Ahh, the dreaded bathroom scales!
They should be banned from all households. You know the problem don’t you? Every morning you wake up and head for the bathroom. You step on the scales and you look down.
Arghhhhh…
It is NOT what you want to see is it? You’ve gained a lb or maybe 2 lbs and you’re devastated. I mean, you can’t have put on weight. You ate lots of fruit and vegetables, cut down on sugar and hardly had a drop of wine. Right?
In your desperation, you decide not to eat for the next 24 hours (or eat very little) so that the next morning, you will be back down a lb or 2.
Sound familiar?
That’s why bathroom scales should be banned. Get rid of them or remove the batteries at least.
Here are 5 reasons why you should avoid the scales:
- The scales will only tell you your weight – if you’re exercising, you may be building muscle, which is denser than body fat so your weight may not go down.
- Stop doing the same exercises – if you keep doing the same exercises over and over, your body will get used to it and you won’t progress or change your body composition. Change your exercise habits and try new workouts or activities.
- Don’t EVER go on a restriction diet. If you start a new diet which restricts calories, you will lose weight initially, mainly due to a loss of water, muscle mass etc BUT you will put the weight back on (and more) when you return to normal eating.
- Stop obsessing about your weight – instead, look at your body shape and your muscle tone. For example, my weight has increased by 3 lbs this last week BUT my body fat has come down and my muscle mass has increased, making me stronger.
- You fit into your jeans again – despite what the scales tell you, you can now actually fit into your jeans. You’ve lost inches from your waist and hips despite the scales telling you that your weight is the same. See reason 1 above.
There you have it. Don’t rely on the bathroom scales as a means of determining your health and fitness. They can be used as a guide but only infrequently.
Ps/ I actually own body fat scales, which tell you your fat content, water, muscle mass and even your metabolic age. If you want to be measured, please get in touch.