Wednesday, February 13, 2013

The Scale

I don't use the word hate very often
but I really hate the scale. 
It is an awful way to measure progress. 
For three weeks the numbers on that silly thing were going
in the downward direction. 
Just what you want to see.

Then I got the flu, one week with no energy,
no exercise and no work.
But the scale still showed a weight loss.

Week five, back to work and exercise.
I gained two pounds.
Ok, I can live with that. 
I'm sure once I'm back into my routine
the numbers will head downward again.

Week six -
I gained another six pounds.
Really??
Six pounds in one week.
I think not.
I may have exceeded my calories a day or two
but from what I've read
you have to eat 3,500 over what's needed
to gain a pound. 
That's a lot of extra calories.
If I did overeat that much, I don't remember it.

On a happier note....
I took my measurements week one and
checked them again at the end of week four.
I've lost 2.5 inches on my hips and
1 inch on my waist.

A few final thoughts:
The scale doesn't just reveal fat loss, a loss on the scale
can be from water depletion.

Muscle is more dense than fat.  If you are working out
and building muscle you might not see the number on the
scale change much.

"Train for a look, not a number on the scale"
~Chris Shugart

From now on I'm ignoring the scale and will
use a tape measure as my new "scale"