So this is something a lot of people go through. And it’s one that I am familiar with as well.
Whenever I get back into my fitness in a big way, I go all in.
I change my diet, which is the number one factor for me personally when it comes to my fitness flaws. Currently I am doing Carb Cycling and watching everything that I eat.
But at the same time, I tend to work out at an extremely intense level. I will do extreme resistance exercises with programs like P90X or Body Beast and I will also try to get some High Intensity cardio in as well with one of my Insanity programs or racquetball. Lately I am also sprinkling in running a couple miles a day because our daughter loves us going on our runs together.
I have an app on my phone that tracks the calories going in compared to the calories that I burn while working out. I am consistently at a deficit for my caloric intake according to my weight loss goals.
So it would seem like I have everything in place to shed some body fat, right?
Then why did the scale barely move this week?
Fat loss does not always mean weight loss. If you want to build muscle to lose weight, you may notice the number on your scale staying the same, or even increasing slightly, even though your measurements decrease. Lifestyle changes to your diet and exercise program can improve your chances of losing weight while gaining muscle.
If you have gained muscle, your body composition may have improved, even if you did not lose weight. A pound of muscle may weigh the same as a pound of fat, but the muscle takes up less room in your body. In other words, if you build seven pounds of muscle during the same time you lose seven pounds of fat, your scale would not budge, but your measurements would decrease. Consider measuring your waist circumference or the circumference of other body parts to monitor your weight loss instead of relying on the scale. As your measurements decrease and you carry less fat, you decrease your chances of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease and joint injuries.Gaining Muscle & Not Losing Weight | Live Well – Jillian Michaels
http://livewell.jillianmichaels.com/gaining-muscle-not-losing-weight-4343.html
So I can say that without a doubt that my body composition has changed in the 2 and a half weeks that I have started this regimen. I lost 7 lbs the first week and only 2 the second. But my clothes are fitting differently.
So the moral of the story today is…don’t get discouraged if you don’t see the numbers sliding on the scale. This isn’t “The Biggest Loser”. This is reality.
The hardest thing in the world to get people to realize is that the scale is not the most important thing in the world. If you are improving your overall fitness level, there may be weeks where the scale doesn’t budge.
And that’s OK!
Do not get discouraged and give up. You are on the brink of a major fitness breakthrough! Enjoy the newer, fitter version of you!
At the end of the day, what’s more important, the numbers on a scale that only you see in the privacy of your bathroom at home or the tighter, more fit body that you are strutting around with?
