Fire Your Bathroom Scale, Here's Why

Because it is lying to you. Maybe not in the way that you think it is, but it's lying nonetheless. Your bathroom scale is the last thing you need to trust when you want to lose weight because it weighs everything; muscle, fat, bones, blood, organs, and water. And that's not the information that you need in order to make the best decision as to how much weight you truly need to lose.

So fire your scale, and hire your mirror. Then you will be part of the way through your weight loss and management hiring process. I know, your mirror tells you harsh things as well, right? Mine does too, that's why I only look at my physique in a mirror when I know I look my best. When is that?

For me, it's when I wake-up each morning and go into the bathroom; after I have lost water weight due to urinating and sweating. Another time (and my absolute favorite) that I feel safe looking at my physique in a mirror is immediately after a workout.

Do not look at your physique in a mirror at any other times, until you reach your desired goals, physically that is. Otherwise, you will be judging your appearance based upon bloating from the foods that you have eaten, as well as water weight from fluids and foods.

Photo courtesy of Flickrdotcom-Paul H-

The other employee (and a very important one) that you must hire is a skin-fold caliper. They will do what your bathroom scale failed to do; tell you how much fat you are carrying. The amount of fat that we carry (when added into pounds) comes out to be a small percentage of our total body weight.

Knowing the percentage of fat that you are carrying will return the power to you; power that your bathroom scale robbed you of for far too long. For example: let's say you are a male who weighs 180 pounds, with 50 pounds of body-fat. A healthy body-fat percentage for adult males is about 13%; which means you would only have to lose 6 1/2 pounds (of fat) if you made 13% body fat your goal.

So knowing how much body fat that we are carrying before we start losing weight is very important. And we don't have to try and lose too much of our body-fat, because we need it in order for our bodies to function properly. How much body-fat is considered healthy for women?

• Young adult women: 8 - 22%
• Middle-aged women: 25 - 38%
• Elderly Women: 25 - 35%

How much body-fat is healthy for males?

• Young adult: 8 - 22%
• Middle-aged: 10 - 25%
• Elderly: 10 - 23%

Body-fat is important in both women and men for the purposes of healthy hormone production, joint protection, and energy, just to name a few. Another employee that you must hire in place of your bathroom scale is your clothes; they will be honest about how much progress you are making by gradually becoming looser as you burn fat.

Bathroom scales are especially mean to fitness-minded individuals, who usually weigh more because we tend to have more muscle mass. But if you absolutely must keep your bathroom scale on the job, allow it to work only as a consultant. Let's go.