Tracking Body Weight the right way!

Bodyweight in the scientific definition stands for the gravitational pull of an individual towards the earth. It can consist of two parts:
- The Lean Body Mass in which 50-70% of our body weight is water and the rest is organs, skin, bones, and muscle mass.
- Fat Mass which counts the fat amount in the body.

Fat Mass is what people tend to work towards reducing and training for the same.

Why should you track your Bodyweight?

Tracking body weight does not seem like a very agreeable process but is essential. When you are following a training program or working towards changing your body weight goals either by increasing or reducing it, checking your body weight is a sign of progress. 

A lot of times the changes may not be evident in inches or measurements as such because you tend to lose fat from regions that cannot be measured like the visceral fat, shines, hands, etc. in such cases. Checking your body weight can give you that required boost that tells you the result of your hard work. Our eyes cannot adapt well to visual differences and that is why tracking your weight can make you feel amazing.

Can Bodyweight really be misleading?

You need to understand that the loss of body weight also increases the muscle gain of your body. Training for muscle tightening and build-up starts with the shedding of body fat because of which at times you may not see considerable changes in your body weight. This is known as simultaneous lean muscle gain.

The water composition in our body affects our body weight since about 50-70% of our body is made of water. 
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The several reasons because of which the water in your body fluctuates can be due to:
- Consumption of more salt than usual 
- Increase in the number of carbs in the body or glycogen formation
- Irregular meal timings Erratic sleep schedule 
- An irregular excretion or problems in excreting 
- Stress during dieting can also be a common factor. The increase in cortisol can result in more retention of water
- Muscle gain during the process
- You are using a different scale than usual
- During the 2nd and 4th week of your menstrual cycle, the increase in estrogen and progesterone can increase ADH hormones in the body leading to more water retention.  
- Increase of water retention in the fatless (this is a commonly occurring phenomenon in women)The psychological impact of body weight

The psychological impact of body weight

• Do not lose yourself- When you are on a regular process of tracking your bodyweight you need to be conscious but not obsessed. The bodyweight does not get to define you or should not be a judging factor of individuality; however, it is just a way of working on yourself. The weight scale is just a 'tool' for tracking and should not be the one judging you.

• No comparison with others- Do not compare your weight loss changes with anyone else. This can have severe negative impacts on your psychology. Every person is different, and everyone has different physiology, goals, adherence, consistency, and body characteristics. Do not believe what you see because you never know the truth behind what you are seeing.

• Control what you can- Trying too hard to control your body weight is not advisable, however, you can try controlling your actions. The former can be discouraging as it can be a failed attempt but the latter will give you confidence and self-control which are important for growth and betterment. Controlling your nutrition, training, accountability, consistency, and patience will give results eventually and help in the reduction of body weight.
• Use averages- When you are working on your body weight always use averages. If averages are going down it will mean that you are progressing.

• Patience is the key- Give yourself the time to witness substantial change. Change does not occur overnight and the healthy difference may take time to occur. Patience can often bear great results.

• Aim for weekly/ bi-weekly methods- when trying to lose body weight try going for the weekly or bi-weekly 'New Low' methods and keep the various aspects of irregular bodyweight fluctuations in mind.

• Importance of a good trainer- this is one of the driving factors that can greatly reflect on your journey of weight loss. Your coach should understand your psychological and physiological needs and holds accountability and helps you realign when you are demotivated or on the verge of giving up. That external push is required at times to help you get back on track.

Bodyweight is not all about measuring progress