The Scale Lies…

When you talk about losing weight, you might want to go down a few clothing sizes, particularly around the hips, thighs, belly, and arms. However, that doesn't always mean losing actual pounds.

It's possible to gain muscle and reduce body fat without actually seeing a change in your weight. This happens when you lose body fat while gaining muscle. Your weight may stay the same, even as you lose inches, a sign that you're moving in the right direction. Knowing the difference between losing weight and losing body fat may influence how you assess your progress.

A typical scale shows your weight, but it doesn't tell you how much of that weight is muscle, fat, water, bones, or organs. A bodybuilder's weight could be off the charts because of extra muscle.

Another reason scale weight isn't so reliable is that it changes all the time. You will see weight changes throughout the day (sometimes by as much as 10 pounds) depending on what and how often you eat and drink, how often you go to the bathroom, or if you are retaining water.

It doesn't reflect the changes happening in your body. If you're doing cardio and strength training, you may build lean muscle tissue at the same time you're losing fat. In that case, the scale may not change even though your body composition is changing.

It doesn't reflect your health. The scale can't tell the difference between fat and muscle. That means a person could have a low body weight but still have unhealthy levels of body fat, or have a higher body weight and be very muscular.