Scales at Fitness Gear 101

The best advice that I can offer you is throw out your bathroom scale! That's right I said it! But easier said then done, I know!

In my opinion, society at large has become a slave to the scale. This demon lies in the bathroom greeting you each morning with its taunting dial, then judges us with a number. As a result our entire day can go down the toilet based on that number. An unfavorable weight reading can result in missed workouts, bad dietary choices and depression." Every fitness professional in the industry has a different theory about weighing one's self. All I can tell you is that I find that weighing myself daily a little excessive. Worse yet, it can be downright discouraging. An individual's weight fluctuates as much as 5 to 10 pounds due to many things fluid intake, digestion rate, time of the month (for women), sleep history, stress levels, the clothes your wearing and if you've recently gone to the washroom.

I personally believe that weighing myself in the nude, once a week (okay, maybe twice at the most) keeps me on top of my progress and motivates me to keep on doing what I'm doing. Each and every one of our bodies has a natural healthy weight due to uncontrollable things like genetics, bone density, previous injury, health conditions, etc. We can start ignoring what the media tells us we should look like and embrace our bodies for being the fittest and healthiest they can possibly be at their personal best.

• When you weigh yourself always try to do it on a precision gym or medical scale for the most accurate reading. Gym and doctor's scales are maintained regularly, unlike the 50-year-old scale in your grandma's bathroom.
• Weigh yourself weekly or bi-weekly at the most. 
• Weigh yourself the same time every day. A person's weight fluctuates constantly. You can weigh up to 5 pounds more at night than you did in the morning, which is enough to make you swallow a pint of Ben & Jerry's if you stuck to your diet all day. 
• Weigh yourself with minimal clothing on or, if privacy permits, in the nude. Shoes alone can add 5 to 8 pounds to your frame. 
• Before weighing yourself make sure you've gone to the washroom. Weighing yourself on a full bladder can add a few pounds. 
• Never weigh yourself after consuming a large meal or just after your workout.