Throw Away your Scales!!
That’s right you read that correct.
You don’t need scales to know whether you are dropping fat.
The scale is merely a tool to the battle of fat eradication.
Are they useful?
Heck yes!
But are they necessary?
Not at all.
You see, like anything they are just ONE way of noticing progress.
The scales can literally (and probably will0 infuriate people such as you and me with their sneaky wizardry and really put people just like you off the scent of progress. They don’t speak normal language like you I do, they have their own language.
It’s called scale language. I spoke abut this in another article called ‘3 Mind hack ways to keep your motivation to lose weight.’ But Here it is again briefly.
The scale will not do down every day, nor should you expect it to. In fact, it will probably go up just as much as it comes down.
You need to have patience and not compare it everyday or even every week. It is a tool to see a general trend over a period of months. If its generally up the something needs to change!
If you have a good day of dieting will it go down? Probably not.
That’s Normal
The trick is to monitor progress over a period of 4- 8 weeks and you should see an overall trend of a decent on the scale. That’s how they should be used.
I have my Online Coaching Clients send me over their weight every morning. This s more for me rather than them. I like to try and encourage them to disassociate themselves from what the scales read.
My Client Matt made his progress happen over a period of MONTHS, and the scales didn’t really budge much.
If we don’t use scales to see our progress what do you do?
If we take out the scales what do we have left? What else can we do to see our progress?
With all my online coaching clients I do 3 things to help them see their progress.
#1 How do you feel??
How you feel for me, is probably the most import. If you don’t feel any better the what’s the point, right?
Do you feel like you have more energy? Do you feel more upbeat and just generally happier?
How about feeling just ‘better’?
Well if the answer to any of these are yes, even just a little bit then guess what, You’re making progress.
Progress doesn’t always manifest itself in a physical appearance, but it is very much mental too. Which is why for some people I would banish the scales completely. If you are very much focussed on the numbers of the scales and you literally lose you mind when, and the will, go up and down on a regular basis then here’s what you need to do.
Step OFF the Scales!
If this is you then the scales are not your friend. You do not need them. You are more likely to give up and quit if you constantly see the scales going up and down every day.
Stay off the scales and focus on how you feel and the other points in the rest of the article.
#2 How do your Clothes Fit?
Are your jeans a little looser? Is your shirt that little bit more baggy than last month? Have you gone back up a notch on your belt?
It might seem simple, but these are signs that your making insane progress. You might not really notice it in month one but by month 3 you’re probably thinking “Damn, I need to get me some new shorts!” or you know, something to that extent.
Just be aware of when this happens as it means you are killing your diet.
#3 Measurements and Progress photos
I am sure that you have thought about doing this and may of may not have. If not, why not?
It truly is an awesome way to monitor your progress visually. If you can compare your start to month 3 I am certain it will spike your motivation and keep driving you onward.
Not only can you see how your body changes over a period of time. Using measurements you can see how the numbers change, which is awesome especially if you’re the kind of person who likes to focus on numbers.
This is the table which I use for all of my online coaching clients for their initial consultation and their 4 weekly assessment
There are rules to doing this however.
The first rule is that you should only take photos and measurements every 4 weeks.
The second rule is DO NOT compare week 1 to week 4 but rather week 1 with week 8 and week 4 with week 12 etc. Basically, you compare every other one. This way you can see real progress and focus on how far you’ve come.
So do you still think you need scales to see progress?
Remember that you are more than just a number on the scale
I am not saying that scales are bad, but rather use them as a tool to monitor progress and not the ONLY thing you look at.
Utilise all the tools in the tool box and just keep crushing it
Love you All
-Rhys