My WeGuard scale helps me see when I burn fat not muscle when I step on the scale. Because losing muscle is not the goal!
Weigh-ins turned into stay-ins
For as long as I can remember, there’s been a megaphone in my brain that screams good or bad. I wish I could say it blares “good” when I do nice things or bite my tongue. But of course it doesn’t work like that at all. I am “good” when the scale says I have lost weight. Hooray! And I am “bad” when the scale shows no decrease or even worse, a slight increase. In fact, when I gain any at all I punish myself for my criminal action.
Sometimes I even pull out my loosest pants and baggiest top to hide the evidence of my late-breaking “crime.” And inevitably, I end up avoiding people as much as possible until the scale signals I am once again “good.” Yes. It was that bad.
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How weigh-ins play with our minds
I’m sure it’s now obvious I have spent most of my life with serious body image issues. More on that another time, but for now I want to focus on a ridiculous mistake I was making.
Perhaps you can relate with my past weigh-in thought process. You approach the scale in a hopeful panic knowing what the number on the scale said yesterday. The ONLY thing you want to see is a smaller
number. Not the same number. And please, not even a half pound over that number. Actually, even two-tenths of a pound under yesterday’s number is a little disappointing.
We have all heard that slow weight loss is healthy weight loss. But whenever I didn’t lose weight, I just “KNEW” deep down that little extra bite I took yesterday was the reason.
Desperate to see changes (on the “strong” days), I doubled down and ate even less. Eventually, the plateau got the best of me and I ditched the diet and started eating whatever I wanted. Countless times I tried to accept the fact that I was going to be wearing those big clothes forever. Maybe it was time embrace the fat and sassy Kim.
The goal is to burn fat not muscle
Then one day after I started intermittent fasting, I read a post from a gal in one of the Facebook intermittent fasting groups I participate in. She talked about a Smart Scale she had purchased and how it was changing her life. My eyes about popped out of my head when she said she was no longer paying attention to the number on the scale.
Instead, she was focusing on the individual components that contributed to that number on the scale. She began keeping track of the percentage of fat in her body, not the weight loss! Her goal was not just to lose weight; she wanted to burn fat not muscle.
Understanding that muscles require burns more calories, she tried to increase her muscle mass and didn’t worry about her total weight. She also made sure her body was well hydrated all the time without worrying if that caused her total weight to increase. She prioritized key individual body composition metrics instead of what they added up to.
Packing my body’s “suitcase”
This sounded brilliant to me! I’ve been judging my success based on a single aggregate number since I was old enough to understand a scale. I never thought about isolating the different metrics that made up that number. I didn’t realize how important it was to make sure I was burning fat not muscle.
The reality of this was reinforced for me while packing a suitcase to check at the airport. I had to keep the weight of the suitcase under 40 pounds which forced me to be very selective. Of course I didn’t just stuff my suitcase full of all my favorite things! (Can you imagine how many light and fluffy donuts are in 40 pounds?) Instead, my priority was to make sure I had the perfect mix of items to get me me through the activities planned for my trip.
While checking in at the airport I looked around and considered how all of the checked bags on the carousel weighed about the same as mine. But there was no way any of those custom-packed bags would probably work for me. I love analogies and there are many available, but I’m sure you get the point. 😉 Once this idea soaked in for me, I quickly started looking for a Smart Scale so that I could start packing my body’s “suitcase”.
How to make sure to burn fat not muscle
I had never priced smart scales before so I didn’t know what to expect. I went to Amazon and read through overwhelmingly positive reviews and purchased the WeGuard Bluetooth Digital Bathroom Scale for right around $25. My scale came a couple of days later and I didn’t have any problems setting it up. When you step on the WeGuard scale, your total weight shows at the top just like other scales.
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The WeGuard app shows when you burn fat not muscle
To view the 15 different body composition metrics (BMI, Fat Level, Muscle Mass, Bone Mass, etc.) there is a WeGuard app. The app is available at the App Store and Google Play and is FREE. Once you have the Bluetooth app set up, you push the scale icon on the app’s home screen and step on the scale. After a short time, the app will indicate that the metrics have transmitted and you can view them on the app.
Occasionally, one or two of the metrics are missing but I’ve found that if I make sure my feet are fully covering the steel circles on the four corners of the scale, it usually works great.
The app also supplies brief explanations of each metric along with suggestions for improvement based on your metric. I found this feature to be very helpful and educational
Some of my metrics really surprised me. The gauge shows (every time) that the amount of water in my body is much lower than it should be. I literally drink water all day long so I am curious if the reading is inaccurate or if there’s another reason. Perhaps I’m not retaining enough water? (Said no woman ever! Ha Ha!) My favorite feature of the app allows me to compare the metrics from two dates side-by-side.
My take-aways after using the WeGuard
- There were times the WeGuard said I had lost weight but the metrics revealed my fat level increased and my muscle mass decreased. I realized how that aggregate number had fooled me many times. (Feeling a little silly about some of those past celebrations!) Because I want to burn fat not muscle.
- The change in muscle mass is now the first metric I look at these days. Watching it grow when I am more active has really motivated me to try to be more consistent with my activity. (I have recently learned that I hate the word “exercise” as much as “diet” so “activity” it is!)
- On the flip side, I’ve learned not to get as rattled by total weight gain. Especially when it shows I am gaining muscle, consuming more water AND losing fat. I actually love these days even though my total weight has increased! In the past, the weight gain might have caused me to eat even less and decrease my protein intake and feel bad all day. I wonder how often my obsession with the big number on the scale sabotaged the positive trajectory of my muscle mass increase.
I gave a WeGuard to Dawn for her birthday!
Overall, I’m very impressed with the economically priced WeGuard smart scale. (I even gave Dawn one for her birthday!) As time has gone by, I realize that my attitude both before and after I step on the scale is definitely different than it has ever been. Instead of having a love/hate relationship I now have a “so what’s going on today?” outlook. My first priority is always to make sure I did indeed burn fat and not muscle.
I never imagined how seeing how all the different metrics associated with weight fluctuations would remove the sting and yes, some of the celebrations associated with weighing. I am much more calm during the plateaus; especially when I see muscle mass increasing and fat level decreasing. So if you are like me and have experienced years and years of discouragement on the scale, a smart scale may be for you!
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