Fitness Is So Much More Than A Number On A Scale

My Commitment to Fitness

40 days have passed since I proclaimed on Instagram my recommitment to fitness and athleticism. I decided that as a massage therapist who works with athletes, I needed to walk the walk.  And as you can see from my Polar workout diary, I have been doing a pretty good job of exercising almost daily.  Some days my workouts are more challenging, some days are for recovery.  But I can say with confidence that I am back in the habit of being active.

The Numbers Don’t Lie (or do they?)

Since that fateful November day I have lost a total of one half of a pound. Now if I were to judge my progress by my weight, I might be tempted to give up. That is a lot of working out for a measly half a pound. But as I state in the title of this post, fitness is much more than the number on the scale. You’ve probably heard that muscle weighs more than fat.  I am sure that I have gained a bit of muscle (I can see it in my quads) which has most likely offset any weight I have lost in fat. The scale can be so deceiving.  Some other numbers that I like to pay more attention to are:

Heart Rate Over the last few weeks I have noticed that my heart rate is lower when doing workouts at the same level of perceived exertion.

Output Many of my workouts have been on a stationary bike with an output meter which gives an indication of how hard you are working at a given moment.  I have noticed that my output values are greater over longer periods of time than when I started.

The improvements in these areas translate to improvements in strength and cardiovascular fitness.  To me, these are much more meaningful than the number on the scale.

The Proof is in the Pudding…or the skinny jeans.

Not the style that hipsters brought back in to fashion a few years ago.  I’m talking about the pair of jeans you probably have in your closet.  You know the pair!  They used to fit like a glove, but one day you put them on and were fearful that if you sneezed your button would fly across the room.  Well I have a pair of those. And while I’m not quite ready to wear them to a buffet dinner, I am now comfortable sitting in them.  And I’m not worried about taking someone’s eye out if I should happen to sneeze.

The Journey Continues

Fitness is a journey, not a destination.  It’s a cliché because it’s true.  I’m excited to be back in a place where I look forward to physical activity.  I am enjoying the warm feeling of a hard effort completed, rather than dreading the effort ahead of me. My nutrition is improving too.  I am by no means on a diet, but I know that I am making better choices.

Thanks for following on this journey with me.  And if you are on a similar journey, please don’t let the number on the scale be your only metric of success!