I know many people especially ladies came to the low fat raw vegan lifestyle due to a desire to balance their weight once and for all. A large part of my own motivation to go raw included my fluctuating weight.
Today I decided to write about the scales and how they can be so inaccurate when it comes to objectively measuring fat loss/gain.

Mum & I foraged free mangoes from the side of the road today

Most of us jump on the scales, look down and frown ... generally closely followed by a few personal put-downs…but are we jumping the gun and unwittingly letting a lil’ ol number dictate our mood for the day? Without actually inquiring as to whether the weight-gain is from fat, fluid or food?

The following factors should be taken into consideration as you take that step onto the scales…

- Glycogen and water weight levels vary throughout the day so this will affect the number on the scales as much as 1/2-1.5kgs.

- If you weigh yourself at any other time than first thing in the morning before drinking water and after having a bowel movement then you are just adding your food weight in your colon to your total kgs. You may as well fill your pockets up with sand.

Free mangoes....mmmm

- Glycogen stores can also increase your overall body weight, Glycogen is the stored form of glucose, you will find it mainly in your muscles and liver, once stored with the accompanying water (water is needed to store carbs in the body) a full glycogen tank can add an extra 2 kg to your total weight! So that’s why you may see an increase in your weight overnight sometimes

- Remember the scales do not just weigh fat, it weighs fat, water, organs, bone, everything. So when you decrease or increase your weight the scales can’t deferiantiate and tell you if it’s fat or not you have lost or gained…even those Tanita body fat scales are apparently highly innacurate…I was told by a leading exercise physiologist that the scales send an electrical impulse up one leg which then hits the bladder and travels down the other leg, only ever measuring the fat in an individuals legs (& quite innacurately at that!)

I'm eating LOTS of melons lately., this will last me a few days

More accurate fat measuring techniques are skin-fold pinch test, water tank (hydrostatic weighing) where apparently you are lowered into a water tank after exhaling all air from your lungs. There is also an impedance test (which I’ve had myself & found to be fairly accurate) which works by measuring the amount your body fat impedes an electrical current.

BMI is another inaccurate way to measure bodyfat because it doesn’t descriminate between fat & muscle! My ex-boyfriend who was a top bodybuilder carrying a mere 5% BF and loaded with muscle came up as obese using the BMI scale

Half a kilo of fat is about the maximum you can lose each week, yeh there are heaps of low carb diets out there that will show an initial decrease in total body weight but is it sustainable? No way, I don’t know about you but Im sick of the yo-you diet BS… the weight that you lose from these low carb diets is only water because of the decreased intake of carbs plus the fact that the body lets go of water it has been holding to dilute the current pollution in most people’s bodies.

The scales can definitely come in handy if you are wanting to keep track of your hydration, for example – say you weigh 60kg before your run then you jump on the scales after the run and you’re 58kg, this means you have lost mostly water (& a bit of glycogen weight) so replacing those 2kgs with water first then fruit soon afterwards is extremely important to maintain our hydration levels & homeostasis, in this way the scales can be very useful…

Also glycogen stores are being lost, this is especially apparent in a person fasting, I have done many short water fasts, longest being 8 days or so. Within those 8 days I would lose about 5kg, at the time I thought it was all fat but in such a short period like that, the loss was from a depleted glycogen stores (from lack of any coming in) plus the water that accompanies the carbs and maybe a small percentage of fat after 8 days. I have always gained back every ounce I have lost after a fast…plus some.

If you are a womyn reading this I really hope you embrace muscle as your friend, it is so valuable to have metabolically active muscle tissue if we want to speed up our metabolism and lose the fat the sustainable way. Muscle takes up less space than fat so, the more you have, the slimmer you are…muscle-building strengthens bones and connective tissue, which can protect your body from injuries in daily life, enhancing balance and stability not to mention building confidence and self-esteem.

So should we be aiming for fatloss anyway? I say no. Losing something is a form of deprivation and the Low Fat Raw Vegan lifestyle is about abundance not deprivation! Who really cares if your weight fluctuates a few kgs here and there, this also happens to animals in nature, we are conditioned to think that skinny = good and while being lean and healthy is the goal, rediculous unhealthy weightloss should not be, well not if you want to keep your sanity any way….Cut your carbs, lose your mind as far as I’m concerned but that’s another blog…

If we focus on gaining health and fitness and not on losing something then our chances of success are multiplied…Keep your mind firmly focused on the healthy body & mind of your dreams and before you know it you WILL be in that body, I am a living example of this being true.

My obsession with my weight could’ve killed me in the end…downing weightloss drugs, ecstasy and other stimulants in an attempt to shed the kg’s…man glad I’m off that merry-go-round…You can read more about it here if you haven’t already….

So I guess the take home from this blog is -
Don’t be a slave to a number on the scales! Be a healthy shining example of health and fitness, build beauty from within so it shines outwards inspiring others who come in contact with you. Keep in mind that the scales are a very innaccurate way to measure fat loss and fat gain… It’s ultimately all about how you feel and when you feel vibrant & healthy you generally look vibrant & healthy! so quit jumping on the scales every 5mins and get a life! Who really cares if you have a few extra kilo’s on you anyways?? Fluctuations in weight is NORMAL and if you think getting to say 60kgs on the scales will make you happy, think again…You will get to 60kgs and you will still be unhappy and all of a sudden 55kgs will make you happy and so the painful cycle continues…I’m outa that loop! Happiness comes from within & especially easy to attain after a large fruit meal!

Keep it sweet & juicy
Lovefreelee

This is me eating all the fruit i care for, I gave up the scale obsession & started eating as much as i wanted, fruit doesn't make you fat!!...