Weighing yourself regularly could actually do more harm than good
Is the weighing scale a friend or a foe to your new year goals?
If you made a resolution (or intention) to reach a weight loss goal to supplement your general health and wellbeing this year, you’re not the only one. Studies show that weight loss and exercise remain the most popular New Year resolution by far. One would imagine that stepping on the bathroom scale is what every fitness coach prescribes to stay on track with a new diet and fitness plan. And certainly, there are enough studies to validate that weighing in regularly can help maintain long-term weight loss. If you’re trying to hit a specific number, weighing yourself is a means to reach the goal—for some people. For some people, if the number of the scale is not moving, or not changing fast enough, it can feel very frustrating, and may even dissuade some from pursuing the goals further. We spoke to an athlete and founder of a wellness retreat, Nikhil Kapur, and celebrity fitness coach Eefa Shrof about whether you should step on the scale to measure your progress, or leave it behind.
It all depends on your body type, weight loss goal and personality type
While you must weigh yourself before the start of any weight loss plan, the frequency at which you monitor your weight depends on your fitness goal and personality type. “If your self-esteem is linked to the fluctuating numbers on the scales, then stepping on the scales every day can actually stand in the way of success,” states celebrity fitness coach and nutritionist Eefa Shrof. If you have lost some weight, it can lead to a feeling that you can reward yourself, and if the numbers on the scale veer higher, it can lead to disappointment. “More than being an encouraging indicator, it could be frustrating to some that even after diet restrictions and gym sessions the scales are not tipping in their favour,” explains Shrof. For those who find measuring goals a positive reinforcement, a weigh-in can keep goals on track, but if you are a perfectionist, it’s better to practice restraint. Shrof recommends weighing once a week or fortnightly to give the body time to adapt to its new routine. Gradually, as you get into a regular fitness regime and start observing the positive results, your emotional relationship with the scales can also improve.
As a regular practice, Ironman triathlete Nikhil Kapur checks his weight on the scale every 10-15 days. But he admits that there have been times when he has been on a specific diet and has checked his weight daily. “This helps to understand how your body reacts to food, exercise and sleep on a real-time basis. Frankly, the long-term strategy can’t be to check weight daily. It will be frustrating in the majority of the cases. However, if you are on a mission to accomplish a body goal, you can check your weight every alternate day,” states Kapur, also the co-founder of Atmantan Wellness Retreat in Pune.
Shrof cautions against setting unreasonable fat loss goals. “The truth is, without going on an unhealthy fad diet, you can only expect to lose 500 grams per week at best. Don’t expect to lose 5 kilos in a week, because even if you do, it’s not going to be all fat, and losing muscle is not good,” she adds.
Mistakes you might be making while weighing yourself
Being consistent while weighing yourself is necessary to record an accurate number. Most professionals say that the best time to do it is in the morning, after the body has had a full night to digest food. If you weighed yourself in the morning on an empty stomach, and then weighed yourself the next night, those numbers can’t serve as reference points against each other. Also, stick to the same scale. A scale at the gym might be calibrated differently from the one sitting in your bathroom.
When you lose weight, you lose more than just fat—you also lose muscle mass and water weight. How often you weigh yourself also depends on your personal fitness goal. Is the goal only to lose body weight or is it to lose body fat percentage? While many of us focus on how many kilos we’re losing, what’s more important is how much fat we’re losing, something the scale can’t determine. If you’re including resistance or strength training as a part of your strategy to reduce your body fat percentage, you may be losing fat, but replacing that weight with muscle mass. Most doctors and nutritionists say that evaluating how clothes fit you is the good way to know that your technique is working.
Kapur explains that in the value chain of measurements, a weighing scale is the most basic one. He explains, “Since weight was not the only parameter to judge a person’s health, the BMI was introduced which factored in the height. But that is also not a complete assessment. Now, we have sophisticated machines that do body composition analysis. These reports tell us a lot more about the individuals like for example, visceral fat, segmental muscle, water and fat analysis, basic metabolic rate (BMR), percentage body fat (PBF) vis-a-vis recommended values, etc.” So it might be a good idea to stop chasing that flighty number on the scale, and look for more meaningful changes your new routine is bringing you—more energy or how that jeans suddenly feels great on.
Also read:
Is the keto diet good for weight loss? A nutritionist and dieter weigh in
Find yourself trying every new weight loss diet? There’s a term for that
From glowing skin to weight loss: Why your body needs a fibre-rich diet
Masaba Gupta’s weight loss journey: How she lost 10kg in a year
