Breaking Free from the Scale
According to data from the 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), roughly 1/3 of adults in the United States are overweight. The same survey found that 42.4% of adults are obese. Why does this matter? It is not news to most when I say that having a high amount of fat in your body can raise your risk for many health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Furthermore, heart disease is the number one cause of death for people in the United States, accounting for 21.4% of deaths in 2022. As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, this is greatly concerning to me!
The solution for all of this? Weight loss and lifestyle modifications. Weight loss does not happen overnight—especially not sustainable weight loss. Rather, it takes time, a positive mindset and consistency. Traditionally, people turn to the scale to measure their body weight or body mass index (BMI) as indicators of success in weight loss. However, some definite issues come into play when we rely solely on these measures to track weight loss. BMI is especially faulty as it measures body fat based on a ratio of height and weight—it cannot determine what weight lost is fat versus water versus lean weight lost. And measured weight can be an issue when trying to lose weight because weighing yourself too often and worrying about gains or losses can lead to unhealthy habits; not to mention if you find your weight not changing on the scale, it could be because healthy things are happening in your body—such as building muscle mass.
Rather than focusing on weight alone, it is important to emphasize other non-weight measures; focus on new healthy behaviors, better fitting clothing, improved medical markers, improved sleep, improved mobility, and energy levels are all non-weight measures to consider when losing weight. Some healthy behaviors which offer the most benefit to overall wellness include: eating nutritious foods, being physically active, having good, healthy relationships, managing and minimizing stress, and quitting smoking.
Who doesn’t love the feeling when a shirt or pair of pants you have not been able to fit into in ages finally fits like a glove? Weight aside, when the pounds come off, other health measures typically begin to improve as well; blood pressure and blood sugar are two measures of concern that you will normally see improve when you lose weight—reducing your risk for chronic disease down the line! A study from 2018 found that when people lost 15 or more pounds, they began to notice improved sleep quality! Improving mobility may not be something most people pay any mind to…until it happens to them. When you lose weight, some markers of improved mobility may include improved ease when getting up out of a seated position and improved ability to climb stairs, as well as an increase in the amount of time you can be up and on your feet. And the bow to wrap up all these amazing improvements with weight loss…improved energy! Who wouldn’t love to be able to get more done with the day before?
Eating nutritious foods doesn’t have to be difficult; in fact, it can be as easy as just accentuating what your current diet already is like to boost nutrient density. What do I mean by this exactly? A little example I like to use a lot is: you are having your favorite pizza, which normally you’d eat between three and four pieces of; rather than having the three to four slices, however, you eat two slices of this pizza and have a salad or your favorite vegetable on the side. In this way, you have already reduced your caloric intake by at least a few hundred calories and a decent amount of fat, plus, you have the added bonus of added fiber, vitamins, and minerals from the vegetables you have eaten.
Being physically active also doesn’t have to be a particularly daunting task. In fact, simply walking more can greatly reduce your risks of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. I don’t mean walking to the bathroom and calling it a day, though. Studies have found that adding 500 to 1,000 extra steps to your current routine can improve your cardiovascular health. The same studies have also found that adding 4,000 steps into your exercise routine can reduce your overall risk for mortality.
It is time to take the power away from the scale and place more emphasis on non-traditional measures of weight loss success!
