The Scale and Your Jeans
A conversation with my dad the other day started the idea for this short article. He asked me why a person cannot maintain the “weight” lost during a hot yoga session.
This brings up a great question and the whole weight loss vs. fat loss discussion. I’ve found that way too often people use the scale as an indicator of fat loss. When the reality is, the scale only measures the total mass of an object being weighed in relation to gravity. The scale cannot measure your body fat percentage, nor can it measure your hydration levels, your lean body mass or your bone density.
Here’s the problem as I see it – People generally have an idea of a time in their life when they looked pretty good. This is a time when they look back they see themselves as being happy with their body, happy how they felt, and happy with their clothing size. Essentially from a physical standpoint things were good! And the thought process generally goes like this “well if I weighed 130 back then and I felt that way and looked that way…all I have to do is get back to 130 lbs”. Sure, and I could see how this could make logical sense. BUT here’s how it works in the real world.
Suzie Smith joins Imagine if because she wants to become her best self. She wants to lose some weight, increase her energy and become happier. Great! She begins her journey of healthy nutrition, coupled with 3 days a week of weight bearing activity and a little bit of recovery work the other 3 days a week. Within a week or two she begins to feel better, she starts sleeping better and she swears her jeans feel looser. The process goes on for a few months and now she’s feeling incredible, sleeping like a rock and has gone from a size 10 to a size 4.
How many pounds would you guess Suzie Smith has lost in this scenario?
Probably around 30. Right?
Actually the number that we find is far less. And the true average number might shock you. In this scenario we typically see a number of 10-15 lbs of “weight loss”.
How the heck is this possible?
Let me explain: In this scenario Suzie has increased her muscle mass, increased her bone density, and increased her cellular hydration. Having an increase in muscle mass, bone density and cellular hydration will cause an increase in “weight” but it will also cause you to become smaller, tighter and appear much more toned. The sad truth is that sometimes the fat loss and detoxification occur at a rate which equals muscle and bone mass gain, which then unfortunately indicate very little or even NO change on the scale. And this is the point when people usually get frustrated and throw in the towel.
Don’t you become one of these people!
One of the best indicators of fat loss is an item that you have in your house. Can you guess?
It’s your jeans!!
That’s right – Your jeans will tell you more about your fat loss success than any scale. If your jeans fit looser (especially around the waist) you are losing body fat.
Hopefully I’ve helped you all to see the light and begin to understand how the scale is not a good indicator of success with weight loss, nor is it a good indicator of health.
As for a direct answer to my dad’s question…the only weight that is lost during any form of exercise is water weight. Due to the high temperature and nature to sweat in a hot yoga class it will cause a significant loss of water weight.
The key here is to remember that a reduction in water weight is only temporary and not an indicator of fat loss.