Do You Check Your Weight Loss Scale?

Weighing Obsessively -

If you’re like me, you probably hop on the scale as often as possible to check on your weight loss progress.

If you’re dieting you’ll notice the scale reading will drop initially, as you lose weight during the early stages of your diet. Then there comes a point where the scale seems to be stuck on a specific weight level. Later you may even notice an upward trend in the readings, especially if you are working out.

What does this all mean?

At the beginning of a calorie restricted diet you usually lose a significant amount of water. This is deceiving to many because they think they are only losing fat. There are, however, small reductions in fat and lean muscle mass as well.

When you get to a point where you stop losing weight, this means you have reached a weight loss plateau.

If you are strength training or exercising by using big muscle groups you may notice the scale reading move back up. This is not necessarily bad. In fact it is generally a good thing and is caused by muscle build up. Muscle weighs, more than fat. Your body is going through a transformation. Your muscle to fat ratio increases and so does your weight.

Is it beneficial to have a weight scale? How often should you weigh yourself? Does it help or hinder your weight loss efforts? Studies say that keeping a weight scale for monitoring your weight may actually have a positive effect on weight loss.

While many weight loss programs recommend weighing yourself once a week, a recent study showed that subjects who monitored their weight daily, lost more weight and kept it off longer than those who did not. For more on how often you should keep track of your weight watch this accompanying video.



References:

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=55489