Almost Everyone I Know Suffers From This Addiction…Do You?

Okay, maybe addiction is too strong of a word.  Infatuation may be more appropriate.  Either way we as Americans have a love/hate relationship with the scale.  For decades the scale has been the tool of choice when determining if a diet or exercise program is working.  This scale obsession is understandable.  Scales are tangible and give you instant gratification…but at what cost?

I, for one, hate the scale.  I think it’s the most useless instrument in the house.  In fact, one of the first things I tell my personal training or boot camp clients is to go to a local hardware store, buy a sledge hammer, drive home and bash your scale into a million pieces.  Not only will you rid yourself of this awful device, but it’s a heck of a workout too!

So, why all the hate and disdain for this seemingly “innocent” contraption?  Because the scale is a pathological liar!  That’s right a liar!  The only thing a scale truly tells you is the force at which gravity is pulling you towards earth.  It doesn’t tell you how much fat you are carrying, how much muscle you possess, and how much water you are retaining.  The scale offers false hope one day and shatters your dreams the next.

How much muscle you have and how much water you are retaining are very important items when you are trying to assess the effectiveness of a weight loss or exercise program.  Did you know that two people can be the same height and weight yet have two totally different body compositions?  This is because one person may have more lean muscle tissue while the other has less muscle and more fat.  But the scale says they are the same.

Did you know that you can retain up to six pounds of water a day?  That means that if you are on an exercise program and after two weeks you lose 4 pounds of body fat but on the day you weigh yourself you are retaining 5 pounds of water, the scale will say you actually gained a pound.  That can be extremely demoralizing.  But that’s the problem with a scale; it cannot distinguish between fat, muscle, and water.  The scale is a liar, yet many of us are still addicted.

As I said above, the scale can also give you false hope.  Most weight loss programs and diet plans put people on a calorie restrictive meal plan.  Restricting calories is actually counter-productive and the weight loss that is experienced is usually in the form of lean muscle and water weight; NOT real fat loss.  Losing lean muscle results in a lowered metabolism, the loss of strength, and increases the risk of osteoporosis.  It will also leave you with saggy arms and no muscle tone.  This is not the result people are going for when they attempt to get fit.
But the scale doesn’t tell you this.  You just see the numbers going down and understandably believe that the program you are on is a success.  You see…the scale lies.

A truly effective fitness program will have you doing some sort of resistance work.  When you resistance train you gain lean muscle.  Guess what…muscle weighs something.  When you gain lean muscle the scale goes up.  So does that mean that lean muscle is bad?  Of course not but the scale would have you believe otherwise.   Here again, we have caught the scale in a lie.

Hopefully you are now beginning to hate the scale yourself…or maybe resent it a little.  If so, then great!  We are making progress.

In my boot camps I use a body fat analyzer and a measuring tape to assess a client’s results.  The body fat analyzer shows if muscle or fat is being burned and the measuring tape shows how many inches are being lost.  These are the two best indicators of how well a program is working.

If you don’t have access to these tools then use the next best thing; your clothes and the mirror.  If you your clothes are fitting better and you are seeing toned muscles when looking in the mirror then you are on the right track.  Scales lie; mirrors, measuring tapes, and clothes don’t!

So join with me in the fight against this terrible addiction.  Hopefully, you now see how much trouble the scale can cause.  The next time you embark on a health and fitness program (notice I didn’t say weight loss program) avoid the scale at all costs.  It will only break your heart in the long run.