5 Ways to Break Free from the Scale

I'm sure we've all been there. We start working out, we start eating right, our clothes start to feel better, but the scale won't budge.

Then you've probably heard that because muscle mass is denser than fat but leaner, that it weighs more but you get smaller. That's where the measurements of your waist and hips and other places help in showing you that you are progressing.

But it still gets frustrating when you get on the scale and the number is the same or more. . .

I know the truths, I've read years of articles from my subscription to Self Magazine to hear the same things over and over. It still doesn't change how I feel!

This is the struggle I am having right now and while I know I am improving and can feel and see it in my body, the scale has gone up. I am going the right direction in my behavior, but I can't help but feel deflated when the scale is up 6.5 pounds from just 2 months ago.

Often you would hear me get on the scale and yell, "I give up!" (Though I know I'm not really going to give up!) But how will I ever reach my 10 pound loss goal this month if the scale won't budge!?

The scale is like that person in your life that knows you are becoming a better person, and encourages you sometimes along the way, but then sometimes, when you need it most, doesn't offer any encouragement. When that happens, we usually will seek out our more supportive friends and family in our life right?

Same goes for fitness.

When I feel defeated after getting on the scale, I find myself easily slipping into thinking what I could've done differently yesterday, or kicking myself for taking a bite of those peanut butter bites in my fridge. But then I have to quickly kick those negative thoughts to the curb and tell myself to forget yesterday. It's done. Focus on today and making good decisions today and believing that I'm headed the right direction no matter what the scale says.

Distract yourself. Feel empowered with encouraging yourself in other ways. Go seek out your other "friends"!

Here are the ways that I do it:

• Checking off workouts in my calendar

Really on top of it!

Though sometimes not...

• Putting on that goal outfit (in my case a cute dress) and making a mental note of what looks better and where it fits better.

• Noticing my improvements such as being able to do more weight on my barbell squat from the week before. Actually noticing the improvements and being proud of it!

• Looking at my "Before" photos (scary but it helps!)

• Telling myself that it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. I'm not going to see the results I dream of in a month. But in a year, I'm going to look fantastic! 

Source: east-coasting-it.tumblr.com via Melina on Pinterest

Eventually your grumpy scale friend will lighten up and encourage you again, you just gotta give that buddy some space!

In what ways do you feel prisoner to your scale? How much weight do you give it when it doesn't "tell" you what you wanna hear? What are ways you break free from the dreaded scale?

Share in the comments below or share on The STRONG Life's Facebook Page!

Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Source: fitlittlebirds.tumblr.com via Melina on Pinterest

I woke up on July 1 realizing that even though I watched what I ate and worked out every day in June, I only lost 1 pound. Maybe I'm not pushing hard enough or being disciplined enough in my eating, and because of that I need to step it up.

When I first laid out my 6 month workout plan, I pictured the end result but didn't set up any mile stones along the way to keep me on track. That's the biggest thing June taught me. So for July I set 2 goals.

I need to lose 10 pounds and I need to finally get my Personal Training Certification so that I can move on to the next phase of my life which is to start my business and work on my competing goals. I know that it is realistic and healthy to lose 2 pounds per week so I should go for losing 8 pounds in a month's time, but I'm going to shoot for 10 anyway.

Have you ever set a goal and found that maybe it was too vague or unrealistic and you ended up not making that goal? Did it end up making you feel discouraged? It certainly is an easy way to set yourself up for failure!

You've probably heard of this acronym before but you need to set S.M.A.R.T. Goals! That is:

(S)pecific - You can't just say I want to lose weight. I want to be successful. Successful how? Pick up 5 new clients? Now that is more specific! Give yourself an actual number.

For me it is 10 pounds and a passing test score.

(M)easurable - You have to be able to keep track of your progress. I can say that I want to eat healthy for a goal but how can I measure just how much or how little I've eaten healthy? If I said eat 3 healthy meals a week, well now I can track that!

I'll measure my weight with the scale and I'll measure my test passing with the actual score.

(A)ttainable - This is where being realistic comes to play. 50 pounds in 6 weeks? Sure it's specific and measurable but attainable? You are either going to be sorely disappointed or sick and really hungry!

