The Scale is NOT your friend
It’s time to stop focusing on a number we see between our feet and instead focus on how we feel. We put way too much emphasis on what the scale is telling us instead of listening to our own body. The number, while it represents something, is not the full story.
Let’s Compare Oranges and Grapefruits
Here is a perfect example of how the scale lies. Think of a grapefruit as the fat in your body, it’s lumpy and bumpy and doesn’t necessarily take on the best shape but takes up room under your skin. An orange on the other hand has a more defined shape and is smaller than a grapefruit, that is the muscle in your body. Now here’s the important part, they both weigh ONE POUND. So changing your grapefruit into an orange does NOTHING to the number on the scale, but you’ve gained shape and definition while taking up less space under your skin!
Use a piece of clothing instead of the scale
Now we know that muscle takes up less room under your skin but does not necessarily change the number on the scale, so what do we use? Clothing. But it can’t be just any piece of clothing, it can’t be a pair of stretchy pants, they will just change with your body and you won’t be able to tell if there is a difference, good or bad. You need to use a pair of jeans or a pair of fitted pants (underwear can be a good indicator too).
While some of you may say the clothing is shrinking in the dryer, let’s be honest with ourselves, it is not really shrinking. It may be the first time it’s put in the dryer if it’s cotton, but it really does not change in size/shape, we do. So if you want to know if you are turning grapefruits into oranges, use that pair of pants that you can’t quite zip all the way up, or that pair that pulls in certain areas. Try them on every couple of weeks, if they fit better keep on doing what you are doing, if not you need to make some changes in your diet and/or exercise habits.
Muscle takes up less room and burns more calories
When making decisions about exercise options, a wonderful option is resistance training which is used to build muscle! Coach Mel’s offers a wide variety of classes that will give you strength training, core training, and some cardio as well. To see a complete list of our classes check out our class descriptions.