Weight loss: Why we should scrap the scales

Unreliable, inaccurate and an unhealthy obsession that has the potential to diminish confidence, body image and motivation resembles one thing - scales.

Although we're all guilty of relying on religious weigh ins in order to monitor our weight worries, this habitual action can quickly spiral into an unhealthy obsession destined for detrimental consequences when performed on a regular basis. 
Here are just a selection of reasons why we should shun the scales in favour of more reliable weight monitoring methods:

• Our weight fluctuates - body fluid fluctuations, bowel movements, menstruation and consuming large quantities of food and/or drink are just a selection of the culprits responsible for causing our weight to fluctuate throughout the day - all of which can make it difficult to determine our true weight.

• They're a motivation killer - the motivation to maintain a healthy diet and participate in regular exercise can instantly be diminished the second the scales convince you that all your hard work has lead to weight gain - particularly if you're attempting to lose excess weight.

• A dangerous obsession - even the most elite of athletes are susceptible to developing an abnormal obsession with their body weight and appearance if they continue to subject themselves to religious weigh ins. The stress, self-loathing and paranoia of being 'overweight' - all of which stem from this habitual action - can force many to resort to extreme measures such as dangerous dieting, gruelling exercise regimes, eating disorders and abnormal dietary habits if the scales fail to indicate the 'perfect' weight.

• They're inaccurate - scales may be a machine, but that doesn't mean that they can perform miracles or more importantly, a full body analysis. In fact, their inability to assess size, height, age, build, body fat and gender - a selection of factors that contribute to overall weight - not only make them inaccurate, but an unrealistic and unreliable indication of our true weight.

• It's just a number - whether we're 10 stone or 20 stone, allowing a number to define our happiness, confidence and health is guaranteed to have a detrimental impact on our physical and psychological welfare if we continue to subject ourselves to the scales on a regular basis - particularly if we perceive the number shown as a negative indication of our weight. Although scales may provide an estimated insight into how much we weigh, they're incapable of measuring our internal and external health, happiness and stamina - four areas that are far more important than our overall body weight.

As habitual as religious weigh ins may be, using more reliable and realistic methods to monitor our weight - how our clothes fit and feel, how healthy and energised we feel and how much our physical stamina and ability is improving during our workouts - will not only benefit our psychological health, but increase our chance of weight loss success as our motivation levels are maintained.