WAIT, STOP! What a messed up way to track your progress!
In it’s very simplest form, the scale (your overall weight) can be a good tool. BUT it can’t be the only tool you use to track your weight loss progress. When starting out, 95% of us will need to lose some weight. We have too much body fat and want to get leaner. That is going to make you weigh less. As I’ve discussed before, it’s a really slow process to try to lose body fat while also building muscle. The idea that you can maintain your weight, or even gain weight, as you get ripped is more of a fantasy than a reality. So I’ve encouraged you to focus on one goal at a time. And in most cases, that turns into losing body fat and getting ripped first… Which means losing weight.
This can lead a lot of people to start focusing on the scale. I think you should record your overall weight as you work through program. It’s another piece of information that you can use to understand the complete picture of your weight loss and transformation. If this is your first program, I wouldn’t measure your weight more than once a month. Record your weight for day 0, 30, 60, and 90. Beyond that, put the scale away!
If you have been doing this for a while, you can record your weight more frequently. Checking your weight (along with some other measurements) is a great way to dial in your maintenance calories or check if the surplus you’re running is the right one for your bulking goals. But make sure to take your weight at the same time each day you do. Early morning, right upon waking, is best and more consistent.
So if I shouldn’t focus ONLY on weight, what should I look at?
- BODY FAT
- Getting good at measuring and tracking your body fat is a great way to get a more complete picture of your transformation. Overall body composition is high on the list of most people’s goals. We want lower body fat for aesthetic reasons but more importantly, excess body fat is not healthy. I like using body fat calipers (cheap on Amazon). I also found a great online tool to enter your measurements in for a quick calculation of body fat. Check out HOW TO MEASURE YOUR BODY FAT.
- Body Measurements
- You should also be recording how your body is changing. This would include taking the circumference of various body parts. Beachbody does a great job of showing you what to track in your program guides. Some of the most common measurements people take are: arms, legs, hips, waist, chest, and neck.
- Pictures
- Take those pictures!!! Really I mean it. Day-to-day you may not be able to notice much difference in how you look, but if you put a pair of pictures side-by-side that were taken 30 days apart, you’ll see your progress. Even if you never show them to anyone else, you will want to make sure you have pictures of your transformation. Save them in a password-protected folder on your computer even. Just take them!
- Subjective Measures
- These measurements are little subjective but there also important to record. Think about how you feel. What type of energy do you have through the day? Have daily tasks become easier since you started working out? How has your mood been? How are workouts going? What you see in the mirror?
How do all of these interact with your weight?
The big two are body fat percentage and overall weight. If you know these 2 numbers, you can have a pretty complete picture of your body composition. Let’s look at some examples that normally worry people.
1.) No weight loss: Oh no! The scale hasn’t moved for 2 weeks!
If you’ve also been recording your body fat percentage you can go back and look at it. If you’ve lost body fat but maintained weight, what you think has happened? Well you’ve been able to cut some body fat while even adding some muscle, resulting in no overall weight change. This will happen best if you’re at maintenance, but if you’re relatively new to working out, you’re actually a little more likely to have this happen. Your body will react very well to weight training if it’s new to you.
I hope you can see there would be nothing to worry about in this case. So what the number hasn’t gone down. You have more muscle and less fat. #winning
2.) Oh no weight gain!!!
Again, if you been recording your body fat percentage you can look back at. Has your body fat percentage increased? If no, then your weight gain could be one of 2 things. You could have added some muscle or you could just be retaining some water. Many people, as they start their transformations, will have a time where there body is adjusting. This can cause water retention. As long as your body fat is not increased, there is nothing to worry about.
If you check your body fat percentage and it has increased, then you’ve probably gained some body fat. Maybe you haven’t been as dialed in as you’re telling everyone. Maybe those weekend cheats are more than you think. Or maybe the deficit you’re running is not actually a deficit for your metabolic capacity. In any case, you’ll have a clearer picture of what’s going on if your record more than just your weight. There may be nothing to worry about, but you won’t know unless you have more information.
3.) Yes! Weight LOSS!!!
Great right?! You bet it is. But if you also record your body fat percentage, you can check out what type of weight loss you’ve had.
If you go back and look at your body fat percentage, and it has not gone down, you’ve either lost a little muscle or water weight. Maybe you cycled off a creatine and that can account for the loss of water weight. This could also tell you you’re running too large of deficit and you haven’t been able to maintain your muscle mass. So are you running Fat Shredder? Are you still lifting heavy? Are you throwing an extra cardio think you know help but really hurting your ability to maintain mass? Those are all good questions to ask yourself if you think you’ve been losing muscle mass.
***Don’t make this worry you too much though. Really only focus on this if you are getting really lean. If you are starting out, you will lose fat and not muscle. As guys and gals go for super ripped, this can be a concern. Run a 600-1000 calorie deficit and get your protein in and you will be set.***
And now just think about other situations, and I see them all the time… People that haven’t lost weight according to the scale. But then you start to think about all your other measures.
“I feel fantastic! My pants are getting loose! I’m killing all my numbers in my workouts!” Does that one number on the scale matter at that point? NO!!!
“I have so much energy! I showed my wife my Day 0 and Day 30 and she could pick out 5 places that look way better to her.” Does that one number on the scale matter at that point? NO!!!
“I’ve never slept so well in all my life. My joints feel so good! I think I am thinking more clearly!?!” Does that one number on the scale matter at that point? NO!!!
So don’t stress over the scale. And at the same time, don’t completely throw it out. Use it for what it is. A single tool.
You are more than one number.
- How are your feeling?
- How are your clothes fitting?
- How are you energy levels?
- How are you sleeping?
- How are your workouts?
- What’s your BF% doing?
- What do your day 0,30,60…. pics look like side by side?
Now ALL those measurements paint a complete picture!
Need a coach?
My email: coachwayne@teamripped.com
IG: @wayne_wyatt
