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Following the Festive Season are you battling<br />
with your scales to lose the holiday weight you<br />
gained or pressuring yourself into meeting your<br />
New Year’s Resolution to lose weight?<br />
As a Personal Trainer I find there are two types of<br />
clients; the client who is obsessed with being<br />
weighed and the client that dreads the prospect of<br />
being weighed. My philosophy with most things in<br />
life is about balance and this philosophy also applies<br />
to weighing yourself or being weighed.<br />
The key things to remember when weighing yourself<br />
are;<br />
Weigh at the same time of day, preferably first<br />
thing in the morning.<br />
Consistency - if you weighed yourself naked last<br />
time, and/or before breakfast then do the<br />
same again the next time. Keep your<br />
hydration levels consistent as this influences<br />
what you way on the scales (more on this<br />
later).<br />
Set a specific day and time in the week that you<br />
know you will stick to.<br />
Weighing scales are the most common choice<br />
when measuring personal progress against weight<br />
loss. But are they the most reliable?<br />
After working with hundreds of clients over the<br />
years, I have seen cases where the client‘s<br />
appearance will drastically change; clothing size will<br />
drop, but no immediate weight loss on the scales.<br />
This outcome for some can be an obstacle when<br />
continuing on a weight loss programme as the person<br />
can question ―what is the point‖? For someone<br />
obsessed with weight loss this can be seriously<br />
demotivating.<br />
Our body weight is made up of fat, muscle mass,<br />
bone mass, visceral fat (around our abdomen/organs)<br />
and water content/hydration. When using traditional<br />
weighing scales all we see is our total weight made<br />
up of all of the above. Therefore we cannot see the<br />
breakdown of what is truly important, which is a<br />
drop in body fat and an increase in muscle.<br />
To find out these vital statistics, it is more valuable<br />
to weigh using a body composition monitor. This<br />
retails from around £30 online. I recommend the<br />
omron BF511 which retails for around £40.00 online<br />
If you prefer not to weigh yourself at all or you do<br />
not want to invest in the body composition<br />
scales then it would be beneficial to measure<br />
yourself once a week with a measuring tape, or<br />
your clothing to observe your progress,<br />
depending on how well a specific item of<br />
clothing fits from week to week.<br />
My final tips<br />
It is important to choose a method of<br />
measurement to track your progress that<br />
feels right for you.<br />
On your weight loss journey avoid<br />
comparing your progress with others as<br />
this just adds unnecessary pressure.<br />
Try measuring your success in other ways.<br />
Such as improvement in your energy<br />
levels, improved mood, better<br />
concentration and improved fitness.<br />
Sharon Mercieca