But the scales say I’m FAT!
I know many people especially ladies came to the low fat raw vegan lifestyle due to a desire to balance their weight once and for all. A large part of my own motivation to go raw included my fluctuating weight.
Today I decided to write about the scales and how they can be so inaccurate when it comes to objectively measuring fat loss/gain.
Mum & I foraged free mangoes from the side of the road today
Most of us jump on the scales, look down and frown 
... generally closely followed by a few personal put-downs…but are we jumping the gun and unwittingly letting a lil’ ol number dictate our mood for the day? Without actually inquiring as to whether the weight-gain is from fat, fluid or food?
The following factors should be taken into consideration as you take that step onto the scales…
- Glycogen and water weight levels vary throughout the day so this will affect the number on the scales as much as 1/2-1.5kgs.
- If you weigh yourself at any other time than first thing in the morning before drinking water and after having a bowel movement then you are just adding your food weight in your colon to your total kgs. You may as well fill your pockets up with sand.
Free mangoes....mmmm
- Glycogen stores can also increase your overall body weight, Glycogen is the stored form of glucose, you will find it mainly in your muscles and liver, once stored with the accompanying water (water is needed to store carbs in the body) a full glycogen tank can add an extra 2 kg to your total weight! So that’s why you may see an increase in your weight overnight sometimes
- Remember the scales do not just weigh fat, it weighs fat, water, organs, bone, everything. So when you decrease or increase your weight the scales can’t deferiantiate and tell you if it’s fat or not you have lost or gained…even those Tanita body fat scales are apparently highly innacurate…I was told by a leading exercise physiologist that the scales send an electrical impulse up one leg which then hits the bladder and travels down the other leg, only ever measuring the fat in an individuals legs (& quite innacurately at that!)
I'm eating LOTS of melons lately., this will last me a few days
More accurate fat measuring techniques are skin-fold pinch test, water tank (hydrostatic weighing) where apparently you are lowered into a water tank after exhaling all air from your lungs. There is also an impedance test (which I’ve had myself & found to be fairly accurate) which works by measuring the amount your body fat impedes an electrical current.
BMI is another inaccurate way to measure bodyfat because it doesn’t descriminate between fat & muscle! My ex-boyfriend who was a top bodybuilder carrying a mere 5% BF and loaded with muscle came up as obese using the BMI scale 
Half a kilo of fat is about the maximum you can lose each week, yeh there are heaps of low carb diets out there that will show an initial decrease in total body weight but is it sustainable? No way, I don’t know about you but Im sick of the yo-you diet BS… the weight that you lose from these low carb diets is only water because of the decreased intake of carbs plus the fact that the body lets go of water it has been holding to dilute the current pollution in most people’s bodies.
The scales can definitely come in handy if you are wanting to keep track of your hydration, for example – say you weigh 60kg before your run then you jump on the scales after the run and you’re 58kg, this means you have lost mostly water (& a bit of glycogen weight) so replacing those 2kgs with water first then fruit soon afterwards is extremely important to maintain our hydration levels & homeostasis, in this way the scales can be very useful…
Also glycogen stores are being lost, this is especially apparent in a person fasting, I have done many short water fasts, longest being 8 days or so. Within those 8 days I would lose about 5kg, at the time I thought it was all fat but in such a short period like that, the loss was from a depleted glycogen stores (from lack of any coming in) plus the water that accompanies the carbs and maybe a small percentage of fat after 8 days. I have always gained back every ounce I have lost after a fast…plus some.
If you are a womyn reading this I really hope you embrace muscle as your friend, it is so valuable to have metabolically active muscle tissue if we want to speed up our metabolism and lose the fat the sustainable way. Muscle takes up less space than fat so, the more you have, the slimmer you are…muscle-building strengthens bones and connective tissue, which can protect your body from injuries in daily life, enhancing balance and stability not to mention building confidence and self-esteem.
So should we be aiming for fatloss anyway? I say no. Losing something is a form of deprivation and the Low Fat Raw Vegan lifestyle is about abundance not deprivation! Who really cares if your weight fluctuates a few kgs here and there, this also happens to animals in nature, we are conditioned to think that skinny = good and while being lean and healthy is the goal, rediculous unhealthy weightloss should not be, well not if you want to keep your sanity any way….Cut your carbs, lose your mind as far as I’m concerned but that’s another blog…
If we focus on gaining health and fitness and not on losing something then our chances of success are multiplied…Keep your mind firmly focused on the healthy body & mind of your dreams and before you know it you WILL be in that body, I am a living example of this being true.
My obsession with my weight could’ve killed me in the end…downing weightloss drugs, ecstasy and other stimulants in an attempt to shed the kg’s…man glad I’m off that merry-go-round…You can read more about it here if you haven’t already….
