Seeing the numbers on our scales go
down can be an amazing positive reinforcement and an example of our progress, but in
many instances that same scale can be heartbreaking at times. What's important
is to remember that the scale is not a perfect instrument for measuring health
and it can't tell us what's going on inside of our bodies. For example, here
are just two instances of healthy breakthroughs that in the short term could
look like plateaus or even jumps in weight: Increasing water intake and
increasing muscle mass.
So let's say you've just started your weight loss journey (yes it's a journey, not a sprint) and you're drinking a lot more water than usual and you're working out and building muscle this could show up as the scale not budging or even as increases in weight, when in actual fact you're improving your health over all and in ways that will make weight loss easier over time. Now this isn't a reason to be complacent about little to no weight loss or a weight gain, but a reason to stop negative and destructive thinking from causing you to veer off track completely by binging, giving up, etc.
Imagine yourself in a car on a cross-country road trip. You're not going to race across the country without stopping; you're going to take bathroom breaks and fill up on gas, and go on a little sightseeing, and maybe even backtrack to the last motel you stayed in because you forgot something there. The point is you need getting healthier to be enjoyable even if it is challenging. You shouldn't be depriving yourself or making yourself miserable because are you really going to do that for the rest of your life? Heck, no! And why should you? Don't make losing weight and gaining a healthier lifestyle harder than it has to be! Don't force yourself to drive all night at 150 kilometres an hour because you can't keep that up indefinitely, and you're only going to make yourself feel bad and probably go into a tailspin. Be a safe driver whether you're on the highway or on the road to healthy living.
.So, I would recommend focussing on smaller goals and different ways of measuring fitness and health like...
-Not going to bed at all hours of the night
-Increasing your intake of vegetables
-Cutting unnecessary sugars (including bread products and too much fruit/fruit juice) from your diet
-Increasing your consumption of healthy proteins and fats
-Increasing your awareness & knowledge of different food sources/labelling practices/etc
-Changing your outlook from one of "how do I add this into my diet" into one of "what else should I eat besides that"? For example having beans and veggies as a starting point in your meal planning instead of an addition to add nutrients/fibre/etc
-Increasing the amount you walk
-Making plans to compete in a mad dash & the things you want to accomplish to get to that goal
So let's say you've just started your weight loss journey (yes it's a journey, not a sprint) and you're drinking a lot more water than usual and you're working out and building muscle this could show up as the scale not budging or even as increases in weight, when in actual fact you're improving your health over all and in ways that will make weight loss easier over time. Now this isn't a reason to be complacent about little to no weight loss or a weight gain, but a reason to stop negative and destructive thinking from causing you to veer off track completely by binging, giving up, etc.
Imagine yourself in a car on a cross-country road trip. You're not going to race across the country without stopping; you're going to take bathroom breaks and fill up on gas, and go on a little sightseeing, and maybe even backtrack to the last motel you stayed in because you forgot something there. The point is you need getting healthier to be enjoyable even if it is challenging. You shouldn't be depriving yourself or making yourself miserable because are you really going to do that for the rest of your life? Heck, no! And why should you? Don't make losing weight and gaining a healthier lifestyle harder than it has to be! Don't force yourself to drive all night at 150 kilometres an hour because you can't keep that up indefinitely, and you're only going to make yourself feel bad and probably go into a tailspin. Be a safe driver whether you're on the highway or on the road to healthy living.
.So, I would recommend focussing on smaller goals and different ways of measuring fitness and health like...
-Not going to bed at all hours of the night
-Increasing your intake of vegetables
-Cutting unnecessary sugars (including bread products and too much fruit/fruit juice) from your diet
-Increasing your consumption of healthy proteins and fats
-Increasing your awareness & knowledge of different food sources/labelling practices/etc
-Changing your outlook from one of "how do I add this into my diet" into one of "what else should I eat besides that"? For example having beans and veggies as a starting point in your meal planning instead of an addition to add nutrients/fibre/etc
-Increasing the amount you walk
-Making plans to compete in a mad dash & the things you want to accomplish to get to that goal
-Coming up
with ways to incorporate activity into your daily activities like doing squats
while you wait for water to boil instead
of wandering around bored or checking facebook.
-decreasing the amount of time you spend online/watching tv
-Organize your cooking/shopping better, so that you wouldn't be tempted to eat unhealthily
- Goals to reduce stress
-Work to reduce clothing sizes and waist/hip measurements
-Work on using weights as a regular part of your day/week
Other than those things a couple of things I would recommend that might be helpful are:
- Not focusing on calories other than how that number relates to the nutrients/enjoyment you're getting. Are those calories empty or are they being used to help you?
- Making sure you track EVERYTHING and ACCURATELY, this gets easier with time as
you favourite or create entries for foods/recipes you eat often and as you get
used to knowing how much of anything you're eating. -decreasing the amount of time you spend online/watching tv
-Organize your cooking/shopping better, so that you wouldn't be tempted to eat unhealthily
- Goals to reduce stress
-Work to reduce clothing sizes and waist/hip measurements
-Work on using weights as a regular part of your day/week
Other than those things a couple of things I would recommend that might be helpful are:
- Not focusing on calories other than how that number relates to the nutrients/enjoyment you're getting. Are those calories empty or are they being used to help you?
- Definitely get a set of measuring
cups/spoons and a food scale and keep track of measurements (i.e. I know that a
tablespoon of pumpkin seeds is 10g making it easier for me to grab some and go)
- Focusing on one thing/nutrient at a time.
If you are trying to get more greens into your diet master that then
move on to your next goal. Small
achievements will give you a better chance of sustaining those changes.
In a nut shell the scales are just one of
many tools that you can use along your journey.
Don’t forget to use fitness testing as a measurement or try on those
jeans that were a wee bit tight last month you might just be pleasantly
surprised.
For more help with quick and effective
weight loss solutions visit
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