Results – Focus on your clothing size, not the scales !

At Geelong Boxing Club we are passionate about supporting our members in achieving their goals. Our group classes programmed in house by our world class coaches, combined with our Nutrition seminars make Geelong Boxing Club the perfect place to work towards weight loss goals. We are proud of the astounding results our members continue to produce here!

HOWEVER, it is important to highlight that a journey towards weight loss does not mean an obsession with the scales!   Lets not focus too much on the number displayed on their humble bathroom scale as a measure of how successful a weight loss program has been!  You see, weight scales aren’t accurate and tend to lie about your current weight due to the fact that several factors can influence your weight reading. Using your clothing size is a much better indicator as to whether or not your body shape is changing – it is such a great feeling to slide back into a pair of jeans that you may have worn years ago!

It’s essential to consider the ways in which water retention, muscle gain (which leads to changes in lean body mass), glycogen storage, menstruation and other perfectly normal fluctuations impact your body weight. If you better understand these changes and how your body functions, you can free yourself from the battle many men and women face when they weigh themselves in.  

 Let’s have a look out how these elements alter your scale reading (and why you should not be freaking out when you weight yourself!)

Water Retention
Excessive amounts of salt/sodium in diets can cause the body to retain water. If you’re consuming too much sodium or not enough water, your body will hold onto the little water it has which will cause the scale reading to sky rocket. So drink water whenever you’re thirsty.  

Menstruation
Women tend to retain large amounts of water prior to menstruation. This weight will go as quickly as it comes. On the plus, women can minimise water weight gain by increasing their water intake, maintaining physical activity and minimising high-sodium foods.  

Muscle Gain
It’s no secret here. Muscle weighs three times as much as fat. So if you look slimmer, but weigh more… it’s clearly muscle gain. This is a great example as to why using clothing size as an indicator for fat loss is often better than stepping on the scales!  

Food Intake
Each meal we consume throughout the day will affect the numbers on the scale. So if you instantaneously put on a few kilos after eating a large meal with a drink, it’s not fat. It’s in fact the weight of the food you just ate that will be gone in a few hours upon digesting it. If you are going to weigh yourself, for accuracy’s sake, it’s best to weight yourself in the morning before you’ve have anything to eat or drink.  

Glycogen Storage
Your body stores energy (carbohydrates) as fat and glycogen. Glycogen is stored in the liver, muscles and fat cells. Essentially it acts as your fuel tank for daily living. And for every gram of glycogen stores, your body will store an extra three to four grams of water with it. So that’s why when you eat a meal with carbs, the body automatically stores water and glycogen as weight. But it’s not fat at all! These fluctuations have nothing to do with weight loss or gain, yet it will affect your weekly weigh-in.  

So really, it’s important not to lose your cool when you step on the scales to weigh yourself. If you’re eating a well-balanced diet and exercising effectively, the best indicator for change is your clothing size because losing weight and losing fat are two different things. Take measurements of yourself regularly and don’t be dismayed if the scale jumps slightly up or down. Day by day, your body is changing and getting closer to the goal you’re trying to achieve.  It is more likely that you’re gaining lean muscle if the scale creeps up as quickly as your waist line drops. Change is happening, regardless of what the scale says !

To be supported in achieving your own personal goals at Geelong Boxing Club, simply contact us to find out more and organise a complimentary session in our gym!