1. It doesn’t tell you what type of weight you are losing. Plenty of people who burn, burn, burn on the cardio neglect to add in strength training to their routine. These people lose a combination of fat and MUSCLE. Losing muscle may drop the scale numbers, but it also drops your ability to burn calories. Your goal in weightloss is to maintain or slightly build your muscle tissues while focusing on burning the fat off your body.
2. The numbers on the scale are faulty at times. Day to day you can gain and lose up to three to four pounds. Factors that influence the scale are stress, sodium, water retention from weight training, dehydration, hormones and so on. Even weighing once a week can be deceptive and that’s why I look at four weeks of numbers before casting judgment on the success of an eating and exercising plan.
Inches on the other hand…ahhh…this is a good sign of successful weightloss. Let’s say you in month one you lose 5lbs. After the first month you take your measurements and see you have lost 8 inches. Wow! That means you are losing fluffy fat and people are noticing. Now, take an identical person who just dieted and didn’t really exercise much. They lose 8lbs but only lost 2.5 inches overall. This person likely lost a lot of muscle and some fat. Not only is their appearance to other people just about the same as it was 8lbs. ago, but they lost their lean, metabolically active muscle tissue in the process. What does this mean to you? Less food you can eat when you hit your goal weight, the risk of developing osteoporosis, and a flabby appearance.
I suggest you take monthly measurements and let that be one of many indicators of success in your weightloss journey. Measurements tell you a story that a number on the scale just can’t. Strive to lose inches and let the scale numbers fall where they may.
Speaking of measurements, the Phit-n-Phat Crew is taking their measurements today. I’m going to encourage them to post their losses here in the comments section because each one of them deserves a big Yahoo from all of you who regularly read my blogs. Most of them follow my superset style of training and use my Cardio Directory for their cardio and bonus sculpting routines. You can click here to order the Cardio Directory. The Cardio Directory is a great way to change up your machine workouts, learn beginner strength training that is incorporated with cardio, and utilize your own body weight for full-body cardio without the use of equipment.
Great job ladies!