Redefining Health: Beyond the Scale
Welcome to the Counter Culture Health podcast. I'm doctor Jen McWaters. And I'm coach Kaitlin Reed. We're here to help high achieving women overcome mental blocks, find freedom from anxiety, create an abundant life, and build the body and life that they deserve and desire. In this weekly podcast, we'll uncover the raw truth about mental health, nutrition, fitness, and beyond. Let's get to it.
Jen:Hey, guys. Welcome back to Counter Culture Health. Today, it is Kaitlin and I, and we are going to chat about the scale. And Kaitlin's going to lead this conversation. I think it's a really important one because I know that for a lot of folks and particularly women who's maybe struggle with weight gain or trying to lose weight, the scale can have a lot of power over them. So today, Kaitlin's gonna walk us through how we can improve our relationship with the scale, how to better understand what the scale is telling us, and how to not let it have power over us in a negative way. So with that, Kaitlin, where do you wanna start?
Kaitlin:Yeah. I'm super excited about this topic today because I just think so many people have a poor relationship with the scale, and, part of it is because we've never been properly taught how to use the scale and what the scale is actually telling us. All people know is that if the scale goes up, that's bad, and if the scale goes down, that's good, which is not a good measure of progress at all. So when people say that the scale causes them negative emotions or that it makes them happy or sad or determines the trajectory of their day and how their day is going or if it determines if they're making progress or not or, if it's the only tool to measure progress, it only tells me that they don't understand the scale. So today, I wanna break things down to help people understand the scale, and what the scale is actually telling us and then, of course, other measurements of progress outside of just the scale.
Kaitlin:So when thinking about this, I like to, I like to use a T chart. So kind of, you know, splitting a piece of paper in half and labeling one side of it, categories that that are, like, slow movers, things that do not move very fast. And then on the other side of the t chart, you can think about, quick fluctuations and kind of separate these into two categories. The other important thing too is that it what I really like to work with people on is not focusing so much on weight loss, but changing body composition. So changing your body composition is so much more than weight loss.
Kaitlin:It means building muscle and decreasing body fat. And what the scale tells us is only total mass. Right? It's just a number of total mass. It doesn't tell us anything about our body count.
Kaitlin:Does it how much muscle mass we have, how much fat mass we have, how much, you know, bone mass we have, water weight, anything like that. It doesn't tell us anything except for total weight. So it's very important to understand all the things that are actually going into what is showing up in this total number that we see on the scale. So breaking it down into these categories can be super helpful in kind of, like, sorting things out and looking at us facts and data and not, like, this emotional thing that we get caught up in. So in the slow mover category will be lean muscle mass, bone density, and body fat.
Kaitlin:These things are slow. They do not move very quickly. They do not fluctuate day to day. So we would know if we got on the scale and there's a fluctuation that's not coming from muscle mass, bone mass, or body fat because they're slow. They take forever.
Kaitlin:They don't fluctuate day to day. And going back and remembering, the important thing is thinking about building muscle decreasing body fat, not just total weight loss. Because if we get focused on weight loss, some of that weight could come from muscle mass, which is not great because that just puts us in a worse position metabolically. So when we lose weight, we don't want it to come from muscle. Right?
Kaitlin:So on average, these are just, like, average numbers. People have about 70 to a 10 pounds of lean muscle mass on their body, and we can only build about half a pound to two pounds of muscle a month a month. Building muscle is a painfully slow process, so this is not going to show up as a fluctuation on the scale day to day. This is something that we would want to look at trends over months and years, not day to day. You know?
Kaitlin:And point five pounds of muscle a month is usually the people that have been lifting weights for a long period of time. So, you know, they've they've been doing it for a while. It's harder to build more muscle. Two pounds per month is people that are newer to strength training and have a lot of room to to build muscle. So then we have bone density, or bone mass.
Kaitlin:It's about five pounds, will contribute, to about five pounds, and this doesn't change much at all. So this is not going to be a big fluctuation plus or minus. You know, as we age, we can lose bone mass, but, of course, strength training helps out with that, but this is not going to be a big fluctuation. And then body fat is about 30 to 70 pounds on average. And we can lose about a half a pound to one pound per week.
