Scale weight is simply that – the weight that you see when you step on a weighing scale.
TV shows like ‘The Biggest Loser’ have shown that we’re obsessed with scale weight. As such, many people who embark on a diet use scale weight as the defining factor of reaching their goals.
That’s good, since it’s a goal that can be objectively measured. That’s fine so long as we behave rationally, but do we?
The problem is of course, that many people let their progress on a weight loss (or weight gain) diet be defined solely by the scale. They get elated when the scale drops by a pound, and then feel depressed when the pound is gained back the next day.
This is due to the changes in water balance in the body. Basically, the amount of water you’re holding in the body at any time is regulated by various hormones, which respond to various actions. Eg: eating more sodium (salt) than usual leads to more water being held to maintain cell water potential – water retention.
Hence the first step is to recognise that such weight fluctuations do occur.
The next step is to recognise just how big these fluctuations can be. After a binge, it’s not uncommon for a 70kg individual to be up by 4kg (9lbs) the next morning. If you think about it, that’s probably 2-3kg added food in the gut and then add some water retention to go along with it. Even with normal eating, it’s relatively easy to gain 2lbs overnight.
But who the hell thinks when they step on the scale. Despite the fact that we intellectually know that water fluctuations will occur, it’s hard not to feel disheartened by an overnight 2lbs gain on the scale. Sure, you tell yourself, “It’s just random water fluctuations”, but you could just as easily say, “Could I some of that weight (0.5lbs) really have been fat?”
In other words:
So what’s the solution? Don’t weigh yourself at all?
That’s not optimal since there is useful data to be gained from tracking weight. In fact, the more often you weigh yourself, the more data points you have, and the clearer a picture you can get about fat loss patterns.
In practice though, we don’t need to weigh ourselves that often. For most people, a once a week weigh-in will suffice. Just make sure that it’s under the same conditions. Eg: Monday morning right after going to the bathroom.
Still, this makes some people fret like crazy. “What if I don’t make my goal weight? Do I really have to wait a whole other week to see results?”
Two solutions come to mind at this point. First, Shut up and stop worrying. Second, let someone else do the worrying for you; entrust your diet and gauging of progress to someone else you trust.
For some strange reason, the latter option makes it easier for a lot of people to “let go” and let the body do its work. I guess it’s a by-product of our evolutionary success; the ability to cooperate and assist one-another in organised societies. Exploit it.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
