subject: Throw Out Your Weigh Scale [print this page] Throw Out Your Weigh Scale Throw Out Your Weigh Scale
It is no wonder why you Fail at losing weight.
There is nothing more depressing than starting on a diet, working like hell to lose weight and then stepping on the weigh-scale only to find you only lost one measly pound. Your mind says, "That was too hard and too much work, I cannot do this. So you pack it in and feel like a failure because you couldn't lose weight. Friends walk up to you and say, "So, how is that diet going for you?"
You swallow your pride and grunt at them and feel horrible little less secure about yourself.
The interesting thing is You were probably doing fine at it but you were using the wrong instrument to gauge your success.
"Weight Loss" programs should really be called something else. In reality they should be called Getting Slim' programs or "Fat Losing" programs, they do not have much to do with actual weight loss.
The whole idea behind starting a weight loss program is because you wanted to fit into that pair of jeans you used to wear. You know the ones that are be still hanging in the closet with the Perma-Wrinkle in the legs from hanging on the hanger too long. You want to slim down and that damned weigh scale is actually making us feel bad and in that depressing moment we quit.
Here is the solution which has worked much better for the people I coach on weight loss. The Secret is MEASURE your body. Buy one of those fabric measuring tapes and measure your body in at least no less than 4 or 5 different places on your body. Here is why! Muscle cells are denser than cells which are plumped up with fat. When you are sticking to any program you will be losing inches like crazy and the weigh-scale may not even move.
In a recent example given to me by one of my students. They weighed in at 300+ pounds. They had tried a whole bunch of different Weight Loss" programs but they never seemed to work, and they would quit each program within a short time. When I described to them how much muscle they already had in their body from carrying all that weight for so long, they started to feel a little better about themselves. Think about it, you have enough muscle in your body right now to lift 300 pounds with your legs. That is stronger than most athletes. Next, I showed them how to measure their body and adjust a few eating habits and within 5 days they had burned off 8 inches of fat from their body yet had only lost 1 pound. They was so excited, there was no way they would quit the program after that. When you feel good about the changes you are making in your lifestyle, you see results, feel better and will continue longer. Learn to measure results differently and you will feel better about the program you are using. Imagine for a moment, there are fat cells all over your body. You are slimming down in places you cannot see in the mirror. The Power-House' of muscle you have built up from carrying around that very same weight remains with the proper nutrition program.
Measure 4-5 points minimum;
Around your chest at the nipple line.
Around your gut at the naval line.
Around your hips across the thickest part of your bum
and measure your thighs.
I have seen people measure their wrists, shoulders, neck, calves and as many other points as they could see which had fat on them. On women, do not forget Breast Circumference.
My advice is THROW OUT the Weigh Scale, chuck the Body Mass Index in the garbage and get a measuring tape. This one step will help you find more long term success than any other single thing you do. You will be surprised to see how fast you are getting slimmer in just one week.
