Bookmark Website  | Free Registration  | The Team
The Lounge  | Champions  | The Wire |  Schedule |  Audio  |  Arcade  |  The Top Ten  |  Historical  |  Email  |  Video

Throw Out the Scale


Do you know someone that is obsessed with the scale? Someone who hops on the scale morning, noon and night? And stepping off each time with feelings of frustration or disappointment? With obesity on the rise and weight loss a common household topic, its easy to become obsessed with weight, diets and the scale. This multi-billion dollar industry brings about constant marketing and advertisement on the next solution or quick fix that hits sixty five percent of American's weight issues. The question is, what are the facts about losing weight that marketers are not saying?

Is it that we have unrealistic goals?

"How fast can I lose weight?" This is the first question most people ask before starting a diet or weight loss program. If you have this line of thinking when you start, you are just setting yourself up for failure. Sure, there are many diets out there that guarantee the loss of ten pounds over the weekend or fifty pounds in a month. The truth is, this is not realistic and for most people struggling with their weight, unobtainable. Its time to lose the quick fix mentality and realize how long change really takes. Calculate how long it took for you to get where you are today. Remember that time and know that it is going to take even longer to undo.

How much can you actually lose?

Losing one to two pounds per week is realistic. This will shock most people, especially if they feel they need to drop thirty pounds and in a limited time. Think about it. One pound of fat is 3500 calories. If you were to lose two pounds a week, or 7000 calories, that would be equivalent to three sticks of butter. That's a lot of calories (and hard work) to shed two pounds. Would it be realistic to think that you could shed 35,000 calories (10 pounds) over a weekend?

From an exercise perspective: The average person walking on a treadmill for an hour will burn 400 calories. The average person on an elliptical for an hour will burn 600 calories. (These are just averages since fitness level plays a role in caloric expenditure). Without taking anything else into consideration that translates in 11.5 hours on the elliptical and 17.5 on the treadmill! This is excessive, unrealistic and unsafe.

From a diet perspective: even if you didn't eat all weekend, this caloric amount could not be lost. The truth is that your body needs a certain amount of calories a day to function properly (basal metabolic rate). If you go below that calorie intake, your body will protect itself by metabolically slowing down and storing more calories as fat. This minimum daily food consumption makes large amounts of weight loss impossible in such a short period of time.

Do you see how hard it is to lose weight? There is no overnight process or quick fix that will make it go any faster. A combination of decreased calories and exercise over time will shed the pounds.

We all know someone that has gone on a diet and lost a tremendous amount of weight on the scale. If what was just said is true then how did they do that?

The problem with the scale is that it measures weight, without consideration of fat and lean tissue weight. This fat and lean tissue composition is going to make the difference not the weight on the scale. Muscle is more dense than fat. You can build muscle, lose fat, and become healthier overall and still appear to have gained weight on the scale. At the same time you are "firmer" and wearing two pants sizes smaller. This number on the scale can cause frustration and disappointment in someone's attempt to lose weight.

When someone first goes on a diet, which is basically a low calorie diet, they will start to drop weight (we drop weight when calories burned are more than calories taken in). A common factor of diets along with less calories consumed, is the restriction or limit in carbohydrate consumption. Glucose or carbohydrate is the fuel that feeds our brain along with our nervous and immune system. When we restrict them, our body starts to break down our storage form (glycogen) for use. Since carbohydrates are seventy five percent water this will result in the release of water from the body. A gallon of water weighs 8.5 pounds. So you can see how this could give the illusion of a victory on the scale. But remember this is just water weight, not fat weight. As soon as you return back to consuming carbohydrates (which will happen, remember glucose is the only fuel that feeds your brain, nervous system and immune system) the weight on the scale will be back. There went victory. Here's something else that is happening. When you run out of stored carbohydrates your body will start to break down muscle to feed the brain and necessary systems. This results in additional weight loss from lean tissue and the water needed to remove the wastes of protein breakdown. If lean tissue is not available, fat will be partially broken down for fuel (cannot be completely broken down unless you have glucose in your system) and additional water will be released to remove byproducts of this process. So again when you step on the scale, you will see a change in "weight", but remember it is water and your muscle that you lost, not fat.

The problem with this victory is that you may have lost weight on the scale but you have also altered your body composition and not in a healthy way. Even thought the scale says you weigh less, you have lost muscle mass and now have a higher percentage of fat! Along with this change comes a sluggish metabolism and altered hormones that control your metabolic rate and appetite. Since this is a temporary fix, soon you will be back to your old ways. Chances are you will gain the weight you lost and then some.

