Stop weighing yourself every day. Or every week, even. Here’s the thing: muscle weighs more than fat. So when you first start working out, you are probably going to be gaining muscle and losing fat, but since the muscle weighs more than the fat, you may not be losing pounds on the scale. It’s discouraging to keep weighing yourself and not seeing any change. Right now, I am the heaviest I have ever been, aside from being pregnant, and I am in the best shape of my life.
So, how should you be tracking your weight loss? You should be taking measurements. I’ve even created a handy-dandy worksheet for you to keep track of your progress. To measure your body fat you will need a body fat caliper. I did include a weight section, but you should only be stepping on the scale once per month. Let me repeat that: ONCE PER MONTH.
Here’s Why this is important: anyone can get discouraged if they feel like all of the work that they are doing isn’t amounting to anything. Weight is such a small factor in overall fitness that it really shouldn’t even be considered. What you should be considering is your overall health. Are you fitting into your clothes better? Are you reducing your body fat percentage? Are you losing inches (or gaining inches if you are trying to build muscle)? Taking measurements like this allows you to see your overall progress in a much more realistic way than just looking at a number on a scale.
If after 30 days you aren’t seeing any changes, it is probably time to change things up. If you are interested in finding the workout/nutritional plan that is right for you, I would be happy to help you! Just shoot me an email at hello@hereswhyfitness.com.