Yesterday I was in a really foul mood. I'm doing a little better today after having the last 24 hours to process some things. I'm still up in weight this morning (up 1) but I'm not going to dwell on that right now. Instead, I decided to go ahead and do my measurements. Once I calculated them, I figured it would be good to share the results because they prove that the scale is a very inaccurate representation of what is really going on...How so? Well, I'm so glad you asked.
The scale claims that I lost 22.4 lbs in the last 12 weeks. Sure, this is good but I was going for 24 lbs of fat as my goal. When I calculated my body fat (I average the results of 2 calculators) I was surprised to discover that I actually lost 26.17 lbs of body fat! What does this mean? It means that I gained 3.77 lbs of lean mass (which is good), something the scale can't distinguish.
Overall, my measurements changed quite a bit in the last 12 weeks:
- Chest (-7cm)
- Waist (-12cm)
- Hips (-7.5cm)
- Thigh (-6cm)
- Arm (-3cm)
- Overall Body Fat (-8.5%)
So, if you still think it's not worth the time to measure yourself every few weeks, think again. The scale is an "ok" way to measure your progress but it probably shouldn't be your only way. Some take pictures (I do this too) and that's good as well. Of course, depending on angle or how close you are to the camera, this can even skew the results when comparing the two. Measurements though, they speak the truth and when coupled with other forms of measurement (scale, photos, bf calculators...etc) you can really get the full picture of what your eating and exercise plan is doing for you (or not doing for you).