Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Why I hate the scale

I think we, as a society, should pick up our bathroom scales and toss them out the window. I have had this feeling since I was in roughly fifth grade, when I had reached my full adult height and weight while all my girl friends still weighed 95 lbs.

I think of it from time to time now, like when I wake up in the morning and I weigh three pounds more than I did the day before, and I start wondering how I got “fat” overnight. I know, as a fitness professional, that the most likely answer to that question is that I did not gain any fat over 24 hours, but that I probably ingested a combination of carbohydrates, salt and water that encouraged my body to hold on to a few extra pounds of fluid for a few extra hours.

Even though I know this, I don’t always think about it logically. Sometimes I think, “All I ate yesterday was salad and fish, and I worked out like a maniac, yet I gained weight!” I believe this thought pattern can be very discouraging, especially when you don’t understand that “working out like a maniac” is also going to cause a little swelling in your muscles the following morning, which will show up on the scale until your body has time to clear it out.

I work out frequently, and I work out hard. I have always been physically strong, and even though I am into my 40s now, I am still stronger than some women 15 years younger than myself. My mother is the same way—into her 80s, she is still tough as nails. Logically, I know that my strength comes from muscle mass supported by bone density, which makes me pretty heavy. I still don’t like to see that heaviness on the scale, even if I know I can jump, lift, climb, run and dance because of it.

Several months ago, I was sitting in a restaurant with another woman who has almost the same build I do. I will call her Millie. We probably wear the same dress size and are the same height. She is about 15 years younger than me, and she is also a workout demon. We were sitting with another woman, who I will call Lori. Lori is very frail.

Millie and I somehow got into a conversation about weight, and we discovered that we weigh almost exactly the same. We commented on the fact that people always think we weigh less than we do—which is a problem for a dancer, because leads are bracing for 20 lbs less than you actually weigh when they try to do stunts with you.

At some point during this conversation, Lori piped up, very proud of herself, saying, “Why, I weigh less than either of you girls!”

Millie and I could run from zombies for a couple hours without stopping. We’d be able to climb a fence or lift a heavy object off a friend if we had to. Lori, on the other hand, would be likely to get stuck under a fallen palm frond, and would have to get Millie or I to come get her out.

Unfortunately, because the standard measure we use to assess a healthy body is weight, Lori looks, on paper, like the “healthier” person. I should mention that both Millie and I are well within the Body Mass Index guidelines for our size. My point is that that BMI scale is inherently flawed. A frail person with little muscle or bone density and a lot of fat can weigh less than a very fit person with a dense skeleton and lots of muscle mass.

Training ourselves to look at the scale every day can provide a reminder of our goals—but sometimes it becomes the sole focus. People, especially women, skip meals and avoid strength training for fear of getting heavy, thus sacrificing their overall wellness (we need strong muscles and bone density not just to get through daily life, but to function well as we age).

What then, is the alternative to the scale? I like body fat assessments, although these are flawed, too. You often have to find a personal trainer with the proper tools to do an assessment, and the results can vary depending on how the person administers the test. Taking measurements of your chest, waist and hip circumference is also useful. Personally, I like using my pants as a guideline. When the pants get too tight, it’s time to take a close look at the diet and exercise routine.

I prefer to use fitness assessments to gauge progress: how fast can you run a mile, and is it faster than it was six months ago? How many miles can you run? How many pull-ups can you do, and can you do more than you did a month ago?

Focusing on fitness accomplishments rather than the loss of weight gives us a little more control over outcomes, and our goal is actually a positive (accomplishment) rather than a negative (loss).

I know, the world isn’t changing anytime soon. But the next time you want to throw the scale out the window because it isn’t cooperating, or worse, if you feel like ditching your fitness plan because you aren’t seeing the numbers you want, think about the fitness accomplishments you have made—walking farther, faster, longer, mastering new yoga poses, and learning new skills. Stay strong, and don’t get discouraged!