Body Weight on the Scale: May Not Be a True Measure

At BonVie Weight Loss and Nutritional Wellness we use a body composition monitor for our clients. This type of scale not only shows your weight, but more importantly your fat percentage, muscle mass and water/fluid percentage. To use a body composition monitor in our professional clinic makes sense; but why do we encourage our clients to also purchase an inexpensive, simple but accurate body composition scale for home?

Deceptive Weight Loss

The reason is this: weight on the scale can be a very deceptive reading of your weight loss progress, or lack of it. The weight measurement alone may be an inaccurate indicator if not related to your body fat, muscle mass, and hydration composition.

For example, a scale may show that you’ve lost 5 lbs, but if we then put you on the body monitor, we may find your fat percentage has remained exactly the same, or is even up. So, you’ve burned muscle from inadequate amounts/quality of protein, or you are retaining water from insufficient hydration causing bloating (drinking those 8 glasses a day is critical).

Body Composition

The key then to regaining or keeping your ideal figure is to monitor your true body composition, not just weight (although if you are burning fat your weight number will melt away as well). With the Ideal Protein method, we monitor percentages of fat, lean mass, and hydration. Losing “weight” is only meaningful if you are burning fat rather than burning muscle.

Burning Muscle

On many diets and particularly under-eating on the GLP injections like Wegovy and Ozempic, we are not eating sufficient amounts and usability of lean protein and we burn down muscle. Muscle uses fat for fuel so the last thing you want to do is lose that passive mechanism for burning fat. If you burn down muscle you have less muscle to burn fat than you did before you began your diet, and this is a big reason for the yo-yo fat-regain after a radical diet.

Individuals on a very low-calorie diet or who are fasting, under-eating, or only sporadically eating are especially susceptible to inadequate intake of protein and relative over-consumption of carbs/sugars. This inadequate nutrition may show as weight loss on a scale, but will not be predominantly fat loss. Regaining that lost “weight” is almost guaranteed when you go back to so-called normal eating. Burning muscle for fuel also gives that stringy, leathery look to your skin and underlying muscles – not your best look!

Waistline Measurement

Just as telling as a body composition scale is your waistline measurement. By using your navel as the weekly reference point you can see your progress in loss of inches which equates to lost belly fat. Simply run a cloth tape measure around your middle over your belly button; record that number weekly to track your progress.

Successful Fat Loss

The key to ensuring rapid, safe fat loss is to follow a program high in lean protein , supplemented with protein foods like the Ideal Protein brand, and low carbohydrates not to exceed 35-40 grams daily during the diet. We also emphasize 4 cups of low-glycemic vegetables, vitamins and minerals, and lots of H20!

We have been brought up (sometimes obsessively) to check the scale to determine if we have gained weight or are losing weight. But unless your scale has a body composition monitor, weight alone can be very deceptive!

TIP: Reach out to us here at BonVie if you’d like a recommendation for a low-cost but accurate body composition monitor.