Kaitlin:So once again, very slow. This doesn't show up, as a daily fluctuation. It's trends over time, weeks, months, and years. So to put this into per perspective, if someone had someone had 30 pounds to lose and we're on the higher end of losing one pound a week, that is still thirty weeks. That will take you thirty weeks if you're doing it properly.
Kaitlin:So you think about, like, most people don't have the patience for that, or, you know, to put in that that time, that consistency, the patience to allow for it to take that long. You know, and this is not going to happen day to day. Thirty weeks of being consistent to reach your goal. And think of it if we're on the more conservative end of about a half a pound, that's sixty weeks to lose 30 pounds, which is over a year. So this stuff takes time.
Kaitlin:It takes time. You have to be patient in this process.
Jen:And that's why it's also so hard. Yes. And, right, why people get so frustrated is because if you wait in a healthy way, it is a not there's there's no, instant gratification. It's complete delayed gratification and consistency.
Kaitlin:Yes. Discipline, consistency. Yeah. Delayed gratification. There's nothing, instant about this process when we do it correctly.
Kaitlin:And and that's very hard and frustrating for a lot of people to grasp that it's going to take that long because everybody just wants it right now. Right? But that's it it didn't take you know, we didn't get here overnight, so it's not going to change overnight. So it's really important to come into this process with realistic expectations too. You know, and and these are these numbers are if you are doing things properly and consistently.
Kaitlin:So think about if you're not consistent either. It's gonna take even longer. So I just wanna share that to really put into perspective about, you know, how long this actually takes and, being realistic about the timeline with things too.
Jen:So Side side two for Caitlin is more reason to get a coach is because of that. Right? Like, it's so hard to be self motivated when that's such a long timeline, and consistency is so key. And just really grinding it out and having someone's gonna encourage you through that that slow process. So a coach would be incredibly helpful, I imagine, if you're on that journey.
Kaitlin:Necessary to do it properly. Because oftentimes what people, you know, people try to do it on their own, they're going to look for something quick. You know, they're gonna take extreme measures, not do it in a healthy way, and it's just not going to be realistic and sustainable. And, you know, when you lose weight fast like that, most of it comes from muscle mass, and that's what we're trying to avoid too. So having someone to work with that will, you know, make sure your macros are appropriate, make sure you're hitting enough protein, make sure you're strength training, to do this in the proper way so that it's sustainable, over the long term.
Kaitlin:Yeah. So that's on the slow mover side of our t chart here. Now we have the fluctuations, things that can change daily that, you know, if you're someone that gets on the scale daily and you're like, oh my gosh. I'm up two pounds from yesterday or, you know, you're seeing these daily fluctuations. It's not that you're actually gaining or losing weight.
Kaitlin:There's things that contribute to daily fluctuations, and it's very important to understand this. And those things can be water fluctuations, inflammation, and the food that we consume. So water fluctuations, we can fluctuate one to four pounds daily. That's significant. Because I think, you know, if you get on the scale and you're up or down four pounds and you think that it's, oh, I lost weight or you're mad because you gained weight, but water can contribute to that.
Kaitlin:So things that impact water fluctuations, being dehydrated, eating more, sodium, carbs, or sugar than normal because that can cause you to hold on to more water weight. So that's going to show up on this scale, not as weight gain, but just the water fluctuation. Hormones, this is really important for women to understand during their cycle as our estrogen increases. It causes us to hold on to more water. So we're feeling more bloated, inflamed.
Kaitlin:This can show up on the scale. If you're someone that travels a lot for work, that can have an impact. You know, in all of these fluctuations, it doesn't mean that you're actually gaining or losing weight. They are, you know, fluctuations that can come from all of these things as well. Inflammation.
Kaitlin:This could contribute to one to two pounds on the scale. This could come from things like consuming alcohol, being sick, being sore from your workouts, having food sensitivities, so you have GI issues. Now you're more inflamed. Going out to eat where, you know, maybe you're consuming more than what you're used to, more sodium, more oils, things like that can that can lead to inflammation in the body, and then food, which contributes to about one to two pounds on this scale. So it's very important to understand the difference between, like, actual, you know, weight gain and water, these daily fluctuations that can happen and actually understanding what can contribute to these daily fluctuations and know that it's not actual weight gain, but, you know, water inflammation in food and things that we consume on a daily basis.
