Losing weight can sometimes be one of the hardest things we can do. Getting to our desired weight can bring great joy but it does involve a lot of work, and being consistent with a healthy diet and exercise routine is important.
Most weight loss journeys consist of us weighing ourselves on a regular basis and sometimes we may get disheartened if the numbers on the scale haven’t reduced, even though we may be losing in inches. But why does that happen?
So, we reached out to Gauri Anand, Dietician, Nutritionist and Diabetes Educator, to ask her just that! Gauri says,
The main question is how you lose weight. Maintaining a balanced diet is key to losing weight. Going on juice cleanses or not eating are not healthy options in the long run. If losing weight is the goal, making sure you lose it in a healthy, balanced way is important. If done right, weight loss is more sustainable and will last longer. Rapid weight loss regimes might help you lose weight faster but the weight loss is not permanent.
According to Gauri, here are the top reasons we lose weight in inches first than on the scale.
1.We need to lose enough weight for us to see even the slightest change on the scale. On the other hand, we can lose inches faster and get accurate measurements. Doctors recommend we weigh and measure ourselves before going on a diet so we can mark our progress. Measuring ourselves can give us accurate progress results, as the first thing we see is the reduction in inches.
2. The other reason we might be losing in inches but not on the scale is because we might be developing muscles to replace fat. When building muscles, the scale might even increase. With muscles, we gain more strength and have the energy to perform our day-to-day activities.
3. Body composition is another factor. The scale might say that a bodybuilder is overweight but it does not have the ability to see that his muscles carry most of the weight. We have fat, muscles, water, bones and organs to balance in our body and the scale does not evaluate all of these.
4. The scale also changes during the day. After you have eaten food or have had water, the scale might be heavier than the time you weighed yourself on an empty stomach. With such rapid changes it makes it difficult for us to meet our target weight.
It is important that you take good care of yourself throughout your weight loss journey by using ways that are kinder and accurate to measure your journey.
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