I have a client who is so happy that her measurements have decreased and so have her skinfolds (subcutaneous fat measurement). Her weight has actually gone up a few pounds but we are both happy with her progress. So she proudly goes home to tell her boyfriend about the great positive changes she has achieved and all he can say is “but isn’t your weight supposed to be less?” In turn she tries to explain how her results are really good and what the scale says doesn’t really matter but he just can’t get passed her weight.

This is so common that she asked me to write a post about this subject.

Yes weight and size are different and people do need to realize that when their muscle mass increases so will their weight. But in turn your size will very often decrease (provided you lose some body fat). I quite often use myself as an example. I weigh about 140 pounds and fit into a size 2 or 4 (depending on the brand). Size is not an indication of weight! Your scale will not tell you the truth about anything other than just weight which is a poor indication of your health if you have muscle tone.

Muscle is significantly heavier than fat! The more muscle you have the higher your metabolism will be. The more muscle you have the stronger your bones will be. The key is to gain muscle, lose inches and body fat all at the same time. To keep people on track I always use measurements, skinfolds and weight to tell me how they are doing. All three pieces of information are extremely important to see actual progress.

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