Throw Away The Scales

Throw Away The Scales

I can’t preach loud enough that every woman should throw away her set of scales! It is misleading and will only lead to disappointment! Let me guess, you either avoid it like the plague because you’re scared of the numbers, or you obsess over it weighing yourself every day. Don’t worry, we have all been there – both versions!

Truth is, we fluctuate 2kg between days and weeks just due to our hormone changes, fluid retention, etc. It’s not realistic to expect the number to stay where it is day in day out, or for those trying to lose weight, it never moves as much as you like, or in a predictable fashion. This can ruin our day, week or even month!

You should instead be focusing on how you feel, how you look in the mirror, and how your clothes fit. We have all seen the picture of the woman who weighs 60kg and has a higher muscle weight, than the 60kg woman who doesn’t exercise. The body shape is vastly different and that reason comes down to the fact that muscle is tighter and therefore ‘smaller’ than fat. A lot of us call that ‘toning’, “I want to get toned”, “she is more toned than me”. What it actually means is that our body is made up of less fat and more muscle. So we will actually weigh more but you need to get over that. This is why so many of us in the fitness industry no longer refer to using the BMI.

I remember when I first starting weight training 12 months ago (I was always a cardio fanatic with endurance running being my love), my trainer said to me, Emma, are you going to be ok with being heavier? I had to understand that to achieve my goals of a sexy physique, I was going to need to switch my training and incorporate more lifting. But I trusted her and I have never looked back. My clothes fit me better, I don’t have to worry about my food intake as much as I did, I train smarter (which means less time in the gym and more doing what I want to be doing), and I look better naked!! Woo Hoo. Plus I’m more confident in myself. It’s funny how a stronger physique provides a stronger mind!

And that comes to my final point, the scales don’t measure your self-worth! We want women to approach their health goals from a wellness perspective, for example, what do you contribute to the world? What is your inner beauty? Feed that – read, volunteer, meditate, spend time with family and friends, keep a gratitude diary.