Losing Weight and Feeling Great

Archive for April, 2008

Did you realize that the scales can lie?  That weight loss isn’t always visible on those scales?  That you may actually be losing all kinds of fat while the number on the scale refuses to budge?

If you don’t know how the scales can lie, you may be giving up on your diet for weight loss far too soon.  You may be far more successful than you think!

Why Scales Can Lie

Scales are wonderful for weighing things, but terrible for describing that weight.  The scales are a number, but not necessarily the final determination if someone is fit or not.  Here’s an example that I’ve seen myself.

A lady by the name of Karen decided to join our weight loss group at work.  According to the scales, she was overweight — 121 pounds at 5" tall.  But no one who looked at Karen would describer her as overweight — the guys all drooled when she walked by. 

Turns out Karen had a part-time job as an aerobics and weight-training instructor for women.  She weighed 121 pounds, but she was solid muscle.  The scales were lying to her.  She didn’t need to lose an ounce.

(Turns out she joined our group for motivation and to make sure she didn’t slack off and gain fat.)

So although the scales were saying Karen was overweight, in reality she was very fit.  The scales don’t measure how much fat we carry.

What Can You Do?

OK, so the scales can lie — how can you tell?  Here are some tips for you to use:

• Weight yourself one a week at most.  Weighing yourself every day can be counter-productive — one night with some salty foods and you balloon 3 pounds.  No, take your weight once a week to see your overall progress.
• Take your measurements once a week.   The scales can lie in that you may be losing fat but replacing it with muscle.  Your weight may  seem like it’s stuck, but your fat is disappearing and your clothes are getting looser.
• Get a BMI (Body Mass Index) caliper — or use the old pinch test.  While the caliper is more accurate, how much (or as you lose weight, how little) skin you can pinch will show you the progress you’ve made.

Now in an ideal world, all three of these would keep going down at once.  But that doesn’t always happen.  If you go only be the scales, you may think you’re not losing weight when you are actually losing all kinds of fat.  You may be successful and not even realize it!

While there are BMI scales, they tend to be quite expensive.  But if you seriously want to keep track of your BMI compared to your weight, they can take out a lot of the guesswork.

So sure, regular scales are good for measuring overall weight progress, you have to take into consideration your measurements.  Inches count, too!

In my previous post, I talked about saggy skin on your face, and how you can combat it with Facercises.  Now let’s talk about the rest of your body.

Summer is coming, and that means more revealing clothes — shorts, bathing suits, short sleeves and tank tops.  If you’re like me, you avoid all of them!  (Well, maybe except for the short sleeves.)  Maybe now is the time to do something about it.

Yes, I know — exercise is not my favorite thing in the world.  And I’m limited in what I can do because of the sciatica (although that is getting better as I lose the weight).  And I don’t have much time to spare in my days.  So, does this sound familiar — something like you?

I think I may have found something that even I can do, and in 15 minutes a day.  Low impact, and inexpensive.  So, I had to investigate.  I have to do something, especially since my weight loss has slowed way down — time to add at least a tiny bit of exercise.

So, I bought Denise Austin’s book Sculpt Your Body with Balls and Bands: Shed Pounds and Get Firm in 12 Minutes a Day.  What did I have to lose?

Anyway, Denise explains how you can use a balance ball and some resistance bands to tone and trim your body.  Get your metabolism revved up some.  De-sag your muscles with exercises that attack your problem spots, whatever they are.

Denise’s book is well laid out and easy to follow.  The exercises themselves are demonstrated in photos that show the exercises from start to finish.  So far, so good.  She even has sample exercise routines that cover your whole body — or you can design your own workout with her guidance.

Ok — 12 minutes a day.  Low impact.  Inexpensive.  Meets my criteria.

So, I’m going to give it a shot.  I’ll take my measurements tomorrow and start the exercises.  I’ll post my results at 2 week intervals.  I’ve slowed down to 1/2 pound a week on my diet alone, so let’s see what this does — will I start losing weight faster again?

Why not join me?  Get a copy of the book at your local bookstore, or order it online (use the link above).  Same thing with the balance ball and resistance bands — go to a sports store and grab some, or order your stability ball and stretch band set online, too (use the links).

It’s 12 minutes a day.  Your body is worth it.  Low impact, inexpensive and you can do it in the privacy of your own home.  Let’s do it together and post your results!  Join in anytime — I’d love to have you try it and get your opinion, too.