Can Your Weighing Scale Measure Your Fitness?
As a nutritionist, I have come across ample of people showing concerns about their weight/obesity. Seldom has anyone ever mentioned a concern about being ‘HEALTHY’, being ‘FIT’. Unfortunately, for most of us, being healthy means being lean/skinny. Seeing a good number on the weighing scale is all what is desired. So does that really make sense? Well, it does… to an extent, but not all of it.
INFLUENCE OF WEIGHING SCALE
With the increasing awareness of obesity and associated health concerns, I see people getting obsessed with FAD diets and weight loss techniques. Well, awareness and taking necessary measures is the good part. The bad part is… for most of us the weighing scale is the only measure to track our fitness progress. It’s surprising how much the weighing scale can influence one’s mood, motivation and enthusiasm. One bad number and you don’t want to look at it again; you feel depressed and feel like you’ve lost the battle. But, health is so much more than the number on the weighing scale.
WHAT IS BODY WEIGHT?
Weight does not only come from fat. Your body weight comprises of fat, lean body mass and water. When you lose weight, you do not always lose fat which is usually the bad guy when you are over weight or obese, you might be losing your muscle mass which is the good guy; a loss for your over all health. A muscle is comparatively heavier in weight. So when you exercise right, you gain muscle eventually leading to higher muscle mass that in turn might show higher numbers on the weighing scale or absolutely unaltered numbers. This might be disappointing, but believe it or not, you are getting better, you are getting fitter.
Your body weight fluctuates with a lot of things too; the water consumption, the timing and the place of weight check, the timing of the last meal eaten, sodium intake, hormone levels, sleep pattern, etc. Desperate to lose weight, one may have starved for days together to reach the goal eventually compromising on the vital nutrients thereby affecting the health in the long run.
DIFFERENT WAYS TO MEASURE FITNESS
- Take your body measurements at regular intervals, for you might be experiencing what they call as ‘plateau’ during weight loss, but you might actually be losing on inches.
- Another way of doing this is to see how your clothes fit you. Your clothes might start to feel loose on certain areas indicating your progress. How you feel, mood wise, energy wise, how your skin feels, will say it all.
- Your body always speaks to you. LISTEN to your body. Don’t just LOOK at the weighing scale.
- And above all, what better way of knowing than people starting to compliment you for the way you look, the kind of aura you spread and the energy and confidence that you carry?
So, next time, when you are setting your fitness goals, set them to ‘Healthy’, not ‘Skinny’. Choose health over weight. Stop obsessing over the scale number. Eat clean, not less.
Did this article interest you? If yes, reach out to us on info@23bmi.comto explore different health management programs and create your own success story.
Author: Aayushi Hemrajani | Co-Founder — 23BMI | Health Coach | Advanced Nutrition Expert | MSc. IBM, London |
