Stop Idolizing "Weight-loss"

Losing weight and losing fat are two entirely different things that are largely misunderstood.

Here’s why this is important for me to dig into this with you…

I’ve worked alongside and with MANY women over the years and unfortunately, no matter how drop-dead gorgeous they are, how incredibly talented and strong they are…there is always this “lingering cloud” if you may, around the depth at which they believe in their own beauty especially in regards to the importance they place on their bodyweight. ⁣

It is so NORMAL for us (especially women) to praise one another for weight-loss and to constantly comment on each others weight. In fact, society reinforces this with how much praise, negativity and focus there is around “our weight”. Which is, by definition…

Body Mass: "Mass is the amount of matter that makes up a body."

Body Weight: "Weight is the measurement of the gravitational force acting on a body."

When you dilute it to the definition above, it’s almost silly how much of an impact our bodyweight has on us.

Nevertheless, I’ve been there, and I’m sure every single one of us has been. We let ourselves, and our value become emotionally attached to this one singular factor.

That’s why I am passionate about digging into the details of “losing weight vs. losing fat”, because thats exactly what it is, ONE factor out of many that make up our body’s composition. There are ways we can shift the paradigm and optimize the latter and I’m stoked to share with you.

But first,

There are often two common mindsets around this topic to take into account:

(And probably also a mixture of both).

1. An emotionally attached version that holds strong to outside expectations from family, a partner, our job, and society.

2. And a “matter of fact” version that is able to take our bodyweight for what it literally is and plug it into an equation that is able to help us change it (if we so desire) in a healthy sustainable way.

I’d like to encourage you, even if just for the duration of this blog post, to lean into the 2nd mindset in order to pick up all that I’m about to put down.

That being said, I’d like to start off by saying that: I do not care what your body weight is.

And I especially don’t care what your body weight is if you can’t tell me:

1. How your energy/ stress levels have been in the past week

2. How many hours of sleep you've gotten on average in the past week

3. What your skeletal muscle mass is and or body fat % (on average over a number of times, not just from checking it once)

I have no problem saying that to friends, family and to clients that I coach as well. Here’s why:

Weighing ourselves is a tool, yet somehow, it’s become this wildly idolized number that really means nothing without taking into account multiple other factors…

And for what? To be excited about “losing 5 pounds”? Spoiler alert: those 5 pounds were probably NOT fat, more likely, it was your body’s response to what you ate, drank, and how you slept.

I get it, we have been conditioned throughout our entire life to focus on one particular number

(out of MANY) to somehow define our: level of health, happiness, acceptance, and even our self-value.

Thats got to stop. For all of our best interests. Lets start with the facts.

Fact #1:

We don’t “lose fat”. True “fat-loss” is actually our body USING fat as energy instead of storing it.

Caveat is: we’ve got to know how and be able to train our body to do so through structured nutritional targets and a strategic training program. This requires discipline, some sacrifice and patience.

Fact #2:

Muscle weighs more than fat. Plus, the more muscle you have and retain, the more your body will continue to use stored fat as energy (hello lean body). By consistently strength training and eating enough complete protein, our body can thrive while simultaneously retaining and building more muscle.

Fact #3:

Our bodyweight is only 1 of 5 elements of our body composition which include; bodyweight, skeletal muscle, water retention, muscle mass, and body fat.

Fact #4:

Though part of our body’s composition, our bodyweight alone does NOT take into account our own body composition factors which are totally unique to us.

These include; gender, age, race, hormonal levels, and genetics.

Fact #5:

It is completely normal to fluctuate in weight (5-7lbs) throughout the day and week.

Why the fluctuation?

Our bodyweight is kind of like a mirror that shows us one angle of a larger equation. We’ve got to be able to ask ourselves the right questions for that angle to make sense.

• What are your stress levels like?

• How much sleep have you been getting regularly?

• Have you been drinking alcohol? Highly saturated fat foods?

• Are you on your period?

Those are all extremely valid factors to the number thats looking up at us from the scale.

Anyway, to put a bow on this, my most important question for you is this:

Do you truly understand what you are gaining and losing? Is there intention behind it?

It’s great to be excited about and celebrate wellness WINS, but it’s even better to have a solid understanding of how you’re not only treating your body, but building it to LAST and to leverage it’s strength and power.

I’m here for you when you are ready to dial in on your own training and nutritional goals.

We all deserve our BEST.

-C