Michalla said: I totally agree with this article, I am in a womens weights class and we are lifting weights and...
Maryanne said: I eat 1kg chocolate and put on weight 5kg. Whats the reason?...
natalie said: helo i hope this will take me far i will comment after my new trainning do u have any ass...
Adam said: I am 17 years old, male, and i do work out about 5-6 times per week. though tend to get...
Veronica Ramirez said: Im 36 years old and weigh 135. I just started going to the gym about a month ago, but...
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Losing Inches Not Weight!
More than likely, if you’re on a diet trying to lose weight you will know how much you weigh. It is something you monitor on a daily basis on a favorite scale, perhaps you even follow a routine – you weigh yourself after work, before a shower in the morning, after a workout, etc. However your method is, do you know what the number on the scale means? Do you know what exactly, other than showing you a numerical progress on a scale, what that determines?
Unfortunately, the number that we are given when we step on a scale is not just a number, but yet it represents the way that we feel about ourselves. And while it may come as a surprise to you, the number that the scale gives us may not have as much as an effect on weight loss as you may think.
When most people refer to losing weight, it commonly refers to looking slimmer and smaller – but this doesn’t always mean losing weight. While this may sound like they contradict each other, they don’t necessarily. You may be able to actually lose body fat, while gaining muscle and this keeps your weight the same. So even if you lose inches off your stomach, the scale in your morning or evening ritual may stay the same or get even show that you gained a little bit more weight. This makes relying on the scale for tracking weight loss a back thing.
The number is really not much help. Not only doesn’t tell you how much of your weight is composed of muscle and how much is fat, but it doesn’t tell you how much of that weight is contributed to from bones, organs, or water. The weight of a bodybuilder can be in excess of 200 or 300 pounds, but there aren’t many people that would call he/she overweight.
The final reason that a scale may be unreliable to get results from is because of it’s ability to change throughout the day. In fact, it changes all the time. Each of our bodies experience weight change throughout everyday, sometimes as much as 5 plus pounds depending on what we’ve eaten and drank throughout the day. Or, perhaps, the clothing that you wear makes you gain a couple of extra pounds – a pair of boots can add three or four pounds.
With all of that being said, the scale isn’t completely useless. It does at least give you a somewhat accurate portrayal of where you stand in the scheme of things. If you’re looking to lose a certain amount of pounds, like 5 or 10 for a weigh in for a sport or something similar, you definitely don’t want to rely on a scale. However, if you’re looking to lose 100 pounds, using a scale every morning or every evening in your weigh-in ritual is more than okay.
Comments on this article:
| DEBI DRYER said: | I AM TRYING TO FIND A STARTING POINT FOR EXCERCISING. I WEIGH 300 LBS I HAVE LOST 30 LBS SINCE APRIL 08 I DRINK 3TBLS 0F VINEGAR BEFORE EACH MEAL AND TAKE I STACKER 3 A DAY. I WANT TO START AN EXCERCISE REGIMEN... MY THOUGHT PROCESS IS TO START WALKING AND A WATER AEROBICS CLASS. I AM 53 IN GOOD HEALTH - I JUST HAD AN ALL OVER SCREENING DONE AND FOR MY SIZE I AM IN"GREAT" SHAPE OVER ALL IN GOOD SHAPE. I HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE: I AM POSITIVE I AM FAT AND I AM POSITIVE I AM GOING TO GET RID OF IT. COULD SOMEONE PLEASE HELP DIRECT ME - I CANNOT AFFORD SKIN REMOVAL SURGERY-SO I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING-IT IS THE REASON WHY I HAVE REFUSED TO TRY AND LOSE MY WEIGHT TILL NOW-I USE TO WEIGH BETWEEN 115/130LBS TILL I HAD MY DAUGHTER AT AGE 27 SINCE THEN I HAVE BEEN A FAT COW HELP PLEASE THANK YOU DEB |
| Nicole said: | I think that drinking water is your first step. From what I understand, the more water you drink the easier it is for your skin to tighten while you lose the weight. Second, if the doctor says its ok you should probably start with a cardio workout. You want to do 20-45 minutes a day with your heart rate in the 120-160 heart range. This can be walking, jogging, swimming, really anything that accelerates your heart. It will probably be easy to do this to start but once you get into a routine, you will need to work harder to get your heart rate up. If you have access to a gym, some kind of weight circuit is a good idea. This will help you work your whole body to firm and tone muscles while you are doing the cardio to help your heart and lose the fat. This is just some advice from someone who is working on losing weight also. It is working pretty well for me. Anyway good luck! |
| lacey said: | Weight training is the most important thing to toning up loose skin, followed by drinking lots of water, diet (not dieting, eating clean) is 80% of the weight loss part, and then lastly cardio for your cardiovascular health. I work at a gym. hope this helps. |
| Joi said: | Hi Debi, I recently lost 3 stone through a good diet and excersize. I walked 3 miles every night for about 12 weeks at a quick steady pace and ate a grapefruit when i came back (I heard they were good for helping your body burn fat, but I dont know if this is true.) If you like music, take an mp3 player with you to keep you motivated. I found this worked for me. Hope this helps. Good Luck. |
