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I've discussed this often with clients over the years and just had one this morning in regards to "that number" on the scale. "That number" for many people becomes a barrier, a bully and an absolute "spike belt" on the road to your goals. In recent years, I've become more protective of my clients mindset, doing my best to try to help keep them on track to success rather than the stereotypical vicious health cycle our society stays on.
Lets review: The number on the scale takes into account several things...
-Fat mass
-Lean mass
-Body fluid / water
-Internal organs
-Bone mass
(I may even be missing some...)
Still to this day, with all the information out there (good and bad), we act like the number on the scale is showing us our "fat" mass only.
Modern humans have put SO MUCH importance into that number that it has become the deciding factor of whether you have a good day or a bad day, and whether or not your internal bully is "pounding you to a pulp" all day long or not.
Let's review what "that number" on the scale DOES NOT tell us...
-If your foundational nutrition skills are consistent and going well (eating slowly, eating to 80% full, feeling satisifed with your meals, having a healthy relationship with food...)
-If we're sleeping better (quality and quantity)
-If our clothes are fitting better
-If our moods are more balanced
-If we are stronger and feel we have more endurance
-If our mindset is more along the lines of LIFESTYLE vs "diet" or "6-week program"
-If you have more energy
-If you're enjoying your daily health practices and lifestyle
I have connected with so many people over the years in the industry who let "that number" determine their mood, self confidence, inner dialogue etc... The scarier side (in my experience), in my nearly 23 years in this industry I can absolutely say that anyone I've worked with who has that mentality has NEVER BEEN HAPPY with themselves or their body. They are ALWAYS CHASING some number and never recognizing any of the positives they ARE doing for their health and wellbeing. They are always "falling off the wagon". They are always coming back to their health in the same way, with similar results.
Muscle vs Fat
Most folks nowadays know that muscle weighs more than fat. It also takes up less space! That said, we still become obsessed with the number on the scale despite saying we understand this fact. Most humans want FAT loss. They want less body fat. Muscle, since it takes up less space is a lean tissue and a metabolically active tissue. It uses energy just to be there. Fat - not so much. Fat is stored energy. Fat takes more space. So irregardless of our weight, if we decrease our BODY FAT percentage and have more lean mass, we are going to look and feel good!
Scale Weight Fluctuates NATURALLY (because we're complex!)
The obsessed scale watchers hop on, on a daily basis and determine whether they are "doing good" or "doing bad" based on what pops up that day. Yet, the body and it's amazingly complex physiology causes natural fluctuations in weight daily (even throughout the day!). It's been proven time and time again by science. Many of us say "Oh I know! But I just 'need' to see it to 'keep me on track'". To each their own. But when something such as STRESS/HORMONES can cause a weight fluctuation and you see the number as a sign your "diet or exercise" has been bad... well ... you see where I'm going with this? It becomes a vicious cycle and we started getting more frustrated or pressuring ourselves in areas that maybe are JUST FINE and actually not paying attention to areas of our health that ARE causing our physiology to move in the opposite direction of our goals.
With that said, we have NO CONTROL over the number on the scale. Even if you are disciplined with your routines and eating over a couple weeks, you CANNOT determine what the scale will show:
-You may be up a pound or two
-You may be down a pound or two
-You may be down several pounds
-You may have stayed the same
-You may be up several pounds
WE HAVE NO CONTROL over THAT NUMBER!!! We only have control over our habits, daily practices and the consistency of those. From there, whatever our complex physiology is going to do, it's going to do. We can ONLY provide the environment and stimulus for change - Mother Nature does the rest. Humans are MORE COMPLEX than a simple number. The more we understand that fact, the less stress we will load onto ourselves.
Mindset is the SECRET we've all been searching for
With our health practices, humans can do so many things to be healthier and happier. It's different for all of us. That's the beautiful side of nature - there are many paths to positive change. What IS a standard across the board is whether or not your mindset and approach to your health practices IS actually working FOR YOU or AGAINST YOU (and not ignoring that fact).
