The scale should NOT have that much control over us!

It's the dieter's worst enemy....the scale! It holds so much more power over our lives than it should. 

Are you the type that religiously checks the scale every week, or even every day?

How does that make you feel when the number you see is not what you had hoped for? I know that it ruins my day or even my week. It tends to stick with you, that feeling of disappointment. "I thought I was doing everything right!" 

Or, the numbers show a great drop and you are overjoyed. "See, I was right. I felt like I lost and I did!" You want to celebrate and share it with the world.
I am not saying that you have no right to feel this way I just want to share with you that you shouldn't base your happiness on a number you see on the scale.

You are looking in the mirror and liking what you see. Your clothes are starting to fit better or even fall off. Why on earth would the scale then say that you have gained 3lbs?

In doing research for this blog and really for myself to understand what was happening and why I should really just throw away my scale, I found this very informative article by metaboliceffect.com. There article helps to give examples of how deceiving our the scale can be.

I found that research states that muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. It just takes up less space than fat does, which is one of the many reasons why you should be lifting weights. There are such wonderful health benefits to weight lifting.

What could be causing the scale to say something different?

There are many reasons why the scale could tell you something that you really don't feel....especially if you are a woman. We have that dreaded "time of the month" that has us retaining water and feeling miserable.

You might also retain water if you like food that is high in salt content. Ditch the soy sauce! And also the scale will say something totally different if you step on it first thing in the morning before eating and then again later in the day after meals.

I once had a health coach tell me that I needed to weigh myself at least 3 times a day!! I was so depressed by this experiment I ended up staying away from the scale for months. There are better ways to tell how your body is changing.

Can I have a healthy relationship with my scale?

I would recommend that if you feel you need to have a scale, which most of us do. It's a hard relationship to end! Just do NOT leave it out where you can step on it often. Put it away, out of site out of mind. When you are getting ready to start a new program and are curious what your starting and end weights are, then pull it out and use it the once but it put it back away. Don't worry about if you are getting there by a number, go by how it makes you feel.


*Do you use a scale? What way do you  measure your body?

How much sleep you get does matter

Are you the type of person who could spend all day in bed or do you enjoy getting up at the crack of dawn and go until the ten o'clock news comes on.

I use to not think that I needed that much sleep and never felt like I was missing out. When my body wanted up, I got up and if I had things to do then I would think that I needed to get them done instead of going to bed, never thinking anything of it.

That is not the case since starting weight training. I am up early to get my workout in, to start my day off early. If I have things I need to get done then I try to get done what I can because when my body says it's tired, then I listen and go to bed, even if I had things to do.

Do you feel like it's OK to push your body, missing out on sleep?

When your body gives you the signal that it needs sleep, you should listen. Why? This is the time when your body gets to recover from the stress you put it through during the day. It's like when you are sick and all you want to do is sleep. Your body knows when it needs sleep and when it needs to recover from something.

If you feel like there are other things that are more important than getting adequate sleep, your body will show you signs, even as soon as 48 hours after you have been missing out on a good nights sleep. Why should that matter? Well, it's not as easy to lift heavy weights if you are groggy and unable to focus. That is when injuries happen. 


How can you help get those zzz's?

Set an alarm and stick to it, every day.  Make it a routine, even if it is an off day, stick to the same routine. If you fluctuate all over the place sleeping different times each day.

Make sure your room is dark, any light can disturb your sleep. Try not to sleep with the tv on or even keep it out of your bedroom all together.

Don't do a hard workout before bed, that will raise your heart rate and make it harder to get in a state of calm or even eat a big meal after 5 or 6, especially things containing caffeine.