Stop doing this to yourself
So, you said your goal is to lose weight, right? Well, I’m here to tell you that reducing the number on the scale shouldn’t be your biggest priority.
We see this all the time ... a client is consistently working out and they're making efforts to eat healthier. They feel less stressed and they're sleeping better. These clients have more motivation in all other aspects of their lives, and they're enjoying all the extra energy from taking care of their bodies.
But when they wake up in the morning, they don't see anything budging on the scale ... at least not as fast as they feel it should be moving down. It's completely normal - and I blame the instant gratification we're exposed to all over the place.
I'd bet you've been in this scenario before. It's pretty discouraging, right? You feel like you put in a lot of effort for a few weeks and you just aren't seeing any results. Then you feel like throwing in the towel because why bother?
Well, you're thinking all wrong, internet reader.
While weight and BMI are used prevalently in our country to indicate health risks, they're wildly inaccurate at doing so. Unfortunately, they're used because they're quick and easy to reference. But without taking body composition into account, it's not fair to yourself to focus on that number on the scale.
Body composition, not weight, is much more indicative of disease risk because it encompasses many different aspects of overall weight:
- Fat mass
- Muscle mass
- Body water mass
- Bone mass
- Body fat percentage
You can see above how much more dense muscle is compared to fat! With muscle mass taking up 20% less space that fat mass, it's no wonder why two people at the same weight on the scale can look drastically different.
When you're in a scientific and sustainable program like ours at Forward Thinking Fitness, you're increasing muscle mass and decreasing fat mass. So the number on the scale might not change much, but you should notice your clothes fitting looser!
And the best part? You'll burn more calories 24/7 with more muscle mass from functional strength training. Just don't forget the high protein (building blocks of muscle mass) requirement. In the long run, this will allow you to eat more yummy food while still reaching your goals!
If you've only ever been focusing on weight loss as the primary goal, you may surprise yourself at how much more successful you'll be focusing on other goals in body composition and habits.
At FTF, we follow through with body composition testing every 8 weeks to show our clients how much healthier they're becoming ... regardless of that pesky number on the scale!
