Stay Off the Sad Step

Hands up if you've ever come out of the gym feeling awesome after a great workout, gone into the changing room and jumped on the scales only to be left feeling deflated by the number staring back at you? We've all been there, but I'm going to explain why it's time to ditch the scales once and for all.

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to health and fitness is motivation and there's no bigger motivational killer than scales. I call scales the 'sad step', because they will almost always leave you feeling disappointed.

But the truth is, when it comes to hitting your health and fitness goals, the sad step is the worst measure of success you can possible get. Because no matter how hard you train, or how well you eat, the scales cannot measure some of the most important things when it comes your body, health and wellbeing.

Things the sad step CANNOT measure:

• Your fitness levels
• Your energy levels
• Your strength
• Changes in your body composition
• Your sense of achievement
• Your confidence
• Your happiness

When it comes to gaining lean muscle, the number on the scales is completely irrelevant. It's all about burning fat as well as adding lean mass to your body.

I've had clients who have completely transformed their bodies and yet the scales have only dropped by 2lb. In some cases, your body can be burning fat while the scales are going up. This can be hard for some people to comprehend because we've become so used to measuring our bodies on the sad step. But if you're training and eating right, those extra numbers on the scales do not mean you are gaining extra fat. You will actaully be building lean muscle. Also when you consume carbohydrates they are stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen and more glycogen means more water in the body which can equal outrageous gains on the scales.

I hear stories all the time from my clients who wake up and weigh themselves every single morning. More often than not, this leads to instant negative feelings and this can set the mood for the rest of the day. It's massively disheartening and can kill your motivation. This isn't the way to live and that's why I encourage all my clients to use progress pictures rather than the sad step to measure there success.

When you start any new fitness programme, take photos of yourself and repeat this at the end of each month. If you work hard, stay motivated and are consistent with your training and nutrition, you will see positive changes in your body that the scales will never show.

Progress photos are also more reliable than the mirror, because our minds can play tricks on us, especially when we're feeling low, and tell us that we are not making progress.

So I say throw away your scales or hit them really hard with a hammer. Focus on yourself and your journey to getting fitter and stronger and you will make progress everyday.

So be consistent, work hard and don't give up. Fat loss is a journey not a race.