We always knew that failing to plan is planning to fail. In fat loss, failing to measure is also planning to fail.
Numbers matter, but is it the full story of fat loss and dieting?
The Number 1 thing that we have most of our clients (not ALL) do is to weigh themselves regularly and consistently. But it’s not the full story yet. We are only weighing ourselves regularly to create a consistent flow of data collection over time to understand how our body responds to the diet, training, cardio, sleep, and stress. Eventually, we will start making changes here and there to make sure that we are on the right track of progress.
So, HOW SHOULD YOU WEIGH YOURSELF?
We typically advise our clients to weigh themselves as consistently as possible. It's best to even be done at a similar time of day, under very similar conditions. If John’s typical schedule is to wake up by 7AM, he should then weigh himself first thing in the morning at 7AM, as regularly as possible.
A let’s be real here, there’s always a first pee in the morning, it’s also not unhygienic to mention that poo, too. If you do that regularly, then yes, please weigh yourself after your typical routine. This will certainly help create a consistent pattern in your measurement.
On top of that, it’s recommended to weigh yourself dry — without any food or drinks. This is to make sure our condition stays as consistent as possible. The amount of water/coffee/tea/juice we drink may vary, breakfast size will also vary. So it’s best that we stay away from these to weigh ourselves, completely empty, first thing in the morning.
Finally, strip yourself to be left with only undergarments. This is going to phase out any unnecessary question marks in your head when you weigh yourself. And again, do this very CONSISTENTLY.
Lets put it into a real-life scenario here:
John wakes up at 7AM, rolls on the bed for another 10-15mins, he gets up and immediately runs into the toilet. Peed. Poo-ed. Now John should step right on his weighing scale, placed right outside (or in) his toilet, immediately after using the toilet, without drinking or eating anything, with only boxers on.
Side note:
Personally, I recommend placing the weighing scale right outside (or in) the toilet as a daily reminder to weigh yourself. And I highly discourage moving the scale around the house, it really does make a difference in the numbers. And I call that an unwanted fluctuation.
Fun fact:
Of course, we, professionals in the fitness industry, are no different. We rely heavily on the weighing scale to understand how much progress we have made and how far off we are from our goal too. This is the cheapest and easiest way to keep ourselves on track. Unfortunately, it may not be the most accurate way to ensure that we are losing fats effectively. Meantime, we also have to make sure that we are preserving as much muscle as we can so that we don't look “skinny fat” in the end.
Similarly, we highly encourage our clients to focus on Losing Fats not just Weight [we will cover Weight Loss vs Fats Loss soon!].
Last but not least, weighing yourself is not the most precise way of understanding or predicting your fat loss progress. But it is certainly the quickest and cheapest way to do daily, and consistently.
Other accessible alternatives?
We do recommend a few here:
1) waistline measurement (even your thigh, arms and hips!)
2) skinfold calipers measurement
3) weekly photo comparison
Disclaimer: Far too often, we get too caught up with the numbers on the scale. As if everyone evaluates you with the numbers on your weighing scale. Truth be told, nobody knows your numbers, let alone a different person with the same height will weigh differently too. This depends on our genetics, anatomy, fats distribution, and etc.
Now, this is how you should be tracking your weight consistently and effectively. However, the weight fluctuates every single day. Is that okay? Perfectly fine. We have been very far deep into this conversation today. I will just wrap it here and continue WEIGHT FLUCTUATION next time. Please dial in for more.
If you have any questions about Fat Loss or Personal Training, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at Level Up Gym, one-north!
Comments