Healthy Weight _ Is the scale your ally?

Most people assume a healthy weight can be determined by the reading on the bathroom scale. Although is good to search the desired number on the scale, it is not an accurate assessment.

When people are over weight, the goal is to lose weight. It sounds logical. Although losing weight is part of the equation, it should not be the only goal. The principal goal should be to lose body fat, and maintain or restore muscle mass. If you gain 2 pounds of lean muscle, and lose 2 pounds of body fat, your scale weight will not changed, but you will be in better shape.

People tend to lose weight through diet, and get too little exercise or in most cases zero exercise. "It’s much easier to cut calories than to burn them off. Losing weight without exercising, only a portion of your weight loss is from fat — you’re also stripping away muscle and bone density" says expert Michele Olson, PhD, professor of physical education and exercise science at Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama.

"With typical everyday movement and exercise, skeletal muscle in the human body is under constant renovation. The litmus test of a safe and efficacious weight loss program is the preservation of lean muscle and the depletion of excess body fat-in short, the kind, not the amount, of weight that is lost" says Dr. Nicholas Perricone, board-certified dermatologist, scientist, expert anti - aging and best selling author.

"When we are over weight, there is a constant exchange of fat for muscle. Improper dieting will greatly accelerate this exchange, because we have reduced our overall caloric intake" he says.

Usually people who try to lose weight in a short time of period, are the ones who focus too much on the scale.

"Healthy weight loss isn’t just about a “diet” or “program” . People who lose weight gradually and steadily (about 1 to 2 pounds per week) are more successful at keeping weight off" CDC Centers of Decease Control and Prevention

Healthy weight is about eating healthy and having physical activity on a daily basis for a long term as a lifestyle rather than doing a diet for a specific period of time and rely on the scale your success or failure on the diet.

Hope you enjoy this article. If you like it, please share with your friends.

(This article is dedicated to KK)