You get up in the morning. You go to the bathroom. You step on the scale and… +600 grams.
«"How can that be? I did it perfectly yesterday." And suddenly those 600 grams can make you think you're not making progress, that the diet isn't working, or even that all the effort of the last few days has been for nothing.
But there's something I want you to understand: The number on the scale doesn't tell you the whole story. Because losing weight is one thing, but improving your body composition is quite another.
Two women can weigh 70 kg and have completely different bodies
Imagine two women. They are both about the same height. They both weigh 70 kg. But one does strength training, has a good amount of muscle mass, stays active, and has a healthy body fat percentage. The other has less muscle mass, more body fat, and leads a much more sedentary life.
The scale says exactly the same thing: 70 kg. Does that mean their bodies are the same? Obviously not.
And this is one of the main problems with obsessing solely about weight: a conventional scale tells you how much your body weighs, but it doesn't tell you what that weight is made of. It doesn't differentiate how much is muscle, fat, water, bones, organs, or even the contents of your digestive system.
That's why 70 kg is simply 70 kg. We need more information to know what's really going on.
Your goal is probably not to weigh less.
When a woman tells me "I want to lose 10 kilos", what she often really means is:
- «"I want to have less of a belly.".
- «"I want to look better in my clothes.".
- «"I want to reduce my waist.".
- «"I want to look more confident.".
- «"I want to lose fat.".
- «"I want my legs to look more toned.".
And to achieve all that, you don't always need to lose as much weight as you imagine. Perhaps the body you're looking for isn't 10 kg lighter. Perhaps it's much closer to your current weight, but with less fat and more muscle mass.
That's where something much more interesting comes into play: body composition.
You can weigh the same and look much better
This happens a lot when we combine a good diet with strength training.
Imagine that over a period of time you lose fat while maintaining or gaining some muscle mass. The scale might not go down much, but your body might change dramatically:
- Your waist measures less.
- Your clothes fit you looser.
- You have less of a belly.
- The legs are firmer.
- You look more defined.
And when you compare your photos with the ones from the beginning, the change is obvious. However, you look at the scale and think, "Well, I haven't lost that much weight..." But what does it matter if your body is changing in the direction you wanted?
That's why I don't want you to measure all your progress solely in kilos.
Photographs can tell you much more
One of the best ways to track your progress is to take photos: front, side, and back. Always try to maintain similar conditions: same position, distance, clothing, and lighting.
You shouldn't do this every day. In fact, you probably wouldn't notice much of a difference. But when you compare photos taken several weeks apart, you can start to see changes that the scale could never show you.
A photograph doesn't tell you how much you weigh. It shows you how your body is changing, and if your goal is primarily aesthetic, that information is especially valuable.
And this is where body circumferences come in.
Another tool I like to use is body measurements. For example: waist, abdomen, hips, thigh, or arm.
Imagine you've been working towards your goal for several weeks. You've only lost 1.5 kg. It doesn't seem like much. But then we measure again: -5 cm waist.
Now the story changes quite a bit. Because perhaps you were so focused on getting the scale to go down that you hadn't noticed that your body was actually changing.
That's why body measurements, along with photographs and weight, give us a much more complete view of your progress.
Your weight can change even if you haven't gained fat.
There's another reason why you shouldn't panic every time you step on the scale. Your weight can change from day to day for many reasons—the famous weight fluctuations:
- You can retain more fluids.
- You may have eaten more salt.
- You may have consumed more carbohydrates.
- You may have more intestinal contents.
- You can be at certain times in the menstrual cycle.
- Even intense training can temporarily influence your weight due to fluid changes associated with recovery.
That's why today you can weigh more than yesterday without having gained fat, and you can also weigh less without everything you've lost being fat.
Your daily weight reading is inconsistent. The important thing is to observe the trend.
So, should I throw away the scale?
No. Scales can be a perfectly useful tool. The problem arises when we make that number our only way of measuring progress.
Instead of just asking yourself "how much do I weigh?", start asking yourself:
- How is my waistline evolving?
- How do the clothes fit me?
- How am I training? Am I getting stronger?
- What do I see when I compare my photographs?
- How has my body changed over the past few months?
There we have much more information.
And what about scales that measure body fat percentage?
There are more specialized scales and devices that attempt to estimate your body composition and differentiate aspects such as fat mass and fat-free mass.
They can provide additional information, but we shouldn't interpret any number displayed on the screen as a perfect measurement. Depending on the method used, factors such as hydration and the conditions under which the measurement is taken can affect the results.
That's why even when we use more advanced tools, I'm interested in observing trends and combining different indicators, not obsessing over a single isolated figure.
Your progress cannot be contained in a single number.
I want you to remember this the next time you step on a scale: your body is not just what you weigh.
You can weigh 70 kg and have a completely different body composition, habits, and physical condition than another person who also weighs 70 kg.
Therefore, if you want to lose fat and improve your physique, don't just chase an ever-smaller number:
- Take photographs.
- Measure your perimeters.
- Strength training.
- See how the clothes fit you.
- Evaluate how you are progressing.
And use the scale for what it really is: It's just another tool, not the judge who decides whether you're doing it right or wrong..
Because maybe one day you'll find the body you were looking for, look in the mirror, love what you see, and discover that you didn't need to weigh as little as you thought.
Can we measure your progress with real data? In my plans to nutrition and online training We use scales, measurements, and photos so you can see your real progress. See the results from our clients and write to me.