Focus Fitness Newsletter

This one is inspired by all of those clients who get frustrated at not seeing the scales change as much as they would like! Invariably when we take these same peoples girth measurements we always see some good positive changes! Here are some facts about weight loss:
1. Weight loss is not always good - quite often when people ARE "losing weight" - they also lose muscle (especially when they are on extreme/crash diets). In the long term this makes it harder to keep fat off since it will cause a loss of metabolism. You end up needing to eat less and less until you aren’t even getting enough nutrients to keep you healthy!
2. Fat loss is not well indicated by the scales - the scales know only your weight - not your composition! Quite often a person’s weight may not change but there composition can change by 8kgs! If you lose 4 kilos of fat and put on 4kgs of muscle you are in MUCH better shape but the scales know nothing of it!
3. Girth measurements are the way to go - there allot of ways out there to measure body composition (pinch test, BMI scales, underwater weighing) however most of these are not reliable UNLESS they are in a lab or very controlled setting. Girth measurements are the best way to check whether you are losing fat and/or gaining muscle.
4. The scales are still relevant - the best thing the scales indicate is whether or not you are eating too much. The fact is if you are eating less than you need you will lose weight (fat and muscle). If you are eating more than you need you will gain weight (fat or muscle).
So if "weight loss" is the goal you should still check the scales. If "fat loss" or muscle gain is the goal keep an eye on the girth measurements!