Kaitlin:So I encourage people, you know, when they get on the scale and there's this fluctuation, to really separate from it emotionally and look at it as information and data, not something to get caught up in emotionally, and being able to reflect back on your week and say you know, rather than, like, freaking out and be like, oh my gosh. The scale's up or whatever. You have to pause and reflect back on your week and think about all the things that happened that could contribute. So ask yourself, did I consume alcohol this week? Did I go out to eat this week?
Kaitlin:Did I eat more carbs, sugar, or sodium than usual this week? Did I eat more sweets than usual? Did I get really bad sleep this week? Am I sore from my workouts? Am I about to start my period?
Kaitlin:Are you sick? Am I more stressed than normal? All of these things will show up on the scale, but it doesn't actually mean that you're gaining or losing, weight, body fat, which is what we're actually looking at and what is most important. To kinda you have to separate it from from it mentally and emotionally and go back and evaluate your week to see what actually happened to contribute to these things. And this doesn't stay here forever.
Kaitlin:You know? Three days back to, like, your normal routine and eating patterns, working out, whatever, you will be back. Like, your your body doesn't hang on to this water weight and inflammation forever. It's temporary. Three to five days, you'll be back to normal and kinda back to baseline in where you were.
Kaitlin:The important thing is is that you have to remind yourself three three to five days and not make some overcorrections in this moment. Because what people tend to do is they see, oh, the scale's up this week, and then they're gonna restrict and over exercise and, like, overcorrect and do all these crazy things to try to get the scale to go back down when really they just need to be patient and get back to doing what they were doing before and not overcorrect in those moments.
Jen:Makes sense. Yeah. And I think it really makes I mean, it's making me think about how people who are weighing themselves daily or even weekly, how they're just creating more emotional suffering for themselves because I know many I've had many clients in my life who have been so distraught over that or even maybe even excited over a few pounds when, like you said, it may not mean much of anything. It's really a slow process over time. So it it's, you know, my my thought is if it's causing folks to stress for listening to this to weigh themselves, a, work with a professional, you know, such as such as, you, Caitlin, but also, b, really consider, do you need to be weighing yourself that often?
Jen:Is it really helping you? Is it hurting you emotionally? Is it really giving you data points that are helpful? Again, maybe it's pointing to if you have lots of ups and downs, like you said, maybe it's about your lifestyle choices too that are leading to your body going up and down, inflammation and stress and food. Yep.
Jen:So right? Because I would think that when we have a a really balanced lifestyle, we're eating well, those fluctuations are probably a little bit less even though they're still gonna happen as far as hormones go.
Kaitlin:Yep.
Jen:Right. But my understanding would be that people do yeah. Right. Minimal. So that's that could be a good data point.
Jen:Like, if you have a lot of ups and downs, it could be that's pointing to your lifestyle factors, not so much your actual weight, but that your body is probably just regulated a lot as it's trying to compensate for alcohol and lack of sleep and, you know, just maybe decadent indulgences with food and, all these other things going on, dehydration.
Kaitlin:Yep. That's a very good point. Yeah. That if you're having a lot of fluctuations day to day, it's pretty, you know, pretty sure thing that it's lifestyle choices or, you know, something's going on with digestion or, whatever it could be. But the most important thing is to look at what you want to do is look at trends over time, talking like months and years and not these daily things either.
Kaitlin:So, you know, I don't encourage people to weigh themselves every day, but if you do, understanding what's actually going on and not not thinking that it's actually you're actually gaining or losing weight. You know, once a week, maybe. I still think that's a lot. Once a month, maybe. You know, because the other thing too, it's like, if you are if you're trying to lose weight, we do have to have data points to look at to see if, you know, what we're doing and implementing is actually working and your body's responding to it, you know, to have that data.
Kaitlin:But there's also a a lot of other things to look at, you know, as measures of progress outside of just the scale. The scale should not be your only measure of progress because if it is, it will drive you insane. So things like, you know, are you feeling better overall? Do you have more energy? Are you getting stronger in the gym?
Kaitlin:Are you getting better sleep? Is your digestion better? Is your skin better? Are your clothes fitting differently? There's just so many other measures of progress outside of just the scale that are so important to pay attention to.
Kaitlin:Because a lot of times people get so focused on the scale and lose sight of all of the amazing things that are happening and changing. Right.
