THROW
AWAY YOUR SCALES
Why do you insist on stepping
on your bathroom scales every morning? Scales
lie!
First of all, many are
terribly inaccurate. They rely on metal springs which expand and contract with
temperature and humidity. So every time the temperature changes you might just
get a different reading.
Second, your body changes
from day to day depending on:
·
Stomach
contents-Some foods digest slower than others so the contents in your stomach
can easily add a pound or two.
·
What you ate the
night before-Large pasta dinner last night? Carbs are first stored in your
cells as glycogen (fuel!) But glycogen also attracts about 3 x its own weight
in water in the cell
·
How much salt you
had in the last 48 hours
·
Changes in your
stress levels
·
What you drank
the night before or the morning before you weigh-One liter of water weighs 2.2
pounds
·
The time of day
you step on the scale
These are just a few of the
reasons. Physiologically, there are many more.
It’s estimated that more people get discouraged and
stray from their plan because of their scales than any other single cause.
Scales Lie!
Let’s say you lose 3 pounds
of fat but gain 5 pounds of muscle. What does the scale tell you?
I’m not telling you to not
track your progress. Keeping track of your progress is vital. Just don’t rely
on scales.
Government Body Mass Index
(BMI) tables are no better. For one reason, the BMI tables require you to use
scales. Weight is part of the formula. But the main reason is they are adjusted
for “average” Americans. BMI is a ratio of weight to height-not fat. Nor does
it distinguish between visceral fat (the fat around your organs that causes most
health problems) and normal healthy fat.
A recent study by the International Journal of Obesity found that men with a BMI of 25 (the cutoff
for being overweight in men) had actual body fat ranging from 14 to 35!
According to government
charts, the gentleman in the top picture ( Vin Diesel ) is overweight and the
gentleman in the bottom picture (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is obese (BMI=37.4).
Do you want to be the one to tell them?
Here’s
another telling picture. Five pounds of fat next to five pounds of muscle.
So how do you track your
progress?
·
Another way to
judge your progress, though impossible to track accurately, you already have; a mirror. But if you’ve ever watched some
of the people walking around Walmart you know that mirrors must lie too.
·
Photographs- Take
3 pictures (front, side and back) back at least monthly and compare. Try to
take each set under the same circumstances; lighting, time of day, distance,
camera angle, etc. For some reason we have a more realistic view of ourselves in photographs than in a mirror.
·
A simple
seamstress tape (about $1.19 at Wal-Mart)But, to be honest, it’s hard to get an
accurate measurement on yourself.
Build a simple excel spreadsheet or
just a notebook and record your measurements at least monthly. To be accurate
ask someone else to take the measurements. (spouse, workout partner, friend)
Record the
following measurements:
Neck chest
left upper
arm waist
Left forearm left thigh
right upper
arm right
thigh
right
forearm left calf
Right calf Hips
These
measurements won’t give you your body fat percentage but will help you track
you progress.
Be sure to
try to take the measurements at the same location each time.
·
If you don’t
minding spending a little more you can purchase scales that will give you your
weight, body fat percentage, lean mass percentage, and water weight by sending
a small electrical current through you feet (Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis). They are battery operated and you
can’t feel the current at all. Cost has come down lately ranging from $29 to
$69. I can’t suggest any particular
brands. The one I have is several years old. Many gyms have these on site.
·
More accurate
than the scales is a system called EIM (Electrical Impedance Myography). It
works similar to the electronic scales mentioned above by measuring electrical
impedance at several locations on the body thus eliminating much of the error inherent
with measuring impedance through the feet alone. Currently, the devices are
more expensive than the scales. (Around $200)
·
To get a fairly
accurate measurement of your body fat you can purchase an inexpensive set of
calipers complete with instructions and charts at http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/catalog/search-results.jsp#/store/?q=calipers&type=5&key=AllContent
Record your caliper measurements according
to the instructions that come with your calipers. You’ll be taking measurements
on several parts of your body. For more detailed instructions see http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/how-to-measure-your-body-fat.html
Don’t buy the most inexpensive
(about $4). Spring for the $15-$30 choices. Accuracy
is still dependent on you being able to measure at or close to the same point
each time. But calipers are much more accurate than the tape. (The best option in my opinion)
·
A very accurate
method to determine body fat percentage is immersion-they put you in a tank of
water. (Hydrostatic weighing) I doubt the increase in accuracy would be worth
the additional cost. Up to $75 for each visit
·
Dexa-scan. A type
of x-ray and most accurate of all but with a cost of up to $150 per scan.
Accuracy is important. But for our purposes the change
from week to week is much more important.
SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO alphaedgefitness@gmail.com If I don’t
have an answer I’ll try to find someone who does.
nice
ReplyDeleteI think the little things matter. When you don't watch what you eat and drink - the pounds trickle in without you even noticing. I was surprised why I kept on adding weight when I seemed to be eating "just right". My bestfriend pointed me to try the 3 Day Military diet and I realized, sugar and those condiments really pack the weight in - those little things! Thanks to my bestfriend and the new diet, I was able to lose the extra 10 pounds weight and started keeping track of what I eat. Here's a great article to motivate you: http://3daysmilitarydiet.com/faq/healthiest-condiments.html
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