Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

What if I told you that you could lose 5 or even 10 pounds in ONE day using no pills or magical potions? Would you listen? Hell yeah you would!

Well, the sad news is, is that some of you guys are already doing that. Believe me, I hear it all the time - "I lost 8 pounds last week, but I gained it all back." Or this one, "I gained 2 pounds yesterday, but I lost 3 this morning!"

So what's the deal? Is it some weird mystery pound-dropper bug that's been going around? Well, yes and no. Yes to the fact that you have really no clue as to why you're dropping pounds so frequently. And no considering the fact that it's not uncommon.

Death To The Weight Scale!

There are a couple of reasons why I hate using a scale to measure my weight and why I think it's a bunch of bologna when someone tells me they lost or gained so and so amount of pounds.

"Give me death!"

Reason 1: You cannot lose 3 pounds of FAT in one day or gain 5 pounds of FAT in one day. Body fat just doesn't hop on and off your body whenever it wants. So what is causing these scale weight fluctuations?

Water. You won't ever stay the same weight for a full day. Your body will retain water and drop water if certain practices are taken but for the average person there is no point in doing so. Worrying about scale weight is only important for those competing in events such as bodybuilders, power lifters and boxers where they need to make a certain weight class.

Reason 2: It's just a number. Ok, you've figured out your weight. Now what? What does it mean? Nothing. Exactly. It means nothing. A weight scale doesn't measure your body fat percentage, muscle mass weight or any other measurement. For instance, a person can be the perfect weight for their age, height and sex, but their body composition can be pretty awful. Body composition is much more important than scale weight. What is body composition? Body composition is the percentage of fat, bone and muscle in a human body. That is what you should care about and want to change.

But how do you measure body composition?

Well, there are a few ways . Your pants are the best way, hands down, to measure your body composition. No dirty joke here. If your pants are getting looser, then that means you're headed on the right track. Pants are good because they measure inches, not pounds. And weight loss is the game of inches.

"Hmmm...now where did I put those damn pants?"

A second way to measure progress is to use your mirror. The mirror never lies. What you see is what you get. If you are slimming down in the mirror's eyes, then no weight scale can tell you otherwise.

Another way is through the use of body calipers. It may not be the most convenient way of gauging progress, but if you have access to them, then by all means use them. Body calipers will measure body fat. However, it can sometimes be difficult to find good body calipers and they can be quite expensive.

In the end, getting caught up in scale weight numbers is something that should be last on your list of priorities. If you have to keep buying smaller clothes, then you're definitely headed in the right direction. Now, get in that bathroom and smash the hell out of that scale!

- Juice