A client of mine this morning was chatting about how she's not happy with her weight right now. To give some context:
-She had some surgery recently and had to stop sessions for a short time
-She is a very busy, hard working single parent
-She started back to sessions in the studio just in mid-October (4-weeks from the time I'm posting this)
Coming back post surgery her goal was to get her walks and routines back into play. She's actually targeting 1000km total walking since we've been tracking things in my app (she was 100km away 2-weeks ago and has the goal to hit the 1000km before Christmas... She's totally going to hit that! Awesome!).
-Her walking and the consistency goal of it has been intact without question (which she's happy about).
-She has been dealing with some foot/lower leg discomfort, so we've tackled that and it's progressed really well (which she's happy about).
These are good things. Which she agrees.
She knows her nutrition has not been great and therefore sees that as a barrier to her weight loss goals. I don't disagree. That said, one thing we ARE working with again is helping her focus on ONE GOAL AT A TIME. As a busy single parent, she has enough on her plate than trying to focus on several health goals all at once - especially when they will roll into each other as we progress her anyway.
This morning she brought up how she's not happy with the number on the scale. Her last weigh in (recorded in the app) she was down almost 2lbs in less than 2-weeks - WHICH IS EXCELLENT AND SUSTAINABLE! We discussed not only that fact, but also the fact that it's trending in the right direction. THIS IS A GOOD THING. THEN... in the same conversation... she talks about how this past weekend she was able to fit into this red dress she wore to her boyfriend's work Christmas party!! Why is this a big deal you ask?? Because just back in August on their cruise, she tried to put it on and said "NOPE" and had to wear something else. She was totally not comfortable wearing it then.
THIS IS WHERE WE CREATE A BARRIER TO PROGRESS AND OUR OWN SUCCESS!!!
Less than 3-mths ago, this dress, that she happily and confidently wore to a Christmas party with lots of people this past weekend, was not even an option for her!!!
This means there HAS BEEN POSITIVE CHANGE!!!
She's clearly losing inches and leaning up, not to mention she's DOWN weight overall. The reality is however, many of us allow our inner dialogue to bully us simply based on that number on the scale. Which in this case, could sabotage GOOD MOMENTUM AND POSITIVE CHANGE.
*******
Another quick mindset story (that I may have already shared in a past post) was this past spring when I started to work with the (former) women's weight loss group. This group did WEEKLY weigh ins and for decades celebrated "the number". To each their own. After I came in, we evolved the group into a women's health and lifestyle group focusing on health practices, self compassion and the good things these women ARE doing for their health first and foremost. Not taking away any of their goals (weight loss or otherwise), but helping them focus on the PROCESS rather than the OUTCOME, while feeling GOOD about themselves rather than beating themselves up based on a number.
Back in the spring, the ladies would do their weigh ins before I arrived (for those who wanted to do so). One of the ladies couldn't stay for our meeting that night, so I crossed paths with her as she was leaving after her weigh in and I was coming in;
"Hey! How you doing?" I asked
"Well, not good now" she replied (Because of what she saw on the scale)
Despite making positive changes to her health practices and putting in the effort to better her health and wellbeing, "that number" alone, determined "how she felt" that day.
*Fast forward to now (mid-fall of the same year), of the 5-6 of those who have stuck with the group and seen the benefit of our approach, rarely do they weigh in! One woman in particular who struggled (I've been told) for a long time is now taking amazing steps in her health practices, self-confidence and recognizing the good she's doing and how good she's feeling!! Which the scale never gave her. Her mindset and HOW she approached her health DID!
If you'd like to learn more about mindset, daily health practices and how to create a lifestyle approach that is LESS STRESSFUL and that WORKS FOR YOU, connect with me! I'd be happy to chat more about the approach that so many are connecting with and feeling better about themselves!
As a supplement to read, feel free to check out this article from Precision Nutrition.