Saturday, May 28, 2011

Why isn't my Body Changing?

Good Morning! I am currently in Arizona laying in bed at 4 am unable to sleep after my dog woke me up so I decided to do a little writing about something that is quite frustrating for me and after looking online I see that other people suffer from this same problem. Many people hate their scale's, sure in the beginning stages of weight loss people will fall in lust with their scales. These wonderful informative devices share such wonderful news with them every morning, the sacrifices they made the day before paid off with a reduction in that scary number that had been ever increasing for many years. But like many relationships based purely on lust this relationship begins to sour quickly and one of the partners becomes obsessive in the relationship within a very short period of time. You know what I mean the weighing after every meal, every exercise routine, every treat. It becomes such a horrible habit that a hatred begins to form and you start to wonder how you could ever love this lying contraption.

So what happened in this relationship for it to turn sour after such a short period of time? Neither of you really lied, cheated or spoke ill of one another, so how did this happen. Because their are several things that the scale does not tell you about the workouts you are doing and how they are reforming your body. Don't worry he never lies, but it just isn't able to share the whole truth about what is happening when you keep making all those right decisions in eating, exercising and sleeping.

The scale is unable to tell the difference between bone, fat, water, organs and muscle. All this is grouped into one number which means if you are doing a workout consisting of cardio and strength training you are gaining muscle which may weigh more than fat, but is more compact.

A more accurate way to determine if your workouts have been successful is through measurements. So when you start your workout routine you should measure your chest, waist, hips, thighs calves and arms. Fat does not just come of the body in one area at a time. This will help you see with a number where your body is tightening up, even if you hit a month where you feel like nothing you are doing is helping. You know any amount of inches lost is a wonderful accomplishment. I also recommend taking pictures of yourself when you start wearing a bikini or your underwear and bra. This is another great resource to look at when you are feeling down, take pictures every 30 days so you can  compare how your body has changed. Do you feel like your booty is bigger? If you look at a picture when you start to where you currently are you may find that it has lifted and become a more defined shape. For a visual person like myself this is one way I enjoy tracking my progress, because I know it is all me up there, just the cold hard facts and not a number which can be deceptive. When I first started doing this I was concerned with people seeing the pics, but you know even if you are embarrassed to show them you no longer have to. With the invention of affordable digital cameras  you no longer have to take them to be processed and wonder if that young thing behind the counter recognized you from the picture of you standing around in your skivvies. Plus if you do take pictures and are a  member of WOWY you can meet people and share the success you have had with people similar to yourself.

The scale is also unable to tell you the health benefits that you have made to your life. Had you previously been to the doctor and been prescribed medication for diabetes, high blood pressure, nocturnal apnoea, or any other disease directly related to your weight?  Well the scale can't tell you if your blood pressure is lower, or if you are producing the right levels of insulin to sustain your body. So you need to look at these factors as well. If you were able to reduce or completely quit any of your medications then you have been a success.

Remember why you started on this journey. Did you write goals for your weight loss, do you have a dream outfit that you purchased and have hanging on the door, do you just want to move easier so you can enjoy your friends, family or community more? Then don't let that number on the scale get you down, that number does not determine the level of effort that you have put into your goals, it can't tell you are doing.  So look into another way to track your progress because you are not that number on the scale you are a wonderfully made person who has more potential than you can ever imagine.

Remember above all else you are a beautiful woman and this can't be taken away or changed by weight loss. You are beautiful no matter at what size you are and you have made it this far on your journey and can conquer any obstacle in your way.

Penny Lane
I would love to help you with your goals, I am a coach here and would love to hear from you.

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