The Scale Is In!

So Mike brought in a scale today. I was nervous because it's a glass scale--a kind I've never seen before. Soon as we had it put together, he stepped on it...

He'd lost 2 pounds.

But don't jump for joy yet. Funny thing about weight loss: What is reflected on a scale is usually an inaccurate picture of what's going on. If you ate the same amount every day, got the same amount of exercise every day, and depending on what time of day you weigh yourself, you may see that number fluctate up and down 2 to 3 pounds each time. For example, if you weigh yourself in the morning after using the bathroom, you may be 1 pound under your usual weight. And then after eating breakfast, eating lunch, and before using the bathroom again, you may look two or three pounds heavier. The scale, my friends, doesn't lie--but it can exaggerate.

So it's a good idea to weigh yourself at the same time every day and record the number, and take the average weekly weight. This will give you a more accurate reading of whether you have lost or gained weight. For Mike and Tai, we will weigh them before each workout, and keep a log.

In the meantime, I have asked all my fitness clients to record everything they eat. Every day, they will record every soda, every cheeseburger, every salad.... and then use a calorie counter to keep a record of what they're taking in. Weight loss, friends is the result of calories in vs. calories out. Burn more calories than you take in, and you will lose weight. It is a simple formula.

It is also good to know how many calories you should be taking in to maintain your health. It's more than just starve yourself and get skinny that way; depriving yourself will actually cause your body to store more of what you eat. To avoid the risk of telling you wrong, please visit this site to learn how to calculate what your daily caloric intake should be. Now once you figure out how many calories you need to maintain, then reduce what you take in by 500-700 calories per day to lose about a pound a week off of diet alone. Add a regular workout schedule to this, and you can realistically lose 3 - 5 pounds a week with determination and consistency.

So back to Mike, we just did the same workout we last week, except he did about 6 trips of side-skipping across the width of the gym. We did so at a slow pace, and as he gets stronger, we will sprint these trips. We are not doing much strength training at this point. Mainly, our goal is to get his muscles accustomed to being used, to get his heart pumping and his lungs filling up. At the same time, we are shooting for all-around fitness: His arms, his thighs, the midsection, his calves. Once he gets stronger, he will be more capable of performing the kind of workout that will blast fat from his body.

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