Let’s face it, the last few months have been a trying for everyone!
Parents became overnight homeschool instructors. People were forced into unemployment. Business owners were forced to shut their doors.
After months of Netflix binging, late-night snacking, and stressful days spent trying to school your child, you’ve decided it’s time to work on yourself. You’ve decided to take control of your health & fitness with a new diet and exercise plan.
The first 2 or 3 weeks are going great, you have more energy, you’re down a few pounds on the scale, you’re feeling amazing! Another week or so passes, you religiously step on your bathroom scale every morning and are discouraged to find the pounds aren’t coming off like they were in the beginning.
You’re frustrated! You have been eating healthy and exercising almost daily. You’re starting to think you’re doing all of this for nothing.
What you may not be thinking about is, your scale measures your total weight. It doesn’t tell you if you’re losing body fat or gaining muscle. Your home scale is a total combined measurement of muscle, fat, bone, organs, and water. It does not differentiate between them, so you have no idea whether you’re losing fat or not. I am here to tell you, this is a quite common scenario we see when people start a new diet & exercise routine. During this time, many people will fall off and resort back to their old habits because they feel like they’re no longer making progress.
Before you decide to totally give up on your new routine, try these measuring your progress with these 3 methods instead:
- Don’t weigh yourself everyday. There are so many variables with daily weigh-ins. Are you weighing at the same time everyday? Where you a little dehydrated yesterday and not today? Has your digestion and elimination been regular the past few days?
- Use your clothing as a guide. Did you have to adjust your beltloop to next size down? Does your favorite pair of jeans that used to be snug through the hips and thighs now seem a little roomier.
- Seek out a professional body composition scan. At Rugged Terrain we utilized an InBody scanner that breaks your body measurements into muscle, fat, and water with a detailed report. We utilize the InBody with all our nutrition clients to track their progress overtime.
The next time you step on the scale at home, ask yourself if the weight staring back at you is really an accurate measurement of your progress?
If you’re stuck and need help, schedule a Free Intro appointment with one of our coaches and create a plan that works for you. We meet you where you are and help you get to where you want to be.
You’ll even get an InBody scan on us during your appointment!
