Want to lose weight? – You’re WRONG!

Many people set goals of losing weight. Unfortunately, they are wrong.!!  Huh, what’s that? – yup I said it – Wrong wrong wrong!

• You do not want to lose weight
• You do not need to lose weight
• You are going down a slippery slope and need to get some traction

So what the heck am I talking about? – first we need a little context…

What is weight?

definition

NOUN
a body’s relative mass or the quantity of matter contained by it, giving rise to a downward force; the heaviness of a person or thing:

Essentially it is a number we put on ourselves to measure our size. – so what does this number mean..? In the grand scheme of things – not a hill of beans.

We use this number (label) as an easy means to measure something totally different. Something so off base as to what weight REALLY means [to us], and we put ourselves into a hole that is almost impossible to get out of.

Stop using labels!!

Our weight is simply that – a label. It is an arbitrary number we put on ourselves. Whoa!!  what do you mean arbitrary? It is a real number that is measured – true data – how the hell can you say something like that.?

Easy!

We measure weight yet we really mean “health” – we want to be healthier. We just do not have an easy means for measuring “health”. We default to using weight. Which is wrong on so many levels. A trap I am getting into yet again.

I have been wanting to write this blog post for some time. I find myself falling down this slippery slope, and now I must remind myself of what I truly want (guess what, it’s not weight loss!!) – I want to be healthier and “fitter” – to find an optimal body composition – to improve my life.

Losing weight is easy!

Want to lose weight? I can guarantee 5 pound weight loss in a day! I can guarantee 10 pounds in the same day! GUARANTEED!!

• To lose 5 pounds – cut off your forearm
• To lose 10 pounds cut off your whole arm

Both of these will achieve your goal – losing weight. Albeit at quite the extreme. What does losing weight now accomplish towards my TRUE GOAL? – nothing!

Here is the rub. Many of us do not like the way we look and feel. Gotcha, I am in the same boat. All too often we turn around and equate how we look and feel and put that in direct correlation to that number on the scale. This is where we are SO wrong.

The number (single number = weight) has only a fraction to do with how we look and feel – more essentially, our overall health.

What we need to measure is how do we feel? How is our body composition (fat / muscle ratio)? Are we more aerobically fit this week than we were last week? Are we getting more efficient [healthier] or less efficient [lethargic]?

See the pattern here?

When we look into the mirror, we want the image looking back at us to have a different body composition that what we may currently have. Changing the number on the scale will NOT change our reflection. We need to stop looking at the scale to fix the perception of how we feel.

How we see ourselves and to what end we must go to achieve these desires need to come from a health perspective.

Where am I going with all this?

When we works towards a healthier “ME” we need to work towards just that – healthier. This is a culmination of a few things:

• Body composition
• Aerobic capability
• Mental well being

None of these are a direct correlation to that number on the scale. Some times it can be quite contrary.

Personal Example

I have been over-weight – “Unhealthy” my entire life. At one point the term “clinically obese” was used to describe me. I had an 80 – 90 % chance of becoming diabetic. (The heaviest I weighed on a scale was 298 pounds – I was 18 years old.)

Losing weight, going on diets, etc. has consumed a majority of my life.

What I REALLY wanted was to feel good. Feel “Fit”. Be able to have an active life and not become one with my couch.

(I will cover other stories at a later time. For now, fast forward to the past couple of weeks.)

I am working with a group in a “Nutrition Challenge” being hosted by Cristina from Fueled Coaching.

Although I am not following the menu like I should, I am following the concepts – Whole foods, adding veggies and fruits, focusing on “fueling” and not dieting.

So what is happening… ?

I am tracking many data points, not just weight. Here is where it truly makes a difference.

The past week I have gained weight – and I am starting to (well, my old habits are trying, but I am not allowing it) go down the slippery slope.

Weight is going from 204.6 -> 206 -> 207.4 – exactly not what I am looking for… I am eating healthy, working out, and gaining weight?  WTF?

The bigger picture

I am tracking multiple data points. Now, I understand these are not 100% accurate as I am just using my bathroom scale. They are consistent with this measuring device and procedure – so I will use them to track trends…

(procedure: get up, go to bathroom, then right to scale – each day. Yes, for me I need to check in daily)

Looking at the other data:

• Body fat % – 38.8 -> 38.1 -> 36.9 – Whoa! – I am losing FAT!
• Water % – 44.6 -> 45.1 -> 46 – OK, I am retaining / gaining water – yes there is a reason here!
• Muscle – 68 -> 68.6 -> 69.8 – I am building muscle

Now, if we look at ALL the DATA – I am losing fat, gaining muscle, retaining a bit more water – and gaining a little bit of weight.

What does the big picture tell us? – I am getting “fitter” – totally contrary to what my weight is telling me. Yet this is perfectly in line with my goals!

Feelings

Did you sing that? If not, try again.. sing it with me FEEEELINGSSSSS….

The past few days I have FELT GREAT – again totally opposite what my weight is telling me. Here is where I need to focus. Not go down the slippery slope… headed into the weekend, scale says I gained weight – F-It! gonna go on an eating bender.. I mean why not, I am not making any progress..  TOTALLY FALSE!

I am doing GREAT! I need to keep doing what I am doing… Stay on track, focus – keep on keeping on!

If we allow ourselves – if I allow MYSELF – to fall into the “weight” trap, we may start to do things which are not healthy – to achieve the wrong goal. Starving ourselves – yes will lose weight, also lose muscle, fitness, etc. – bad JuJu…

Results

So, do I want to lose weight? – no.!

What do I want to do? – I want to get healthier and leaner – to help me lead a more active and productive life!!

How about you? Do you want to lose weight or do you want to get healthy and improve your overall body composition? Do you want to get off the slippery slope? – Yeah, thought so!!

Wishing you Peace, Love & Success!

-Dennis

P.S. – having trouble getting to your goal? Are you setting the RIGHT goals? Let me know… I can help! A great program is in the works, which can be applied to many areas of your life, including getting healthier. This is a goal oriented program and will be coming soon! Sign up for more information – HERE.