To weigh or not to weigh?

How to best track your fat loss goals and maintain your achievements.

Just as there are many options of diets when it comes to lose weight, there are many opinions on how to best maintain.

And reality is, it’s just not that complex or complicated.

In a previous blog, I discussed why diets and dieting doesn’t work long term… change and lasting transformation for both aesthetics and health benefits requires lifestyle change with proper nutrition.

I have also already discussed how you can create maintenance ease by reaching the “Sweet Spot” balance between your percentage of body fat and percentage of muscle. This too requires lifestyle change incorporating workouts with weights 3 to 5 days each week.

Today, we are going to be discussing how we can use the scale to maintain so that we never allow our weight and body percentages to become unhealthy again.

When we are in a healthy place mentally, physically, and emotionally there is no better feedback than the scale; and more importantly, the percentages it reports . This feedback let’s us know if we have eaten too many calories, and/ or too much salt, and/ or not hydrating enough etc.

Basically, it keeps us out of mental denial when our pants are feeling a bit more snug and in reality of truth that the pants are more snug because we have simply increased our calories or decreased our exercise habits.

We just simply have to remember that it’s feedback not judgement that allows us to adjust accordingly… and we have to learn our own bodies natural cycle of weight and reaction to foods.

I am going to share what I do with my clients which is my own personal maintenance routine that is simple and it works!

I like things simple that work, don’t you?

STEP 1: 30 Day Food Journaling

Grab a notebook and literally start writing down all foods and liquids taken in.

STEP 2: 30 Day Twice A Day Weigh- In

That’s right, for 30 days you will wake up pee and before you do anything else get naked and weigh in. This gives us our daily baseline weight.

During this 30 day period you will just before bed get naked again and weigh in. This gives us our daily tally weight after food and drink etc.

Both men and woman have monthly cycles that naturally fluctuate weight. For woman, this is more extreme due to menstruation. For example, my body weight increases 5 lbs before my monthly starts and the 5 lbs goes away by day 3 after the start. It’s just water retention! We are each different.

The foods and liquid we choose also has a huge impact on daily tally weight. When I eat out I weigh more than I do when I eat at home. I cook and eat much cleaner at home because I am controlling salt, types of oil used, and how good is cooked compared to when I eat out.

Does this mean I won’t eat out- NO. Again we are building and supporting a truly fit and healthy lifestyle. Obsessive behavior is not part of a fit abs healthy lifestyle!

Doing this exercise and learning our bodies actually creates calm because we have clear understanding. We learn what’s temporary and what’s not!

It helps us make better decisions and choices based on how we feel.

STEP 3: Daily Weigh Ins

Beyond the 30 days twice a day the best method for maintenance I have found and personally practice is daily weigh ins.

Why?

Quite simple, it keeps you honest!

Weighing in every morning after you pee naked and before any thing else including exercise, coffee, water, etc.

How does it keep you honest?

Because you now know your average daily weight. If you gradually see the number of the scale increasing a few days in a row you can adjust and immediately correct nutrition with minor adjustment versus feeling like you now have to restrict to lose.

Reminder, the number on the scale is just feedback. Don’t worry about the number if your body percentage of fat and muscle are in alignment. Muscle weighs more than fat and yet it makes us tighter, leaner, and looking good both in and out of clothes.

I love it when the number on the scale increases when my percentage of muscle increases. After all that is truly how we reach body goals!

If you have any questions regarding this blog or creating change to live a healthy and fit lifestyle please email me Alex@OneBadAssBITCH.com. I am here to help!