We think we say for most of us, we all work really hard in the gym.
We eat carefully and do all our cardio but sometimes the scale doesn’t move and this can be a little demotivating and make us wonder if we are doing things right.
One thing that most people forget but is crucially important is water retention gained from working out, especially when it comes to large muscle groups such as the legs.
Weight bearing and endurance exercise both cause tiny micro tears in your muscle fibres.
The more difficult and hard the workout, the more inflicted on the muscle the greater the water your body may hold.
Your body will begin to repair these tears right almost straight away, and the end result is stronger muscles that can cope better each and every time – and is also how we build muscle.
To defend itself against further injury after micro damage/trauma is to surround the afflicted area with fluid.
It is quite normal (and desirable for most!) for your freshly worked muscles to look pumped up from the additional fluid.
The scale often temporarily reflects this extra weight (due to water) even when you may be working hard to lose fat.
Stepping on the scale immediately after or even the days following your workout, is a very poor way to gauge your progress.
It is the general trend overall that matters – how you look in the mirror and chest, waist, hip and leg measurements too – a weight on a scale simply tells you what you weigh, not how you look – and what you weigh is often food in your stomach, and passing through your digestive system… plus water retention from working out.
Step away from the scale – don’t let it determine your happiness and feelings of well being!
