Sometimes That Scale Just Doesn't Move...Why is That?

Is this how you feel when you look at the scale?  Have you recently started getting into shape by exercising more and eating right, but that scale just doesn't seem to want to move? Arg its so frustrating!!!  When I first started running a couple years ago, I didn't drop a pound in over a month.  I know.  Its frustrating.  You feel like you are working so hard but nothing happens.  If you feel like this, take a deep breath and relax.  You are still getting healthier, even if the scale doesn't seem to agree. (This is why I don't really like scales...they lie too easily.  If you really want numbers to tell you how healthy you are, get a body fat reading.  If you don't have the opportunity to do that, forget the scale and go with how you feel and how your clothes fit.) 

So why doesn't the scale agree?  Because you are not just burning fat, you are building muscle.  Muscle is so important because your muscle is the vehicle that burns the fat. When you have more muscle, your body will burn more fat throughout the day.  Here's a great way to show you what I mean:

 

The gross yellow goopy stuff is 5 pounds of excess body fat. The red thing is 5 pounds of lean muscle mass.  So if you lose 5 pounds of excess body fat, but gain 5 pounds of muscle, the scale will remain the same, but you've made a huge positive change in your body! The muscle that replaced the fat is only good for you and will help you burn more fat later.  And don't worry, its not an endless process.  Eventually, you will condition your muscles enough that you will not need to gain anymore to perform your workouts. 

Even though I'm talking a lot about the numbers on the scale, please remember that those numbers are not the important thing.  Society puts so much emphasis on the scale numbes going down, but the really important thing is living a healthy lifestyle and feeling good about yourself!