How much do you weigh?
Whether you are asking someone or they are asking you this question, it stirs up lots of emotions! A LOT! Am I right? Over the years people have learned to be conscious of their weight for too many reasons to count. (That’s another post, all in itself. I will save that for another day!) I am here to tell you why what you weigh does not matter.
I get asked on a regular basis how much I weigh personally, and I am often reluctant to respond – not because I don’t want people to know how much I weigh, but because I don’t want to give this number any more importance than it already has. When they ask how much I weigh, I know they aren’t being rude in any way, they just want to know how far I have come or how much I have lost since my start date of this healthy lifestyle journey.
I don’t want to give this number much importance for many reasons.
- Usually when you ask someone this question you are falling into the comparison trap. Don’t compare your weight to someone else’s weight. Someone’s weight is determined by SO many different factors – family history and genetics, metabolism, behaviors, habits and most importantly muscle mass!
- Jumping on the scale from societies perspective isn’t necessarily a good thing. It is followed by a reminder that we are not perfect. Or perfect to the “world”!
- Your self-worth is not lying in the number on the scale. You are more important than this number!
You have probably heard the saying “muscle weighs more than fat” at one point or another along your fitness journey. This statement, word for word, is FALSE. If you compare one pound of muscle to one pound of fat – they both weigh one pound!
Let’s talk about that, I know you are scratching your head right about now and rightfully so because I just messed up everything you have ever known. Okay not everything but, the fat versus muscle debate at least. If you look at one pound of muscle next to one pound of fat, you will notice their volume and composition differ entirely. Muscle is smooth, lean, and is more dense and compact than fat, therefore it takes up less space in your body. Fat is lumpy, gelatinous and less dense than muscle, meaning it takes up more space in your body. In fact, fat takes up FOUR TIMES as much space in your body as muscle!
Since working out burns fat and builds muscle, this means you may not see the number on the scale move as much as you expected it to. In some cases, you may even see the number go up! I have had this happen on numerous occasions and it can be very discouraging if you are not thinking in the right mindset!
The bottom line is – the scale does not tell you how much fat versus muscle you have, so it is not an accurate measure of your progress.
Keep this in mind if you are one who thinks that lifting weights will make women bulky and have too big of muscles! Simply, not true! Women do not have the natural level of testosterone in their bodies in order to spur mass muscle growth. The women you see that are insanely fit and have a lot of muscle in places you didn’t even know we could get muscles, have worked very hard to achieve that specific look, and have likely taken supplements to get there. It will not happen on accident. If that is what you’re looking to achieve – more power to you! You are capable of shaping your body in whichever way you want to, regardless of what others think (as long as you’re being healthy and going in the right direction). When women gain natural muscle and lift weights, it shapes, tones and leans out our body, increases our metabolism and allows our bodies to burn more fat. Yes, that is another benefit of strength training – the more muscle you have, the more fat your body is able to burn!
So here it is, I am going to lay it all out there. I weigh 136 pounds right now and am a size 6. Although I have worked very hard to achieve my healthy body I also weighed 136 pounds before I had my twins and I was a size 2-4. My guess is as I continue on this healthy lifestyle journey I will stay at 136 pounds, but my clothes will start to fit differently and I will go down a size or two. I am a wapping 5 foot 3 1/2 inches tall (yes, I am proud of my 1/2 inch) and have some “funk in the trunk” but, I am okay with that. That’s my genetics (thanks mom and dad ;-)) and metabolism, once I embraced that I was a much happier person. So with all of that being said…….
How should you go about tracking your health and fitness journey?
- Get a body fat percentage test done, and do this monthly. A healthy guideline for losing body fat is 1% per month if you are really committed, 2% at the most. Any more than this is unhealthy to put your body through that amount of extreme stress. Yes, and it is extreme stress!
- Pay attention to how you feel! I can always tell I am more healthy when I have more energy, my clothes fit better and like in this picture my face becomes slimmer. Everyone has a certain area on their body they see results first and mine is always in my face and unfortunately my boobs! Too much information but, I am keeping it real! Again metabolism, in this case, probably not genetics! 😉 Note: not everyone will lose their boobs, calm down people! Take progress pictures to see how you are doing. You don’t have to plaster them on the internet, just have them for you to reference back to and to hold yourself accountable.
- Lastly, put that scale away! If you have to jump on the scale, only do it once a month. No more than that! We are women, our weight fluctuates naturally due to water weight and hormones. Do not step on it daily or even weekly and beat yourself up over something that is outside of your control anyways. It will make you crazy!
What I want you to take away from this post: a number should not be the measure of your success. Two people can weigh the exact same, yet have totally different body fat percentage levels and be in totally different states of health. (Just like I said above about my own weight.) Be more concerned with your health, eating clean and exercising. Find out what is going to help you optimize your health and feel your best, that’s what matters the most! The physical results will follow, I promise!
God wants so much more for you than to put all of your self-worth into a number. You are so much more! You are strong, you are smart and you are unique. God made you that way and no one else in this whole world is like you. Isn’t that cool? I think it is! So why would you compare yourself to someone else? It’s like comparing apples and oranges! There is no one else like you!
I am 16 pounds down from when I started this healthy lifestyle journey but, more importantly I am two dress sizes down, I feel better in my own skin and I have more energy. Now that is more of an accomplishment than the number on the scale!
So how often do you weigh yourself? How much importance is put into the number on the scale? You are a lot more than a number on the scale!
~xoxo
*Update* If getting on the scale works for you, go for it, I don’t want to mess up your grove. You have to do whatever works for you! The scale is “just” a number but you are not “just” God’s child. He thinks you are perfect with or without the scale! 😉
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