When most people think of improving their body composition and their health, the first thing that comes to mind is, ‘I’ve got to drop this weight.’ We are slaves to numbers and our dependence on weighing ourselves as a measure of progress has become an epidemic. Counting calories to make sure that we're not ‘eating too much’ and watching the number of calories burned on the treadmill is an obsession today.  Not only is this discouraging, it’s a very inefficient way to monitor progress. Instead of celebrating successes, an unsatisfactory number on the scale has us soaking in sorrow and beating ourselves up.  

Play with fire and you’re going to get burned!
Who cares about the numbers?  A better measure is whether you look good naked or you don’t!  You can lose a few pounds according to the scale, but you may still be very uncomfortable taking off your shirt at the beach or at the cottage; in fact , even if you have good numbers, you may still have your ‘muffin top’, and ‘lunch lady arms’, or you could just look ‘skinny fat’.  Numbers may look impressive even when you may not. Focusing on something that you have no control over sets you up for frustration and maybe even failure. 

Squash The Scale
The most commonly used tool to measure progress is, in fact, one of the worst ones you can use and I’ll tell you why.  You never know how much muscle you’ve gained, how much water you’re holding vs. how much fat you’re actually losing.  When you’re doing a lot of aerobic work like spinning and cardio sessions on the treadmill, you may in fact be losing some muscle.  When you’re doing some form of resistance training you’re improving your overall muscle and bone density which will out-weigh your fat loss. The result? The numbers lie when you step on the scale.  I’ve had some of my participants gain lean muscle while losing body fat, which brought their overall body fat percentage down, yet they weighed the same or more than when they started training with me.

 

If we would have chosen to use the scale as an indicator of our progress, then we wouldn’t have been able to note such massive body composition improvements.  Based on the numbers alone, a person may look like he or she is not progressing, when the  actual opposite is happening – fat is being destroyed and muscle is being built!

 

Stop Counting Calories
How much free time do you have on your hands if you have time to count calories?  It’s not all about the calories! If you’re not consuming quality food as at least 90% of your nutritional agenda, then you shouldn’t worry about how many calories you’re consuming daily and from which sources.  All macronutrients have a different thermic effect on your metabolism (digestion and absorption of food by the body is calorie costly).  For example, if you drink water that’s colder than your body temp, your body has to heat up that water and that process is calorie costly.  You see it’s more then just counting calories off of a food box and thinking that you’re on some cutting edge diet plan just because you’re compiling numbers.  I'd rather see you overeat and not worry about how many calories you’re consuming as long as those calories are coming from whole food sources, such as veggies, healthy oils, nuts, fruits, and proteins.

Think of it this way:  if you were to consume 2000 calories today from burgers, chips, and pizza, and tomorrow you were to consume that same number of calories from omega 3 fish oils, steak, oatmeal and yogurt, would your body respond exactly the same or very differently to each day?  You did consume the same number of calories, right?  Even with the same number of calories, I guarantee that you would feel sluggish, lethargic, and unproductive on the junk diet and totally alive and thriving on the whole food diet.  

Stop counting calories and start eating real food!

Body Fat Scale – Forget it
Those body fat scales that you’ll find at any commercial gym are not accurate!  Your particular body type, where you store your fat, hydration level, food and beverage intake, body temperature, and recent physical activity leading up to your test will alter the outcome result.  The result could be off by several percentage points, and if you wanted to do it again, you’d have to mimic similar conditions to your previous tests in order to get a reading that is somewhat reliable.

Save yourself the frustration and forget those scales that all the big gyms are trying to sell you on.  You know what you want to look like, so what difference does it make what BF% you’re at. Focus on your primary goal and forget about the numbers.

Burn baby burn
Cardio equipment is most popular because of features such as ‘calories being burned’ during your workout. Since you’ve started exercising, you’ve been watching those numbers on the elliptical and on the treadmill.  You’re burning 1000 calories each day you hit the cardio equipment, yet you’re still struggling with your body image. 

 

The problem with this type of training is that as soon as you’re done that exercise, your body shuts down and nothing else happens.  So if you want to continue burning calories,  you’ll need to stay very active.  Compare this to an interval session or a resistance training session, both of which increase your metabolism and help you keep burning calories for hours after you’re done.  So you can exercise for a shorter period of time performing either intervals or weights, leave the gym and still burn calories for up to 24 hours post workout.  This is another reason why you shouldn’t be falling victim to the numbers game!  Numbers don’t mean a thing when you can’t actually see that you’re metabolism is set on fire after a good weight training stimulus, or if you’ve burned 500 calories spinning the bike.

Wrap up
Why care about the numbers right?  You’ve got no control over the numbers, of how much and by when you’re going to drop a size or lose a few pounds.  You do have  control over your actions, including lifestyle, training, nutrition, and attitude, which in the end, all dictate those numbers.  Focus on what you need to do in order to improve, and once you’ve been consistent enough, it’s not the numbers that are going to tell you that you're on the right track – it will be all the compliments that you’re going to hear from co workers, family and friends.  Let's focus on feeling world class, and looking your absolute best! 

I know what you’re thinking: if you shouldn’t be weighing yourself, measuring yourself or counting on the mirror as your best friend, what's the best way to monitor your progress?

Photos!  I find photos to be the most powerful tool that I’ve used to monitor my clients progress.  Not only does it reveal the truth, it’s very rewarding to see change in your body composition, face, eyes and smile as months go by and you become the new and improved version of yourself!  

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