Scales Of Injustice?
January 24th 2007 11:31
Don't Trust This!
Lets continue in the vane of yesterday"s discussion of weight loss. How do you know that you are overweight? I think that your pants or your clothes in general are the best indicator and that your scales are the worst.
Most everyone who has a weight problem relies on scales to assess the damage or revel in accomplishment. The fact that scales give you a good idea of where your weight is is incontrovertible; the fact that they tell you vastly less about your body composition-fat to muscle proportion- is similarly true, but less well understood.
When I think of this "scale myth" I always think of some desperate person who is really trying to lose weight and steps on the scales only to feel this crushed disappointment because they have not lost anywhere near what they wanted so far. They feel betrayed, when in fact all kinds of variables enter into the scale weight of an individual at a given time. The poor person thinks that they have failed when in reality they may well be succeeding.
Here is a scenario for you. You weigh x and your acquaintance, who happens to be about the same height, weighs x also. You are a slob who sits on the couch eating potato chips etc. He/she is a weight trainer who has been doing it for awhile. You weigh the same according to the scales, but your body composition has a much higher percentage of fat, which probably is obvious to anyone who looks at the two of you. But the scales, I repeat, say you weigh the same.
Lets add to the scenario. You get a clue as to the real situation and you go on a weight training regimen and get some control of your wretched diet. You labor on for weeks and at the end of that time you weigh yourself with the expectation that you have made real progress. The number you see disappoints you a little. You aren't as light as you thought you might be, because you clothes are a lot looser than they used to be. What has happened? You have indeed lost fat and thereby a size or two in your clothes,but your body has new muscle tissue and that tissu
Trust These!
That is why I always set weight loss goals around measurements or clothing sizes. When my pants are tighter in the legs and looser in the waist I am ecstatic-more muscle and less fat. Your servant, as always.
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Comment by Claire S