Learning healthy eating habits along with a proper exercise regimen is the key to success. Losing the weight is only the first step. Keeping it off is something that will continually have to be addressed. It should be about losing weight for a lifetime not an occasion. Working hard for three months to go back to past behaviors will be a setup for failure. Health is a never-ending process. Its time to lose the quick fix mentality, take the first step towards a new you and throw out the scale.

References:

Katch F.I., V. L Katch, W. McCardle. Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition and Human Performance. Lippincott , Williams and Wilkins. Fourth edition, 1993.

ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins. Sixth Edition, 137-164, 2000.

Teri Mosey is an Exercise Physiologist and Instructor for Health & Fitness Certifications.

Peak Performance Fitness; http://www.peakptfit.com


MORE RESOURCES:

5 White Lies That Stall Weight Loss
ABC News
We all fib a little, but telling your co-worker her new haircut looks great (when what you're really thinking is "oh my!") is pretty harmless. Lying to yourself about your own eating habits on the other hand, can wreak some real mental and physical ...



Examiner.com

Dr. Oz's Top 6 Weight Loss Secrets
Yahoo! Movies (blog)
When it comes to weight loss, Dr. Oz has seen it all. Since launching The Dr. Oz Show in 2009, he's met and featured hundreds of people who have lost more than 100 pounds just by changing their habits. The secret he's learned from those who have ...
Weight loss guru Dr. Oz wins Emmy Award for Outstanding Informative Talk ShowExaminer.com

all 2 news articles »


NBC Southern California

New FDA Approved Weight Loss Drug Now Available - How Does it Work?
NBC Southern California
Qsymia is the first weight loss drug approved by the FDA in 13 years. Endocrinologist Dr. Eva Cwynar says the drug “makes the stomach feel like it's got enough food in there.” The drug is now available at retail pharmacies by prescription. Dr. Bruce ...
New Weight-Loss Drug Developed in Bay AreaNBC Bay Area

all 2 news articles »


Weight loss improves memory and alters brain activity in overweight women
Science Daily (press release)
Pettersson and co-workers performed their study to determine whether weight loss would improve memory and whether improved memory correlated with changes in relevant brain activity. A special type of brain imaging called functional magnetic resonance ...

and more »


mediabistro.com

Marketers Steal Fox News Brand to Push Weight Loss Supplement
mediabistro.com
Health supplement marketers are at it again, using real news brands to push their products. A TVNewser reader sent us this site purported to be Fox News, but with the URL: xxfnws.com. The site pushes Raspberry drops meant to help people lose weight.



Brandon Brooks' Weight Loss Weighs On The Mind Of A Texans Fan
Battle Red Blog (blog)
The thought hit me like a ton of bricks around mile four as I walked around one of Minnesota's famed lakes this past weekend. Compared to a year ago, this walk was ridiculously easy. The difference in a year? A proper diet and hard work at the gym. It ...



Business Workshop: How to cover weight loss plans
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
A new study by Johns Hopkins University finds that a majority of overweight adults believe weight-loss benefits offered by health plans could help them lose weight. More than 80 percent of the people surveyed said they thought it was a good idea for ...



Marble Media LLC’s Online Weight Loss Website ShedThoseLBS.com ...
Newsday
ShedThoseLBS.com, an online resource for healthy weight loss from Marble Media LLC, explains the necessity of shedding bad eating habits and embracing healthy foods through will-power and making good choices at the grocery store. Fort Lee, New ...



Manatee Memorial holds weight loss class
Bradenton Herald
BRADENTON -- A new class for weight loss called "Am I Hungry?" will be focusing on emotional eating, a common diet buster that leads people to eat as a way of soothing upset feelings. Led by wellness coach and consultant Kristi Bracewell, the nine-week ...



NBC 6 South Florida

South Florida Woman Gets Encouragement for Weight Loss Journey From ...
NBC 6 South Florida
It's hard to believe the Crystal Moss stretching for a run in the park is the same person as the one in her "before" picture on Instagram. It was snapped back in 2009. The now-fit woman from Sunrise has shed 85 pounds on her fitness journey. It's one ...


Google News


Advertisement



Section Site Map - Submit News - Feedback - Comments - Advertise with Us

Copyright © 2006 Luminati Inc. All rights reserved.