1. Is Your Goal Really Weight Loss?
Are you ashamed of your weight? Do you have a goal weight that you want to reach through weight
loss? I’d say so, it’s been pushed into our brains many times over and over again that “weight loss” is
what we want to accomplish. There are weight loss guides, weight loss supplements, and many other
things that push “weight loss”. Many people even set their goals to be at a certain weight. Additionally,
the medical community has developed an “ideal weight” chart, which can further add to the confusion
about weight loss.
Now, let me ask you a question. Is your goal really weight loss? Unless you are trying to make a weight
class for wrestling or some other sport with weight classes, you may think that your goal is weight loss,
but it really isn’t. You are trying to lose that flubber stuff attached to your body called FAT. Correct?
So then, why do we measure our progress by how much we weigh? Why do we step on the bathroom
scale and hope that those numbers will be lower than before? You see, our weight is affected by more
than just how much fat is on our body. Some other factors include water, muscle, glycogen, and
obviously if we have eaten anything earlier or used the bathroom lately. Our water weight fluctuates
constantly. For instance, when we exhale water vapor comes out. When we sweat, we are sweating out
water. There are also many more factors that can affect the amount of water in our bodies. Water is
what usually causes those random gains or losses of a pound or two in weight that can make you happy
or sad. It is almost physiologically impossible to lose a pound of fat in one day. One reason the low-carb
or no-carb (also called ketogenic) diets are so attractive is because of the large initial loss of weight.
However, this weight is not necessarily fat. When carbohydrates are restricted the body has a backup
store of them located in the liver and muscles in the form of something called glycogen. The human
body can store approximately 400 grams of glycogen. In larger individuals, this number can increase. In
addition to this, for each gram of glycogen stored in the human body, 3 grams of water are also stored. If
you figure it out, this would equate to about 1600 grams (3.5 pounds) of glycogen and water. When you
stop or limit your consumption of carbohydrates, your body starts using its glycogen stores. After a
couple of days that 1600 grams (3.5 pounds) of glycogen and water are gone. Also, as an adaptation to
the restriction of carbohydrates, your body produces these things called ketones. Ketones also appear
to have a diuretic effect, which would mean an even greater loss of water. In addition to water, if you
have been working out lately to speed along your “weight loss” (you mean fat loss, right?) progress you
probably have gained some muscle doing so. This gain in muscle can also affect the numbers you see
on the scale. Muscle is also more dense than fat. You may be wondering how you are going to measure
your progress now that the scale doesn’t mean as much as it used to. Well, there are several methods
to measure your body fat percentage. None of these methods are 100% accurate, but they will be much
more useful than the use of a scale. One of the simplest ways is to use a caliper. You can usually find
these at your local sporting goods/fitness shop. If you can’t find them locally, you can order them off the
internet. Calipers measure the thickness of a skin fold on your triceps. Then there are directions that
come with the caliper that show you how to use the number you get to derive your body fat. Are you
ashamed of your weight? Do you have a goal weight that you want to reach through weight loss? I’d say
so, it’s been pushed into our brains many times over and over again that “weight loss” is what we want
to accomplish. There are weight loss guides, weight loss supplements, and many other things that push
“weight loss”. Many people even set their goals to be at a certain weight. Additionally, the medical
community has developed an “ideal weight” chart, which can further add to the confusion about weight
loss. Now, let me ask you a question. Is your goal really weight loss? Unless you are trying to make a
weight class for wrestling or some other sport with weight classes, you may think that your goal is
weight loss, but it really isn’t. You are trying to lose that flubber stuff attached to your body called FAT.
Correct? So then, why do we measure our progress by how much we weigh? Why do we step on the
bathroom scale and hope that those numbers will be lower than before? You see, our weight is affected
by more than just how much fat is on our body. Some other factors include water, muscle, glycogen,