My 10 pounds in 4 weeks goal is realistic in that 8 pounds is healthy and that I'm counting on the last two pounds to be water weight that I have been retaining the last couple weeks. Taking and passing the test in 4 weeks? If I had never opened the study materials until today, probably unrealistic. But I've been studying the material since January. It must be realistic that I should take the test in a month. :-)

(R)elevant - You want to make sure that the goals you set along your journey to reach your dreams are in line with your ultimate goal. Sure I'd love to run a marathon someday. I could add that into my fitness goals right now, tell myself that I want to run a marathon before the end of this year, but it isn't in line with my ultimate goal to compete. That much cardio training would hinder my muscle growth. However, losing my last 10 pounds gets me closer to the physique I want and getting certified will help me in staying passionate and dedicated to my fitness.

(T)ime-bound - The biggest mistake you can make is to say "someday". Procrastination kicks in and you end up reassuring yourself by saying things like, "Well, I'll start on that next week." Or next month, or after your birthday, and the list can go on and on. However, give yourself a set deadline and now you got a reason to push yourself!

I told myself I wanted to lose weight by summer and that I wanted to start my own business this year. Here I am in July not really having done either thing. So I fixed my goals' flaw but giving them a set date. August 1st!


When making goals, don't stress yourself out about how to make it an effective goal. Go with what first comes to mind without thinking about making it S.M.A.R.T. Then you can modify it using the model. :-)

Are you setting new goals this month? Or are you currently working on a goal? If you like, I'd love to hear your goals! They don't have to be fitness related, they can any goal you have for anything! You can leave a comment below or on The STRONG Life's Facebook Page!

Beginning the Clean Eating Journey

Last week was the first time that I tried to go by a meal plan for the week and went grocery shopping for the planned meals. I have to say that it is training me to learn some habits in planning ahead. By doing that I found myself staying within my calorie range simply because each meal and snack was planned for the day which kept me from straying from my food goals.

I am always pinning foods and browsing food blogs to find recipes and last week I picked a few to make for each night of the week. Some didn't turn out so great, which I won't be making again. Others turned out perfect and others turned out to be good enough to want to make it again and add it to my repertoire  of homemade meals.

I have mentioned that along with trying to find foods that the hubs will like, I also am trying to expand my taste buds to enjoy the taste of vegetables and things I never really ate in the past but now like.

So here are a few of my featured clean eats that made the cut of being added to my rotation for meal planning:

Meals:

Italian Slow-cooker Chicken - The recipe called for cooking 6-8 hours. The chicken turned out kind of dry so next time I'll probably do it for 5 hours on low. I made it with asparagus instead of carrots because I don't like cooked carrots (though it's been years since I tried it last). I had asparagus on hand since the hubs likes it so I made it with that. It didn't turn out so well. Next time I'll either make the asparagus separate, or add it in for the last hour. Or try a different veggie all together. I still don't like asparagus, so who knows!

Three-Cheese Spinach Pita Pizza - I followed the directions from the recipe but made it with tomato sauce, spinach, low-fat shredded mozzarella, feta and parmesan cheeses. The pita bread was awesome as the edges were crunchy and the rest of it was soft. Just delicious and it was all under 350 calories!

Snacks:

No-Bake Energy Bites - I followed the recipe for this one too except I left out the coconut flakes and the flax. I don't have any ground flax and I just don't like the taste of coconut. The consistency held up without me having to sub anything for it. Very good and very addicting. Gotta be disciplined with this stuff in your fridge!

Sunflower Applesauce - I used to not like applesauce and recently gave it another chance. I found that I LOVE it especially with sunflower seeds in it! I usually just do 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce and 1/8 cup of sunflower seeds.


Every week I challenge myself to make a veggie smoothie and so I tried a strawberry and chard smoothie. I had never heard of chard so I thought to try it in a smoothie and see how it'd taste. It wasn't good. Just flavorless and even adding Truvia didn't work. Oh well. Can't wait to experiment with the next smoothie!

Chard leaves are huge!

A couple other meals made the cut but I had to modify them a bit that I think I might just give them their own posts so that I can ramble about the recipe modifications I had to make since I am a picky eater, lol.

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