It's Not Always the Pounds

Almost every bathroom has a scale. That one piece of equipment seems to have the power to make us smile and jump for joy or send us plummeting into the depths of despair. The scale has been so set into our consciousness that it sends a message that we have failed and are doomed for eternity to be overweight or "fat."

Height and weight charts inform us on how much we should weigh if we are a certain height and frame size. Too bad these charts are outdated by about 50 years. Today, people are taller, and larger, than they were 50 years ago. We should not be so much concerned with pounds as by our measurements. And remember, those measurements are not the model's measurements. Those poor girls starve themselves so they'll look "just right" on camera.

You can try every "diet" out there and feel that you're failing because you're not losing weight. But, are you losing inches? Are your muscles more defined? That's what counts. For instance, if you've only lost 7 pounds but have also lost 14% of your body fat, you're doing great!

Eating nutritious meals and exercising will help lose unwanted pounds. But don't go off the deep end if you don't lose all the weight you thing you need to. Take out that tape measure and see what you're really losing.