I can’t stress enough how unimportant what that number on the scale is. The scale is practically meaningless. People, especially women, are so focused on losing weight. I have to admit that I’m often guilty of falling into that trap. I get super frustrated when that number doesn’t go down or even worse when it goes up despite all the good nutrition and hard training I’ve been doing. I’m like WTH!
But time and time again it’s been proven to me that the scale is not a good measure of success. I bought the suit I’m wearing in this picture back in 2005, 14 years ago when I only weighed around 145 pounds. I was able to wear it for just a couple of years after that because I got bigger and bigger, ballooning up to 215 pounds, at my heaviest in 2011. Starting in 2011 I’ve been on a health and fitness journey and have significantly changed my body in terms of not only weight loss but also body composition and the reversal of several chronic diseases. Even as recent as last early December 2019 I was still not really able to put on this suit comfortably. Well, in February 2020 I put on the suit and it fit just like it did back in 2005. The difference is that now my number on the scale was 170 pounds!!! Back in December I was actually a little lighter at 168. How can this be? When you are consistent in what and how you eat, in giving your body what it needs to be able to perform optimally you can then train on a consistent basis, doing the type of workouts that actually transform your body composition and even its shape. The same weight in fat takes up much more volume and space than muscle. Plus, muscle creates a tight shape to your body and provide the ability to have great posture.
Muscle on the left and the same weight in fat on the right.
I have to tell myself all the time to stop agonizing over the scale. I have to remind myself that I’m doing all the right things for my body to be healthy and to be able to perform. Eat to be strong; train to be strong and your body will reward you with these non-scale victories.