Why It May Be Time to Throw Away Your Scale

If you're trying to achieve a healthy weight, you've probably formed a close relationship with your scale. You know what you weigh today, what you weighed yesterday, and what you hope to weigh tomorrow.

This numbers game is an integral part of most weight-loss programs. Some experts, however, wonder whether the scale is the only—or even the best—way to measure your success.

"To keep yourself on track, you need to monitor your progress," says John P. Foreyt, Ph.D., a psychiatric and behavioral sciences expert in Houston. "Weighing yourself regularly does give you feedback on an important question: 'Am I gaining or losing weight?'"

Misleading tool

But "the scale can be an unreliable tool," says Wayne Miller, Ph.D., an exercise science and nutrition expert in Washington, D.C. "Weight loss is highly unpredictable and varies greatly, depending on many individual factors, such as your gene pool, your metabolic rate, and even how fidgety you are."

This can make it hard to see a cause and effect relationship between your weight-control efforts and the numbers on the scale, says Dr. Miller. Dieters who don't have other sources of motivation often become frustrated and quit.

By focusing only on weight, the scale can also lull you into a false sense of progress, experts say. Counting pounds doesn't tell you whether you're losing muscle or fat.

Instead of being a slave to the scale, focus on your health. Monitor your weight-loss program with a variety of measures that can give you a more complete picture of what's actually happening to your body.

Here are some alternative ways to make sure your weight-control program is working:

Body size

You can find out a lot by using a tape measure. Changes can show up quickly in the places where you store excess weight—hips for women, the waist for men. "Health benefits accrue with as little as a one-inch reduction in waist size," says Dr. Foreyt.

Healthy behaviors

It's also easy to monitor your performance in two areas that form the core of a weight-control program: diet and exercise. Compare what you eat with standards in the federal government's dietary guidelines, which illustrate a balanced diet high in fiber and low in fats and refined sugar. For exercise, try for at least 30 to 60 minutes of brisk walking most days of the week and build up to one hour of moderate exercise most days of the week. The Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board recommends that regardless of weight individuals should exercise for one hour per day at a moderate intensity most days of the week.

Healthy numbers

Behaviors that help control weight can also "help reduce the risk of weight-related diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease," says Dr. Miller. "Research shows that you can reduce some of these risks with a healthful diet and exercise, even if you don't actually lose weight." Your progress can show up as decreases in these or other risk factors: high blood pressure, resting heart rate, blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides.

Body composition

Lean muscle mass keeps you fit and strong while it stokes your fat-burning capability. Healthy weight control aims to reduce fat while preserving or increasing lean muscle mass. Body composition is hard to measure and is usually done by a doctor. Still, if you're following a fad diet that burns muscle as well as fat, monitoring your body composition can help you judge the safety of your results.