Weight Vs Weight

ahhh yes the old adage.

"I want to lose weight"
"lose weight today"
"take this and lose weight"

What do all these companies mean by "weight"?
exactly as it states.
glycogen, water, salt, muscle, fat.

so, which one of those words should everyone, from bodybuilder to general population be focusing on?

Fat.

It should be called "fat watchers"

so all these companies, Jenny Craig, Weight watchers, U-weight loss, Herbal Magic etc are focusing on losing WEIGHT. yes, you'll lose WEIGHT.

will that make you happy? maybe. most people, women especially, are slaves to the scale. flat out slaves, making them very, very susceptible to compromising not on results, but health too.

Plus, most "lose 7 lbs in 7 days" is dropping water.
Stop eating carbs RIGHT NOW. see what happens on the scale. probably something. carbs hold onto water and glycogen. so, if you take them out, you'll lose water. this is not fat, and don't be deceived by this VERY common marketing trick. you'll say "wow i did lose that weight!" (when you should have said fat) and then you'll spend WAY too much on the company that prescribed the "super diet" to you.

so yes, how do we lose fat, say you?

STOP FOCUSING SO MUCH ON THE SCALE.

unless everything else is completely in check, the scale is awful for a measurement, especially in the beginning, and as a sole measurement.
when coupled with the other modalities of measurement, the scale can help with the story.

what do i use?
bodyfat calipers, measurements, photos, scale, clothes/mirror, and most importantly, STRENGTH.

strength is my #1 when it comes to progress. if your strength is still going up, men or women, providing technique/safety is there, then progress is happening.
how the heck can you stay the same weight, and have ZERO change be happening if your squat weight is going up?
exactly.
its not.
this means something is happening. I have NUMEROUS clients stay almost boarderline the EXACT SAME WEIGHT in their first month. of course, i can see the "defeated look" on their faces. then we look at their log book, and see their weight on the squat has tripled. women don't care (after numerous talks with me, They begin to understand that this is what they should be caring about) about the book, the scale the scale the scale the ajkdbfhadsnf.
you get my point.
SO... we do body fat calipers.
...."I lost 2% bodyfat?"
THATS INCREDIBLE RESULTS! 1 month of 2% loss???? thats 24% a year!!!! LIGHTENING RESULTS!!!
then I ask my famous question... "how are your clothes fitting?"
and every time... "better" or "my pants are looser" or "my shirts are too big"
and i just grin.
Tada. weight is not weight.

Yes, muscle has a greater mass than fat. Its around 2.2 lbs for every 1 lb of fat.
so, lets say you went down in clothing sizes, strength went up, and you're the same weight.
what happened?
you've done the impossible. gained muscle and lost fat. OH MY GOSH BUT MARTY THAT CAN'T HAPPEN ITS BEEN SHOWN IN STUDIES THATS JKASBDJASBHDA.
okay... then you explain to me what happened.
exactly, it did happen. you've lost X amount of fat, and gained X amount of muscle. turnover. this is really living the dream. I sure as heck know that I would LOVE to gain muscle/strength and lose fat at the same time.

so in closing, ladies especially, don't lose your mind over the scale. stop weighing yourself daily. in fact, stop weighing yourself hourly (I've seen this happen!!)

because a lb is not a lb.

Don't lose weight. Lose fat.