Secret to Correctly Using Scales for Weight Control

What is the first question you are usually asked when you want to lose weight? "What do you weigh now and how much do you want to lose?" But really this is the wrong question depending on the circumstances. In my Hypnotic Gastric Banding weight loss program I have clients weigh themselves each week over the 4 weeks that we run the program. This is simply to provide me with feedback. If they are losing weight, then they are on track. If they are not losing weight then I need to help them discover what is stopping them.

One problem that can arise is when you do a lot of weight work and build up your muscles. Since the muscle will weigh more than fat, if you weigh yourself you get incorrect readings on whether you have lost weight. What you are after is not how much you weigh, but how much fat you are losing?

Fat is good for us. It protects the body and the organs from the cold, physical activities and other reasons. The percentage of body fat is generally higher in woman than men. One reason is due to nature. Woman may have additional stores for pregnancy and breastfeeding. But if you have too much you need to get rid of some. So instead of knowing the weight of the body, what you need to know is the weight of the fat in the body. However, even if you could weigh it, you would need to know the amount of fat that your body needs. This can be impacted by things such as your size, age and activity level. This measurement can therefore be misleading.

Another measurement that can be misleading is body mass index or BMI. This is where you jump on the scales and note your weight, and then you measure your height. You then divide your weight by your height squared. The value is compares to a range to identify if you are overweight, within range or underweight. This can be misleading because it assumes average muscle mass for a person. If you are an athlete doing a lot of weight work, or you are a slim person who does not do enough exercise, the BMI value may say they are in one area, when in actual fact their percentage of body fat is different.

To gain a better measurement, you want to look for the percentage of body fat that you have. Women in a healthy weight range should have between 20 and 31 percent body fat, whereas men in a healthy weight range should have between 15 and 24 percent body fat.

In the past it was hard to measure, but now it is easy. Just upgrade your scales. If you scales are the old scales that only show weight, then throw them out. It is time to move from the past to now and purchase new sophisticated scales. They tell you the weight, which as I said can be useful as feedback for my successful Hypnotic Gastric Banding program. But the scales also tell you the percentage of body fat. So when you get on this you can see how it is changing, no matter whether you are doing exercise or not.

These scales are called body composition scales and work by sending a small electrical current up through the feet to the body and measuring the resistance of the different body tissues. The measuring method is called bioimpedence analysis.

So go out and buy a new pair of scales and find out your percentage of body fat. Then you will know how much fat you need to lose.

By the way, if you like what you have just read, you will most likely enjoy our free ebook "How to lose weight using the power of the mind", more hints and information emails to help you control your weight, by registering at: http://www.hypnoticgastricbanding.com.au

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Donahoo

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