Post weight loss surgery tip – Step away from the scales after weight loss surgery
18 / 09 / 13
Blog
Do you jump on the scales every morning … or even more often … and let the dial dictate your day? Go on … admit it … for thousands of others do!
Do you let those numbers determine how you are going to feel for the rest of the day … defeated and down or happy and victorious?
Well aside from the mental battle this ritual brings on we have to ask ourselves is it a good reflection of ourselves? For the truth is that the scales are not a great way to measure your success when it comes to weight loss and body change.
For the scales don’t measure what your body is made of (they can’t differentiate between fat, muscle and water); the scales don’t measure if you’re losing fat or losing muscle they simply record loss of lbs or kgs (so you could be losing weight but is it the right kind and from the right place?); the scales don’t tell you what’s going on in your body and how to address it; nor do they address what is going on in your head; or come to think of it accurately record if you’re on track or not in relation to your current needs.
So why do we let such a poor system take up so much of our time and energy? Ritual, regime and habit come to mind and it’s time this changed. So STEP AWAY FROM OR DITCH THE SCALES and replace this activity with something that will more accurately measure your progress:
* Take your measurements the old-fashioned way with a tape measure. Record your chest, waist, hip, dominant arm, dominant leg, neck and any other measurement every month and see the difference.
* Look in the mirror and see how your clothes are fitting …are they getting baggier. If you’re losing fat and toning up then you will lose inches/cms and it will show in the fit of your clothes even if it doesn’t register on the scales.
* Check to see if your shape changes … taking a regular photograph of yourself in the same position can highlight this. Losing fat often means you change shape not just change size.
* Why not consider some other medical numbers that can act as a barometer of how well things are going. What’s your blood pressure like, how’s your cholesterol level, what’s your blood sugar level compared to last month, and how’s your thyroid? These are better indicators of your current situation and more important than your numbers in terms of weight for long-term health.
* Have your medication levels changed? Have you been able to reduce or cut out altogether your pills and potions? Again these have much more ‘weight’ than those numbers on the scales when it comes to measuring wellness.
So the challenge is to break this bad habit and to stop stepping on the scales too frequently … once a week is recommended and more than enough. Adopt some of the tips above instead … they will measure your progress better and be a more accurate reflection of your wellbeing.