Is the number on the scale a good measure of fitness progress, or lack thereof?
If you woke up tomorrow and had lost all your muscles overnight, would the number on the scale be lower? You betcha!! I think you'd agree that this would NOT be actual progress in terms of your health and wellness. If you started doing strength training and building muscle consistently, would the number on the scale go up? Heck yes, since muscle weight more than fat. Would it be bad that the scale has gone up due to more muscle on your body? Considering that muscle is a great partner in good metabolic health, I would say you want to maximize the amount of muscle you have on your body! Increasing muscle is a great thing, even though it makes the number on the scale go up. Did you know that Elvis had 40 pounds of poop in his colon when he passed away?! Not sure if that's actually true or an urban legend repeated in magazines, but many of us can benefit from having more regular bowel movements, and this can absolutely impact the number on the scale. These are just some of the reasons I don't like using the weight on the scale as the only way to measure progress with health goals, or lack of it. The weight on the scale is ONE data point. It can be interesting to track it occasionally for information, but it shouldn't be the only data point we use. Below are data points I prefer to use more consistently in terms of measuring progress with health and wellness... How do I feel? Do I feel generally balanced and fit, happy and peaceful, empowered around making healthy choices frequently and at peace with the choices I make? Do I feel strong when I engage in movement? Do I see muscle definition? Do my clothes fit well? There are machines which can measure your percentage of muscle and body fat, and even the health of your bones. I haven't actually tried one yet, but those might also be a better data point in terms of progress than the scale. How do you measure your progress towards your health and wellness goals, fellow Thriver? Do you use the scale, as part of that picture?