“No one can lose weight forever because they’ll die.” – Bill Campbell PHD
Though I am no where close to the point to where this quote comes into play, it is important for anyone on a weight loss journey to know that there are many other measurables to your success. Wether you just want to shed a few pounds for summer, or you are making considerable lifestyle changes, there is more than just the scale. Realizing that is so crucial in the mental game, and I have learned that first hand recently. My weight has been relatively stagnant since about mid December. But I feel better. My clothes (that was hard for me to spell for some reason) fit better. Its really hard to recognize that when the scale isn’t moving. Im no scientist, but I have been told by people that probably know, there are so many changes that happen in the body when strength training and living a healthier lifestyle. That knowledge is also a double edge sword. It can become a crutch when the scale isn’t moving. The “I’m still doing pretty good, so my body is just changing” can make it easy to get complacent. It is important to find that middle ground of progress is happening, but maybe something else needs to change. I found that middle ground last weekend. There’s a place in Athens called Supreme Nutrition that does free body scans (buy something from them, they seem like good people). It breaks down many different things, but two of the readings helped me mentally with where I’m at and also with what I needed to change going forward. My body fat was lower than I expected which felt like a huge win because of the scale not really moving, but it also gave me my Basal Metabolic Rate (the calories you burn in a day just doing everyday things). That was not quite as high as I expected. The information gained from the body fat percentage and the BSM calculator gave me reassurance that my hard work was paying off, but also made me more conscientious of the calories and macros I needed to be consuming. I was able to make those changes this week, see a little short term reward of the scale movement, and gain motivation to keep trucking along for when I go for the next scan.
Sorry if that was a bit all over the place. TLDR…the scale isn’t the end all be all. Keeping working hard, eating the right amount calories for what you want to do, and being a good person…you’ll be great. Love you all!
Put Your Shoes On 