Jen:And like you said earlier, because of you have these multiple things happening, you have fat loss, muscle gain. That number is, again, not gonna be accurate. You could be actually losing quite maybe a lot of fat, but because muscle gain is also happening, that's going to not show up on the scale. Now you're gonna talk about better ways of actually measuring those data points because they're separate things. You cannot jumble them all into the number on the scale.
Jen:Exactly. So people who that I know are doing it the right way and weightlifting finally and, you know, exercising, that number is gonna look it's it's not gonna shift maybe as dramatically compared to someone who's just maybe doing it the wrong way aggressively, losing lots of fat quickly, but they're also losing muscle mass. So the number is changing, but doesn't mean that they're metabolically in a better place and the person has a higher number but is doing the weightlifting. Is that fair to say?
Kaitlin:Yes. Yep. Super accurate. Yep. And, you know, the other thing too is that I've had a lot of people make amazing progress, but the scale isn't the scale isn't moving or not what they thought it would be.
Kaitlin:So then, therefore, they think that they're not making progress. And it's like and then they want to overcorrect and make changes and do all this, you know, silly stuff when it's like, no. But did you just listen to all of the amazing things that are happening right now and how much better you feel and how much stronger you are. Like, those things are so much more important.
Jen:Right. For blood work. Right? Like, instead, go in for blood work and look at your your numbers there and your triglycerides and cholesterol and blood pressure. Those are things, right, that are probably gonna show up and be more, I think, indicative of health and what the number is on the scale too.
Kaitlin:Yep. Yep. So like we mentioned at the beginning, the scale only totals a a number of total mass. It doesn't actually break things down of what's actually happening in the body. So if anybody actually wants a, an accurate picture of what is going on in their body in regards to muscle mass, fat mass, bone, visceral fat, all of those things.
Kaitlin:The most accurate thing to do is to go get a DEXA scan done and then retest, like, six months afterwards to see, you know, are are things moving in the right direction? Are we making progress? That would be the most accurate way to, measure What's that holding in Caitlin? DEXA scan, d e x a. And you could do I mean, they're pretty, like, common now.
Kaitlin:You can find them at any, like, wellness or fitness place, Fairly
Jen:So, like, trainers do them, not just doctors' offices, but, like
Kaitlin:No. I would say, like, not at a gym. I'm more like a actual, like, wellness.
Jen:Like a clinic. It has to be like a medical facility. Yeah. Okay. Mhmm.
Jen:Mhmm.
Kaitlin:Yeah. But you brought up a good point too earlier about the scales that read, like, dog mass and muscle mass. Those are a big no too.
Jen:So they're just not I mean, what is just gimmick? Just a way to get money? Yeah. Sell. Right?
Jen:Yeah.
Kaitlin:No. Because on those things, that stuff fluctuates daily too. It's like and we already discussed fat mass and muscle mass is not going to be a daily fluctuation. So, if somebody is looking at that, you have to, you know, use the tools that we went over today to evaluate, you know, what is contributing to fluctuations and then look at trends over time to see if we're trending in the right direction, not these, like, daily or weekly fluctuations that can happen.
Jen:So I'm curious. What do you recommend for people who maybe aren't on this extreme end who have, let's say, an eating disorder and maybe shouldn't be weighing themselves at all. And you and I both have worked in eating disorder, clinics facility, so we've all probably you and I have probably been familiar with that where they'll do, like, scale breaking exercises and people can't do it. You know, I I think there can be some in place for that. And, obviously, if you need to break up with your skill, do it.
Jen:Because I don't think you need to have one personally, and unless there's a medical reason to do that, you're under the care of a a doctor or provider. I don't necessarily think it's something you have to have. But if you're not needing to break up with it and you want to have it, what is a healthy relationship to have with the scale so that it doesn't like it has power over you?
Kaitlin:Yeah. I think the most important thing is is just being able to understand understand the information that it's actually telling you and how to read it properly and be able to evaluate it as data and information, not take it personally, not let it ruin you mentally or emotionally or determine, how you think about yourself or how your day is going to go. You have to look at it as just data and information. You know? So I think that you know, I don't think avoidance of things that we struggle with is always the answer either.
Kaitlin:It's like, how do we develop a healthy relationship with it and actually understand it? So, yeah, some people may it may not be best for them, but, also, it's like maybe we need to work on the relationship with it and understand what it's actually telling us also. You know? And so I do I different with everybody's different. Some people I have weekly and some are monthly.
