Tipping The Scales
"The best measure of a man's honesty isn't his income tax return. It's the zero adjust on his bathroom scale. " ~ Arthur C. Clarke
H ow often should I weigh myself? This is one of the most discussed questions, where everyone seems to have a different answer. Most of the books & articles that I have read over the years advise to weight yourself no more than once per week......sometimes only once a month.
Personally I've always found weighing myself once a week to be inaccurate, misleading and flatout frustrating......here's why: Weight fluctuates from day to day. If it happens to fluctuate up on the day you weight yourself it looks like you had a bad week. If it happens to fluctuate down it might show a loss when there was none. This also throws off the following week and makes it next to impossible to figure out where you went wrong or right.
This is why I prefer to weight myself daily, first thing in the morning after I get up (and relieve myself). I then record my results (weight & body fat %) in a notebook. At the end of the week I add up the results for the entire week and divide by 7 to get my average.
Example: July 11th - 17th (actual results)
Tues. July 11th, 237.8 lbs @ 33.4% BF
Wed. July 12th, 236.0 lbs @ 33.8% BF
Thurs. July 13th, 234.8 lbs @ 34.0% BF
Fri. July 14th, 236.0 lbs @ 33.3% BF
Sat. July 15th, 236.0 lbs @ 32.6% BF
Sun. July 16th, 235.2 lbs @ 32.0 BF
Mon. July 17th, 235.0 lbs @ 32.7 BF
Weight: 237.8 + 236.0 + 234.8 + 236.0 + 236.0 + 235.2 + 235.0 = 1650.8 / 7 = 235.8 lbs
BF: 33.4 + 33.8 + 34.0 + 33.3 + 32.6 + 32.0 + 32.7 = 231.8 / 7 = 33.1%
I use a Tanita BF-680 scale (about 2yrs old now).
So there you have it.......my own personal method to track my weight loss. I'm not saying that its the best way or even the right way to do it............its just the method that seems to work for me.
Keep in mind that weight loss isn't the only means of tracking your progress. How do you feel? Are your clothes getting looser or tighter? Do you feel stronger, healthier, leaner? Your own perceptions can be the most valuable tools to help you track your weight control progress.
Personally I've always found weighing myself once a week to be inaccurate, misleading and flatout frustrating......here's why: Weight fluctuates from day to day. If it happens to fluctuate up on the day you weight yourself it looks like you had a bad week. If it happens to fluctuate down it might show a loss when there was none. This also throws off the following week and makes it next to impossible to figure out where you went wrong or right.
This is why I prefer to weight myself daily, first thing in the morning after I get up (and relieve myself). I then record my results (weight & body fat %) in a notebook. At the end of the week I add up the results for the entire week and divide by 7 to get my average.
Example: July 11th - 17th (actual results)
Tues. July 11th, 237.8 lbs @ 33.4% BF
Wed. July 12th, 236.0 lbs @ 33.8% BF
Thurs. July 13th, 234.8 lbs @ 34.0% BF
Fri. July 14th, 236.0 lbs @ 33.3% BF
Sat. July 15th, 236.0 lbs @ 32.6% BF
Sun. July 16th, 235.2 lbs @ 32.0 BF
Mon. July 17th, 235.0 lbs @ 32.7 BF
Weight: 237.8 + 236.0 + 234.8 + 236.0 + 236.0 + 235.2 + 235.0 = 1650.8 / 7 = 235.8 lbs
BF: 33.4 + 33.8 + 34.0 + 33.3 + 32.6 + 32.0 + 32.7 = 231.8 / 7 = 33.1%
I use a Tanita BF-680 scale (about 2yrs old now).
So there you have it.......my own personal method to track my weight loss. I'm not saying that its the best way or even the right way to do it............its just the method that seems to work for me.
Keep in mind that weight loss isn't the only means of tracking your progress. How do you feel? Are your clothes getting looser or tighter? Do you feel stronger, healthier, leaner? Your own perceptions can be the most valuable tools to help you track your weight control progress.
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