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🌱 The Thing about Scale Weight...
Dan Pearson
April 02, 2024
QUOTE OF THE DAY 🌱
“Let me fall if I must fall. The one I will become will catch me.”
THE THING ABOUT SCALE WEIGHT
431 words | 1 min 34 sec read
Assessing your progress based on the number when you step on the scales can lead you to feeling frustrated when it doesn’t change as quickly and/or as linearly as you would like.
Scale weight can be a pretty unreliable measurement to track changes in body composition…
WHAT DOES IT MEASURE?
Scale weight technically measures the force exerted by the body due to gravity.
This alone should tell you that scale weight is not a comprehensive assessment of your health and fitness - It fails to differentiate between lean muscle mass, body fat mass, or overall body composition.
WHY DOES IT FLUCTUATE?
Fluctuation is a natural process and occurs as a result of:
Water Retention
Food Intake (Sodium, Carbohydrate intake)
Menstrual Cycle
Cortisol Levels
Muscle Gain
Undigested Food
Inflammatory Conditions
Lack of Sleep
Alcohol Consumption (Dehydration)
Time of Day
Despite the unpredictability of scale weight measurement, the research tells us that it can be a useful tool…
17 Studies indicated more frequent self-weighing was associated with greater weight loss
It’s a useful guide that visualises a general trend.
If the number on the scale changes across training cycles its typically a sign of muscle gain and/or fat loss.
So despite it being a snapshot in time…
If we collect enough data points, we begin to see a trend emerging.
This allows us to alter our behaviours to further create conditions that favour a change in scale weight (gain/loss/maintenance).
What might look like slow progress & fluctuations day-to-day…
…are big changes in gain or loss over a long enough time horizon
“Is there any specific exercises you recommend for growing muscle and getting strong?”
When I first started training I used to think there were certain exercises you had to do.
Then I went through a phase when I would avoid machine based training as I didn’t deem it effective for athletic performance.
The truth is, you should build your exercise library around your body, what works for you and what you enjoy.
The SAID Principle indicates that some exercises will naturally be more favourable than others when developing specific physical qualities…
But your muscles detect tension and stretch - not whether you are performing a barbell or dumbbell variation of bench press.
Click this link, ask your question, and each day we will pick one out to answer in the next days newsletter.
TAKEHOME MESSAGE
Scale weight can be unpredictable so it shouldn’t be your only form of assessment.
Other forms of assessment:
Circumference measurements
Bio-electrical impedance measurements
Progression pictures
Performance and strength measures
Are all pieces of the health and performance puzzle
Got any questions or thoughts about this edition? If so, send us an email to [email protected]