Your Bathroom Scales are Fooling You, Here’s Why

If you are trying to lose weight and rely heavily on your bathroom scales to regularly check your progress, chances are you do not like what you see. It is frustrating to see the numbers when you think you have finally shed a few pounds, only to see them back the next day. 

The truth is weighing scales are inaccurate and cannot be trusted, especially considering your mental state which plays a pivotal role in this matter and has the power to make or break your fitness journey in a moment. Here are some reasons that may convince you to never step on the scales again. 

Your weight fluctuates several times a day
Depending on the time, your hormones, how much water you have just consumed, what you have eaten and how many trips to the bathroom you have made, your body weight can actually change many times a day. The problem about stepping on the weighing scales daily is that you always feel bad when you see that you have gained a pound. You overthink and start stressing and suddenly become discouraged to continue your workout because it seems that you are not making any progress, when in fact you could just be bloated and hormonal that day.

Your relationship with water can affect your weight
The amount of water you intake and the amount you excrete when you sweat or go the loo affects the numbers reflected on your weighing scales. This is the main reason why the term water weight exists. This does not mean that you should drink less water in order to lose weight because that is going to do more harm than good to your body. Failure to drink sufficient amounts of water daily can cause dehydration and fool your body into retaining water. The best strategy is to drink frequently and do your workouts every day for a healthy water circulation.

What was your last meal?
Did you have bacon and eggs for breakfast? Delicious! But that could also be the reason why you gained a couple of pounds this morning. No, they did not instantly become stubborn fat the moment you placed them into your mouth but they did make you retain water. While a bit of indulgence wouldn’t hurt once in a while, it is advisable you pass on salty foods on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the scales are the primary culprit why people subject themselves to dangerous crash dieting. 

Stress makes you gain weight
Stress has been linked to countless diseases and to almost everything unpleasant happening to your body, such as skin breakouts, acne, depression and muscle pain. The list goes on and on. Weight gain can also be triggered when you are stressed. Add that to the emotional eating spree that typically happens when you are having a bad day and you are trapped into a vicious cycle that never seems to end. 

Consider muscle versus fat density
A fit, muscular guy could have the same weight or more than a person who is fat and weak. This is mainly because muscle and bone have higher density than fat. That is what the scale fails to show you, the muscle you’ve gained and toned. 

The best solution: get a DEXA scan.If you really want to see where you are at and what needs to be done, the DEXA scan is the fastest way to get an accurate total body composition and fat content. With its impressive medical-grade technology, this dual-energy X-ray even shows visceral fat, making it superior to skin callipers and bio-impedance gadgets.

To book your DEXA scan with Body Scan, please register your details first on the website and then call us on 020 3490 4171 to confirm your appointment.