Don’t get hung up on the number on the scale
I stay away from the scales because in my 50 years I have wasted too many days walking around with a sad face because of a silly number I saw when I jumped on the scales in the morning.
Don’t get me wrong. I haven’t given up. I still care about maintaining a healthy body and not being too heavy so that I don’t put too much pressure on my joints. I just prefer a different methods to measure my progress and keep me on track.
- How loose or tight are my clothes? This is one of the best methods to use. If your waist band is getting tight you know it is time for action. If you struggle to get into an item of clothing that used to be loose then unless it’s been in the dryer when it should not have been – you know it may be time to do something. Just make sure it is not just water retention (bloating) or just the usual variations associated with your cycle.
- How does my body look? I know the areas of my body I need to watch. Everyone has different ones but for me it’s my waist (muffin top), under my bum (tops of legs), lower back top of bum, back fat near bra straps and fat on the sides of my chest. I can now see the differences which show up when I have become less disciplined with my eating. This method means you have to be really aware and it’s probably not good if you are someone who has a tendency to exaggerate or cannot really look at their own body without distortion (eg, teenage daughters omg I’m so enormous).
- What is my body composition? I love this one. I weigh heaps for someone of my height (67 kilos on a good day to 71 kilos on a bad day). It would be easy to get quite freaked out when I weigh myself and see 70 plus kilos on the scales. It’s only when I see my body composition results following a DEXA scan that I can calm down. My recent DEXA scan showed 18.8% body fat which means I have 13 kilograms of body fat on my body. The rest is muscle and bone. The best thing is that I only have 62 grams of fat around my organs (viseral fat) so the fat I have is all in a good spot with regards my health.
I have set a goal to lose 1.3 kilos of body fat during the Results for Summer program. For me this will mean watching my fat consumption a bit more carefully (no more bowls of nuts). It will also mean watching portion sizes and being hungry some of the time. And I hate being hungry. Wish me luck.
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