The lovely scale. The number 1 one way we have been programmed to measure our bodies. Have you ever noticed that when I review diets and workout programs, whenever I talk about my results I list multiple different “after” results? I do add my weight loss/gain, but I also talk about other things like inches lost, how I’m feeling, progress photos, and if I’ve gotten more flexible/calm/strong. Back in December I had a conversation with one of my friends who is a fitness guru and has accomplished so much in her career about the scale and how she measures health and fitness. She had said something that I have been thinking for a long time. In her programs, she doesn’t focus on weight loss. She focuses on strength and being healthy. THAT should be the most important measure of a program.
If you look at this picture, can you see a difference? It is a very small difference, but I’m actually heavier in the picture on the right. However, if you look closely, I’m more defined, and look to be in better shape. Don’t get me wrong, I’m one of those people who used to religiously step on that scale. I’ve talked about this a lot, but when I was in high school I was obsessed with my weight and my workouts. I used to record my weight every single day and record how much I worked out so that the next day I could push myself to do one more pushup or one more crunch. Since then, I’ve learned to be more obsessive over my health rather than my weight and workouts. However, I know so many women who focus so much on that one measurement.
Let’s have a discussion about strength.
Pictured Above: This is something that at one point in my life I could not hold, and had to be on my forearms. I’m now able to hold it and even do hip dips! Super proud moment of mine!
Strength:
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1.the quality or state of being physically strong.“cycling can help you build up your strength”
synonyms: power, brawn, brawniness, muscle, muscularity, burliness, sturdiness, robustness, toughness, hardiness, lustiness -
2.the capacity of an object or substance to withstand great force or pressure.“they were taking no chances with the strength of the retaining wall”
synonyms: robustness, sturdiness, firmness, toughness, soundness, solidity, solidness, durability, stability
Definition courtesy of Google!
Have you heard the saying “Strong is the new Sexy?” I’ve heard it multiple times, and I agree. Both physically and mentally, strong humans are amazing. I’m not saying that you have to be able to lift or squat a certain amount of weight. I’m talking about strength as a whole. Being tough, and not taking no for an answer. Pushing yourself to say I can instead of I can’t. Doing that extra couple of seconds of cardio, and doing that one extra rep that will take you one step closer to your goal, whatever that goal may be. At this point in time, I’m personally not a huge gym person and prefer to do at home workouts (I’ll talk about this in a later installment of Monday Motivation) but, I would like to have a healthy and fit body. I am not going to stress myself over having a 6 pack (which has been my ultimate goal forever) and I’m not a huge fan of the really big booties out there (although I am working on lifting it a bit and toning it because I live on the beach now lol), but I am a fan of toning.
Anyone who decides to start a health and fitness journey has strength. You are stepping out of your comfort zone of being content with where you are at, and getting into shape is hard AF! It takes a lot of mental strength and a lot of discipline/determination to create a goal for yourself, and stick to your new lifestyle until you obtain that goal, no matter how big or small. For example, my number one goal was/is to have a 6 pack and I know that abs are made in the kitchen and I was so close to obtaining that at one point but I gave up because I was religiously working out and eating clean to get that 6 pack. Nowadays I’m taking a different approach and not beating myself up over not obtaining a goal. If I need to take a break, I will. If I want to eat that brownie, you know I will haha. I have been working out and I haven’t taken too many progress pictures because I’ve been so busy, but I have taken some.
A lot of people talk about how you have to go to the gym religiously to make your butt nicer, BUT (no pun intended lol) I took the above picture on the right two weekends ago, and the left a few weeks ago. I’ve been doing at home workouts, and even though it’s a very slow process, my butt is getting to the point where I’m almost comfortable with it. The best part is, is that throughout my newest fitness journey here in Florida, I’ve been super relaxed about it. If I want to eat junk food I will. I’ll just make sure that I do it in moderation. If y’all follow my instastories you’ve seen the dinners I’ve made and the places that we go to eat. I know that once I cut this out I will definitely be in better shape, but since life has been a little stressful, meal prepping and clean eating has been a challenge for me. I’m not trying to make excuses (ok I kind of am) but I need this time to myself to really focus on other things.
What I want y’all to take away from this post is that there are other ways of measuring progress besides just the scale. Do you feel overall better? Have you lost inches? Do your jeans fit better? Can you tell a difference in your progress photos, even if it’s just slightly? Are you happier and have more energy? These are all ways to measure your fitness journey. Don’t ever rely on just the scale. Muscle weighs more than fat, always remember that!
xoxo Monica
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I agree. I used to be on scale a lot more but since after my 20s I have kind of left it behind me. I felt like I was measuring my progress based on the number I see on the scale and that was hard. I felt good and strong but the weight scale said otherwise! How can that be?! So, in case, some folks didn’t know, muscle weigh a lot more than fat so I was definitely measuring incorrectly. These days, I need to just eat less! Haha All good because like you I will have that brownie. We can’t miss out on life’s goodies now can we?!
Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com
It’s extremely hard to say f*** the scale, but once I actually did it, I felt so much better. I still weigh myself here and there, but it’s not as important to me. Especially because I’ve been working out a lot so some of that weight is in fact muscle, where the rest is all of the donuts I’ve been eating hahahaha!