Are you being intimidated by a household object or is it mocking you by lying? I’m talking about the bathroom scales. There’s a saying that not everything you read is true and that includes your weight on the scales. Your body’s weight constantly fluctuates. It may be heavier in the afternoon after you ate a salty dish and drank a lot of water or lighter when you’re borderline dehydrated. You don’t need the scales and can live a no-scale lifestyle when you stop measuring progress with every ounce.
Increased muscle mass shows progress, but the scales don’t reflect your success.
An increase in muscle mass may show you didn’t make progress with weight loss, even though your baggy clothes show differently. Muscle tissue weighs more per cubic inch than fat tissue does. If you didn’t shed one pound, but lost fat and gained muscle, you’ll lose inches. A body that has more fat than muscle will look heavier than a body with more muscle than fat, even though both bodies may weigh the same. The more muscle you have, the easier it is to lose weight and keep it from returning, too. Don’t let the scales diminish your progress, take your measurements and track those. Using the InBody scanner is also a great way to see how your lean muscle mass and body fat percentage change relative to each other. Following a personal training program with a coach is a great way to help achieve the goals you have.
Change is slow and it doesn’t occur overnight.
Your weight is just one of those changes. Health markers like blood pressure, vitality. and energy levels are other markers of progress. If you could barely walk up a flight of stairs a few months ago and now can climb two flights before you get winded, you’re definitely getting more fit. If improving your health and endurance was one reason you started working out, you have made progress on or hit your goals. Make the way you measure match your goal. Track blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and endurance if those are part of the goal.
Your mid-section may tell the true story.
You have two types of fat. Subcutaneous fat is located directly under the skin, and visceral fat is under the muscle and around your organs. Visceral fat is the most dangerous since it crowds the organs and contributes to serious health conditions. People with more visceral fat have a bigger circumference measurement around their midsection. Tracking this measurement can give you a better idea of how well you’re doing, especially since visceral fat is the hardest to lose.
- Take a full-body selfie in an outfit that reveals your body every month. Wear the same clothing and stand in the same spot. When you check the progress you made can boost your confidence when you need it.
- Even though weighing in can be discouraging, you need to measure your progress. If you don’t keep score, you won’t know whether you need to make changes or get a boost of confidence when you see the difference.
- If weighing in (above) is daunting to you, we can use the InBody technology and keep track of your measurements for you.
- Everyone has loose fitting pants and form fitting pants that fit differently at varying times. Use your form fitting pants to measure your progress. When your form fitting pants look baggy, you know you’ve made progress.
- Track your progress working out. If you track your workout and make notes on how easy it is, you’ll start to see a pattern. If you were too out of shape to continue a workout, but now can finish it with ease, you’ve achieved success.
- Working closely with a personal training in either a group workout setting or a personal training setting is another way to track your progress in your workouts.
For more information, contact us today at Urban Athlete
Urban Athlete is a personal training studio that offers group training and personal training in Mt Airy, Philadelphia.
