not to mention the #1 most likely: osteoporosis. It is much healthier to be a little heavier in weight but with a lower body fat % than the opposite.

Unfortunately many insurance companies use weight and/or Body Mass Index (BMI, which is a height-to-weight measurement and essentially holds the same comparably inaccurate value to that of weight alone) to set their rates, which sucks for the people who weigh more because of their muscle mass. In fact, I am considered “overweight” in BMI terms  So instead, use your body fat % or waist circumference as a more accurate measure of health.

5) Your ego.

Let’s face it, you get an ego boost when you weigh yourself and get a lower number. Not that there’s really anything wrong with that, EXCEPT how do you respond when the number goes UP?  Often for people who are chronic-weighers, “the number” dictates how well their day will go: “Is it up? Is it down? This is going to be a bad/good day!” Having an attachment to your weight number is a double-edged sword. When it’s down, you’re up and when it’s up, you’re down. Having to rely on a quantifiable digit to decide my happiness is not a healthy place to be, no pun intended.

6) Playing with your self-worth.

I have worked with many women who have put way too much stock in their weight, their body fat % and dress size. Yes, the latter two can be a great indicator of health, but none of them should dictate your self-worth. Like Jillian says, “Your self-worth is inherent. No one can take it from you” and that includes a number on a scale. The problem with using any sort of objective measurement is that many times it can get entangled with our sense of self. We like to use all-or-nothing/black-and-white language when it comes to our weight: If we are losing weight, we are good. If we are gaining weight, we are a failure.

So instead, a better idea would be to decide RIGHT NOW that no matter what any of your numbers are (weight, BF%, circumference, dress size, salary :)), you are amazing. You are worthy, special and a success right now, in this moment: