Judge weight loss by your clothes, not your scale

Our education this week for Get Fit! focuses on body composition and what our bodies do when we are on an exercise/eating plan. The #1 goal for most of our participants is to lose weight. However, the scale can play mind games – especially when deciphering muscle weight from fat. So it's best to concentrate on how you’re feeling and what kind of gains you are experiencing in your life. And another good measure is how your clothes fit.

The most effective way to build lean muscle and reduce the size of your fat cells is to establish a healthy eating and exercise plan. And our Get Fit! participants have really embraced this lifestyle change. It’s exciting to see how exercise is making them feel good about themselves regardless of what the scale says.

I’m curious, how does exercise make you feel?

~Kim

Catching up and still making progress

Took a vacation - but not from exercising and mindful eating. As I shared my goal was not to gain weight on my vacation. I enjoyed fresh white fish and trout - one supplied an hour after catch from our neighbors! Got my once a year fix of wine bread - not to be missed from the Candy Shoppe in Bayfield. Also enjoyed wine in a glass! But this year I really increased my activity level at the same time. Several long bike rides and quite a few power walks.

So did I reach my goal of not gaining weight. I think so. What I learned is that one should not eat popcorn the night before a weigh in. So while the scale did not reflect the good news - how my clothes fit did. Thanks Kim for that reminder.

The Get Fit instructors and fellow classmates share so much information and good cheer. It reinforces my need for a healthy social atmosphere - that provides fun, a bit of competition and another level of accountability. Good to know what you need when designing a successful workout program.

I meet with Kim tonight to go over my goals and check in to see how I'm doing.

Weighing In

One of the highlights (?!?) of the Saturday classes is weighing in.

I confess - I missed last Saturday's class. I somehow thought I could wedge this class into the day's agenda that included my daughter's high school graduation. Not! I do think I made up the exercise portion of the class with the sheer physical labor of setting up for the Sunday party.

So I faced the scale prior to Monday's class. The good news - I lost 1.6 pounds. It's this kind of feedback that movivates me for more.

It also led to an interesting discussion of how often to weigh in. One of the women who successfully lost weight with the last session weighs in every day. For her it's the best way to stay on track. She even confessed to taking a scale with her on vacation!

I'm curious - what works for you?