Kaitlin:Just kinda depends on, you know, what what our goals are, what we're working towards, and, their relationship with it. Some people, we start off with not using it at all, and then we start working on the relationship, and we can introduce it. You know, so it's it's so nuanced. Everyone's different, and I just take different approaches with with a lot of people. I've I I wouldn't recommend daily or even you know, there's people that do multiple times a day after every time they go to the bathroom, after every time they eat something.
Kaitlin:That's, that's not not healthy at all. Would not recommend.
Jen:For sure. And I I would add there too, just notice how you feel when you do weigh yourself. And if it's, like you said, ruining your day and changing your perspective on who you are or impacting your self esteem, really take a step back and evaluate that and decide, does it make sense for me to be doing this? Is there a different way that I can relate to this information? Maybe I need to put it away for a while, work with someone one on one, and get back on track so that, like you said, you can treat it like this neutral data point rather than something that means something emotional or something that reflects your value or worse.
Jen:That's where I think it goes it goes really arrive for people and and becomes this power struggle with it. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.
Kaitlin:And I think the the goal is to, you know, get on it and be like, alright. Cool. Let me move on with your day. Great.
Jen:Right. Well, I think about I think you've shared this once with me, and I've had this experience too. Like, in the past, when I, before children, before I had a child, and before I married when I had lots of time to be by myself and do, like, the gym, I gained a lot of muscle. And, again, my weight actually went up and clothes didn't fit as well. Like, they fit differently.
Jen:So, like, shorts, like my thighs grew, for example. So even though I looked more fit, it was frustrating because it's like, well, now I have to go up in size and shorts to accommodate, like, my muscle. So, again, your body changes in so many ways. The number is, though, I think, just, you know, just, again, one very small data point, but think about that too. Like, and I think that's we sign a progress, but women get so fixated on the number and then size of clothing First, again, if you're lifting, you've, I'm sure, had this experience.
Jen:It changes what clothes you can fit in because your shoulders will widen and your thighs will, you know, get bigger with muscle, but you're gonna look amazing. Yes. But the clothes are gonna be different. So you just have to just be flexible with the way you think about these things and and not get so, rigid in thinking about what is the appropriate like, what shirt size I have to wear, right, or pants size that I must wear and what number is okay for me to be at versus not.
Kaitlin:Yep. Yep. And I will say women's clothing is not built for muscular women.
Jen:So No. It's not. I also think that's why anytime I see fitness people online, they're always in workout gear. I'm like, oh, it's good. They just
Kaitlin:stretchy things always. Yes. Yeah.
Jen:Makes total sense.
Kaitlin:I would say focus on how you feel. That's what's most important. You know, and when you're doing things to, take care of your health, you know, you're eating well, you're kind of strength training, you're managing your stress, you're getting enough sleep, you're being mindful with your alcohol intake, you know, and doing things for your health, everything else is gonna follow. It's just the natural side effect of taking care of yourself.
Jen:I love that. Is there anything else that you wanna share with us before we pause for today? I love it.
Kaitlin:It. We talked about it. Okay. Across.
Jen:I love it. I think that's great. It was helpful for me just to hear all all those things again about it as well so I can communicate that to clients and and just, you know, people in my life who I know can struggle with that. So I hope this was helpful for you guys to hear. Please consider sharing this with someone who could benefit.
Jen:I know there's a lot of women that just really power struggle with the scale, and that's not a struggle that you have to have. So if this was helpful, insightful, and empowering for you guys, and if you guys need to get some support, support, feel free to reach out. That's a cute one. You can find her information in the show notes. You can find her on Instagram.
Jen:She's awesome to work with. She's a lovely human being. I'm very biased in saying that. She is, and she really cares about her clients. So if you need some help, reach out, and we will stop here and we will see you guys in a couple weeks for another episode of Counter Culture Health.
Jen:Bye, guys.
Intro:Thanks for joining us on the Counter Culture Health podcast. To support this show, please rate, review, and share with your friends and family. If you wanna be reminded of of new episodes, click the subscribe button on your preferred podcast player. You can find me, Jen, at awaken.holistic.health and at awakeningholistichealth.com. And me, Caitlin, at Caitlin Reed wellness and CaitlinReedwellness.com.
Intro:The content of the show is for educational and informational purposes only. As always, talk to your doctor and health team. See you next time.
