Kill Your Scale.

As a trainer, it drives us CRAZY how much people put value on how much they weigh. The numbers on the scale tell only a small part of the story when it comes to someone's fitness level. We always consider body composition to be the most important number when it comes to body change and fitness increases. This number is presented as a "percentage" of total body weight. Simply losing pounds does not always convey success if the pounds lost are lean tissue. Nobody wants to be lighter and fatter at the same time. Having said this, it seems like EVERYONE wants to be lighter!

At the moment at All Canadian Fitness, we have a couple of clients that are achieving great results. One of them is my Spect Fit Cadet, Diane Ledonne. Since we have started her training 5 weeks ago, she has lost just under 3" from her waist! She has also lost about 7% of her bodyfat. Her blood pressure has also come down from 140/90 to 126/86. Very impressive results all around. BUT, since her last assessment two weeks ago, her weight has stayed exactly the same!!! During this time, all of her body composition measurements have gone down, her strength has gone up, blood pressure has gone down...AND her energy is waaaaaay up. If we had been evaluating her progress solely by the scale (like they do on that awful Biggest Loser show), then she would have felt like a failure.

The other client is experiencing frustration at the numbers on the scale that appear to be stuck. Every single day, however, she is getting compliments from people about "how great she looks". She has also lost 4 dress sizes in the last few months. Again, impressive results that simply would not have been recognized if the scale were the only measure of progress.

Bottom line- We are human beings with LOTS and LOTS of things to consider about ourselves other than simply a number on a scale. Do yourself a favour and throw yours away (or give it to someone you really dislike!).