How the Scale Works for Weight Loss
The scale can be a help, or a hinderence. And which it becomes is really up to you.
What do I mean by that?
You will hear trainers and coaches have very different opinions on the scale. Some will tell you not to worry about it and just go by the mirror, some will tell you to only weigh once a month or once a week, and then there are those like me that encourage getting on the scale daily. So why the wide range of opinions from people that are definitely qualified to help with weight loss? I actually don’t believe the opinions are that different. I believe the advice is meant with the same goal in mind, just different approaches to get there. Most trainers will tell you that how you feel, how you look, and how healthy you are far outweigh what those numbers on your digital scale say. So the core principle is the same, just a variation on how to treat those numbers.
I don’t like to speak for others, but in general the thought behind checking the scale less is so that you do not get discouraged by the fluctuations that you will see. Those fluctuations can vary from day to day, but over time the overall trend will regulate if you stay committed to your program. This approach certainly has a lot of upside. The main one being that it helps eliminate some of the discouragement that can come from seeing the scale go up even though you ate perfect the day before. I get it. I’ve been there. It sucks.
But there is one important factor that this doesn’t account for, and to me it’s a biggie. I don’t count macros. I don’t track calories, I don’t track protein or carbs. I simply go by what works for me and how I’m feeling. That’s not to say I’m not aware of nutritional info or that I don’t stay conscious of macros becasue I definitely do. I just don’t track them. I don’t see the need. My goal with training is to be the best me that I possibly can. And if I spent the time it takes to count calories and weigh portions I can promise I wouldn’t be fun to be around. I eat based on guidelines. I eat certain types of foods around certain times and see how it effects me. Over time, I’ve gotten to know my body and what works for me. But the scale plays a big part of that. That’s why I make sure to get on the scale every morning before I drink my pre workout or have a cup of coffe. I wake up, I pee, I strip to my undies and I hop on the scale. My water intake stays pretty regular, so what the scale reads the next morning is a pretty good indication on how the days food effected me. Over time, I’ve learned what I work best with and what I don’t. Without the scale it would have been more guesswork that I wasn’t looking for.
Here is the key with weighing everyday though. You CANNOT let what the scale says discourage you! Change it to KG if you need to so that you don’t understand what weight it actually means. But having daily feedback on how the foods you ate the day before have effected you can really help you understand your body better. But if you let it get to you and the fluctuations discourage you then you are better off without weighing yourself daily.
A PERFECT EXAMPLE – I recently took a cruise with my wife to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary. We got off the boat and the next morning I stepped on the scale per my usual routine. I weighed 189 (when we left for the cruise I was 181.2). But, becasue I knew how the carbs and sugary foods that we enjoyed on the cruise were going to mess with my weight I didn’t let it get to me. I followed my guidelines and programming the next day. When I woke up the following morning I was at 183.8. I didn’t lose 5.2 lbs in a day of fat or anything, it was just water weight.
Here’s the point, your weight can fluctuate up and down on a daily basis. If you are ok with that or can understand that the fluctuation isn’t an indication of your overall success, then you can use the scale as a great tool to help get to know your body. But, whichever way you go make sure to stick to it. And if you decide to weigh yourself, I can’t stress enough to weigh first thing in the morning before you take anything into your body. This is the only time of day where you can feel confident that your weight won’t be effected by what you have eaten or drank so far that particular day.
There is no right or wrong answer here, it falls solely to you and what you feel most comfortable with. What matters most isn’t the scale. It’s how you feel, how you look, what your energy levels are, and if you feel good about where you are at. Use the scale as a tool if you can live with the fluctuations, but don’t live and die by it.
Author: Josh Westmoreland