Is The Scale Totally Worthless? 5 Quick & Easy Methods To Track Your Fitness Progress

Luke Kozlowski
Jul 21, 2017 · 7 min read

Becoming too focused on what the dreaded scale might say is a sure-fire way to kill your confidence and wreck the mental process involved in reaching your fitness goals.

You could be making excellent progress on your goals and not know it, only because the scale does not tell you the full story.

In this article, I will focus on the downfalls of using a scale to track your fitness progress, a method you can use to more effectively track your weight, as well as a few other practical tips to track your progress with better precision and less anxiety.

The Downfalls of Using A Scale to Track Progress

As mentioned above, using a scale without the proper objective when tracking progress can give a false view of what is actually occurring in the body.

For instance, let’s say I step on the scale on Sunday morning right after using the restroom and before eating and I weigh 185lbs. I then go about my week, hitting my training and diet routine perfectly. I am feeling pretty good about myself until I step on the scale Saturday afternoon, only to find that I GAINED TWO POUNDS!

*Initiates freak-out mode*

However, wait, there is more to the story than what the scale is telling you. First, remember, I weighed myself Sunday morning, and then again on Saturday afternoon. What most people do not realize is that bodyweight can fluctuate significantly within a day. Anecdotally, I have gained up to 5lbs or more in one day, for a variety of reasons.

Factors that Affect Scale Weight:

  • Hydration level — Your weight can fluctuate substantially just based on how much water or fluids you have drunk in a day. In my experience, it is not uncommon to see a difference of (+/-) 4lbs on the scale depending on how hydrated you are.
  • Carbohydrate intake — When carbohydrates are digested, but not needed for immediate energy demands, a large percentage of those carbohydrates (now glucose) will be stored in the liver and muscles in the form of glycogen. Glycogen reserves are a form of stored energy (much like fat, but NOT fat) that the body can use later. One study suggests that glycogen storage capacity is about 15g/kg of bodyweight before net lipid synthesis leads to increased body fat (1). In other words, you can gain a little over ONE FULL POUND just from stored carbohydrates before you even begin to gain fat.
  • Fiber Intake & Irregularity — Your weight can also fluctuate depending on the amount of fiber you eat on a daily basis and whether or not you are regular in the restroom (if you know what I mean).
  • Water Retention & Bloating- The body can also have a tendency to retain water in certain situations and can be affected by everything from how much water you drink on a daily basis to sodium intake to the female menstrual cycle.
  • Muscle Gain — I recently had a client on one of my Personalized Fitness Plans come to me discouraged that she had not lost any weight since the first week of the now three weeks she had been following her plan. The very next day, she tried on a new pair of pants, expecting them to be a size 6 and they were a size 4! She had dropped two sizes in 3 weeks but hadn’t lost much weight at all. She gained muscle mass (a more dense & compact tissue) while simultaneously losing body fat. If she had only paid attention to the scale, she would have never known she had made such progress!

Now you can see that there are a variety of ways your weight can alter on the scale, without even gaining a single pound of fat, here are five easy methods you can use to track fitness progress and stay motivated more accurately.

Method #1 — Use The Scale Properly

Using a scale to track your weight has been shown, in many studies, to be more useful for helping subjects achieve long-term weight loss than those who did not use a scale to track weight loss.

However, the scale is just that, a tool.

The scale does not filter out all of the factors that encompass bodyweight, and it does not define who you are as a person.

Remember, you are much more than a number.

Therefore, to avoid forming an unhealthy relationship with the scale, and to take a more objective approach to its use, follow these steps:

  • Weigh yourself first thing in the morning after using the restroom and before eating or drinking anything.
  • Note the time and weigh yourself around the same time you did the previous time you weighed in (preferably upon waking up).
  • Instead of weighing yourself once each week, weigh yourself each morning and write it down. Then, after seven days, take a weekly average of your weight by adding all the numbers up and dividing by 7.

Taking these critical steps before even stepping foot on the scale (see what I did there) will give you a more clear picture of whether or not you are reaching your weight goals, whatever they may be.

Method #2 — Take A Selfie

This method is straightforward, yet underrated. Although many people look at themselves in the mirror daily, it can sometimes be difficult to tell if progress is being made on a day to day basis.

However, taking progress pictures is an excellent way to compare the changes your body has made week to week, month to month and year to year.

Plus, they can make for some pretty impressive #TransformationTuesday pictures on the ‘Gram.

My personal transformation photos from 2012 to 2016. Follow me on Instagram @lukek_fit.

Method #3 — How Do Your Clothes Fit?

This goes back to the story about my client who did not lose a single pound in two weeks, only to find that she had simultaneously dropped two pant sizes!

Moral of the story, using the feel of your clothes or changing clothes sizes is an excellent way to track progress.

Along these lines, a similar, more accurate approach is to use a measuring tape to track the changes in the girth of your limbs, waist, hips, chest, etc.

Remember, if the pant sizes or measurements go down, but the scale does not, that just means you have lost fat and gained some lean mass (which is ALWAYS a good thing).

Method #4 — Keep A Workout Journal

This method is less related to reaching weight goals, but nonetheless, is an excellent way to track your progress in the gym.

Let’s say, for instance, that your first week of weight lifting, you could only squat 135lbs for a single repetition maximum. However, now it is Week 10, and you are finding yourself low on motivation.

You take a look back in your workout journal and realize that yesterday, you squatted 155lbs for five reps! Remembering, that you could only squat 135lbs for a single rep when you started, you are renewed with a sense of confidence and excitement at the amount of strength you have gained.

For many of my clients and I, keeping a workout journal is one of the best ways to stay motivated in the gym and remind yourself of the progress you have made over the course of several weeks.

Method #5: How Do You Feel?

This approach does not take any numbers or science to understand. If you are happy with the progress you have made in the gym, have more energy, and have gotten compliments from those close to you, then, does it matter what the scale says?

At the end of the day, the whole point of pursuing fitness goals is so that you look and feel the way you want to. If you are more confident in yourself and have more energy because of your fitness pursuits, your life will be enhanced in many other ways. Everything from your performance at your job to the quality of your relationships will feel improved.

To me, the improvement in self-confidence is the ultimate reward for reaching your fitness goals, and one I genuinely wish each of my clients and those who follow my fitness content, to be able to experience.

Apply These Methods Today

Now that you have learned these five methods to track your fitness progress, it is time to implement them!

  • Get a small notebook to write your daily weight check-ins down for the weekly average and keep your workout journal.
  • Get a tape measure and take measurements of your limbs, waist, hips, chest, and any other areas you wish to improve.
  • Take a selfie once every few weeks and compare the two photos to see how much progress you have made.
  • Remember not to focus too much on what the scale says and make a mental note when you are feeling more confident in yourself as a result of your efforts.

Want to get started on a new fitness program but don’t know what’s best for you and your body?

Check out my various Fitness Coaching Services options HERE!

References

1. Acheson, K. J., Schutz, Y., Bessard, T., Anantharaman, K. R. I. S. H. N. A., Flatt, J. P., & Jequier, E. (1988). Glycogen storage capacity and de novo lipogenesis during massive carbohydrate overfeeding in man. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 48(2), 240–247.

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Luke Kozlowski

Written by

Anorexic → WNBF Men’s Physique Champ | Personal Trainer | Exercise Physiology Student

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