WHY WEIGHING SCALE DOESN’T DEFINE FITNESS?

Numbers aren’t everything, yes, you heard that right. Those numbers on the scale are not the measure of fitness. Alright, so we have to begin by saying that not the slightest bit are we saying that it isn’t essential to reach and, keep up a healthy weight, it is significant not to be overweight for the long term impacts. Rather, I want to say that the weighing scale doesn’t define fitness. There’s a lot to be aware of apart from the figures on weighing scale.

The numbers on the scale aren’t going to tell you the complete story.

Most of us start our fitness journey to achieve a certain number on the scale which we wish to achieve and maintain, and this is not only about weight loss or weight gain. There’s nothing wrong in doing that, all of us start from this very famous goal, but there’s a lot hidden behind those numbers. So, let’s solve the mystery, but before that :

Congratulations on choosing a healthy lifestyle and starting your journey towards your goal weight.

All the exercises, diet plans, lifestyle changes, etc are done to get fit or to increase the fitness level. You must have heard the word “fitness” many times, but what defines it. How do you measure the level of fitness, what are you trying to achieve, is it a better physique or just a number on the scale. But, it’s sure that the numbers on the weighing scale don’t define fitness.

WHAT IS FITNESS?

Putting it most simply, we can define fitness as the aerobic capacity to do daily activities without strain. This ability to do daily activities depends on many other factors and we can categorize overall fitness into different categories. Let’s explore them:  

• MUSCLE STRENGTH: Muscle strength can solve most of your weight issues .be it losing weight, increasing weight, boosting metabolism, toning body, and of course providing you the overall strength to carry out daily activities. Muscle strength is thus one of the most important factors when it comes to fitness. Better Muscle strength, better overall fitness. So, ask yourself how well you’re able to lift weights with control?
• CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE: Jog, jog, jog. Yes! The next important thing you require for your overall fitness is your ability to jog, run, cycle, or walk for longer periods. The next thing you should do is to challenge yourself and see how long you can do that and how can you boost your cardio-strength.
• FLEXIBILITY: A flexible body will keep you strong and stable. Check how flexible your joints are, how well you can move in a full range of motion, and your ability to relax and stretch your muscles. 
• BODY COMPOSITION: The biggest secret lies here, and the weighing machine is not going to reveal this for you. It is important to know, about body composition and go beyond the weighing scale. It’s fat vs muscles here and the issue of weight loss and weight gain depends largely on the winning factor (Fat VS Muscle) in your body.

BODY COMPOSITION: FAT VS MUSCLE 

What makes up the body-weight? 

• Bodyweight is the sum of the weight of your muscles, bones, organs, and the amount of water your body retains. This total weight also includes the amount of fat you have.

Weight Loss= Muscle loss + Fat loss + Water loss

Whereas, Fat Loss = Reduction of stored body fat.

• Fat loss is way better than weight loss. This makes it extremely important to focus on losing fat rather than weight. A fit body will have a lower fat percentage, which is 10 to 15 % for men and 15 to 20% for women. 

• You might wonder sometime, looking at your friend who weighs exactly like you but looks more toned. The secret behind that is the fat percentage and muscle mass. Greater the muscle mass, the toner you look. Clothes fit better to the one with a toned physique. And, don’t forget the strength which is also increased with muscle mass.

LOSING WEIGHT OR NUMBERS ON WEIGHING SCALE DOESN’T DEFINE FITNESS:

• Losing weight isn’t fitness, losing FAT is. So, when you diet, you see the change in weight due to loss of water weight, and also carbohydrates tend to bind with water, which leads to weight gain. So, the reduction in carbohydrates level leads to a loss in weight. This principle is followed in many so-called healthy diets popularly known as quick fixes or crash diets. 

• A fit body will have lower fat-percentage and high muscle- mass. An ideal fat-percentage for men is 10 to 15 % for men and 15 to 20% for women. So, focus on fitness and body composition, which gives a clear picture.

LOSING WEIGHT CAN BACKFIRE: 

Now, you know that there’s a huge difference between losing WEIGHT and losing FAT. Losing WEIGHT thus backfires sometimes because in some cases you may lose muscle mass while losing weight and this lost muscle mass will slow down the metabolism. So, your risk of gaining all that lost weight increases. And. most of the time you’ll add up at the starting line.

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT THEN?

• In case you’re overweight, some weight loss is needed to rebuild your body, and yet, additionally focus on fat loss. The ideal method to accomplish this is doing a mix of weight training and cardio workouts. You can do whatever you like and seek guidance from your trainer. 
• Know your strength and weaknesses. Do what you love, there are plenty of exercises available out there.
• Focus on eating healthy food and have a protein-rich diet. Grow that muscle strength and you’ll eventually lose FAT. Your metabolic rate will increase with increasing muscle strength and this will help you maintain a healthy weight.
• Don’t focus too much on the numbers on weighing scale, they doesn’t define fitness.