So I guess the take home from this blog is -
Don’t be a slave to a number on the scales! Be a healthy shining example of health and fitness, build beauty from within so it shines outwards inspiring others who come in contact with you. Keep in mind that the scales are a very innaccurate way to measure fat loss and fat gain… It’s ultimately all about how you feel and when you feel vibrant & healthy you generally look vibrant & healthy! so quit jumping on the scales every 5mins and get a life! Who really cares if you have a few extra kilo’s on you anyways?? Fluctuations in weight is NORMAL and if you think getting to say 60kgs on the scales will make you happy, think again…You will get to 60kgs and you will still be unhappy and all of a sudden 55kgs will make you happy and so the painful cycle continues…I’m outa that loop! Happiness comes from within & especially easy to attain after a large fruit meal!
Keep it sweet & juicy
Lovefreelee
This is me eating all the fruit i care for, I gave up the scale obsession & started eating as much as i wanted, fruit doesn't make you fat!!...
We’re on the same wavelength! I just wrote a similar article that I plan on publishing on my blog, http://karmynmalone.com
I will make sure to include a link to your blog in my article!
Here’s my finished article about my scale addiction:
http://karmynmalone.com/?p=425
awesome thanks Beautiful!
Free, you’re my aussi fairy godmother! You give me such inspiration to keep going on this amazing fruit journey, even when I feel alone. You give me hope of a better future for myself and that ANYTHING is possible!
Ahh thank U so much! U are giving me a warm fuzzy feeling inside
I appreciate you sharing x
Hi free, my frined told me to visit ur link, so glad i did. Now I can just continue with eating fruits and fruits all the time. Now I know weight doesn’t matter most, I am not storing too much fat inside my body.
Thanks Freelee for another great post! Totally agree too! I stopped weighing myself even when I was a bit overweight and I still lost plenty of weight to get me at the low end of a healthy weight! It annoys me when people come back from the gym and say omg i lost blank amount of pounds…i try and tell them hey…it is just water. it will be back in a second once you drink some! and they say…get ready…well then i will try not to drink some for a while! WHAT?! people are crazy. even in my most eating disordered time i was still more healthy in how i approached diet and weightloss. i never used quick tricks..i just counted calories mainly and increased my fruit and veggie intake and worked out. my only quick trick being cutting my calories too low…though most of my weight loss was around 1500 cals which is supposedly healthy but for my lifestyle and i think most peoples…was not.
anyhoo i have long said the scale is one of the worst ways to measure weight! most people can tell when they are losing weight…even i can tell a lil bit and i have body dismorphic disorder! just wanted to add that people should make sure they get the skin fold test done by the best professional possible. i think most people get wrong readings…and plenty of gyms offer them and i think some of those are even questionable.
It is amazing how weight loss (& not gaining health & fitness) does seem to be a priority for many people and I was definitely one of them and you know what I’m glad it was my focus at the time or else I wouldn’t have found this lifestyle but now I’m here weightloss goals have been replaced by a desire to be healthy and feel vibrant…much more substance to aim for
Yep the scales are definitely a bad measurement, so happy not to bother with them anymore.
Thanks for popping in X
Got a question. If you were broke like I am
but still wanted to follow your fruitarian diet. What fruits would you choose? I am like you a raw vegan and eat a lot of bananas because they are cheap but I am getting tired of them:)
Fred.
I don’t know how it is where you live, but often, I can find really cheap dates at an ethnic shop (like a little turkish or Arabic shop), and I think you can always order them in bulk online. They’re cheap, sweet and they stay good for a while
Good advice Tina. Generally whatever fruit is in season and abundant is usually the cheapest, what can you get quantity of at the moment that is high in calories? (ieg- persimmons…)
Hello, you mean we just have to store in the fridge? Okay we can juice it and keep it in the freezer right?
No juice doesn’t do well in the freezer
Great blog entry, Freelee. Scales are only helpful for monitoring hydration, for sure. If you want your ideal body, eat enough calories and build your fitness through aerobic exercise and stregth training. Like you say, GET YOUR CALORIES: this cannot be emphasised enough.
XoXo
thanks Kristina, its always great having you drop into my blog
Im glad you rounded that off -
“if you want your ideal body, eat enough calories and build your fitness through aerobic exercise and stregth training. ”
So true, when you are going to start mentoring peeps? You will be great x
thank you so much freelee you help me with my anorexia so much i love my fruit and its so inspirational to see you so slim and eating all you want.
Thanku lovely spekgirl
I am so happy to have helped you with your anorexia, hearing that means the world to me xx
Great blog and article. So many people think fruit will make you fat. You look amazing, and I think we share a similar journey to the Raw Lifestyle. Great to have come across your blog. Think I’ll take a look around!
yep fruit = fat is a huge misconception and I’m living proof! I’m happy with the size it gives me. I haven’t exercised for the past 2months due to an injury and i haven’t gained a kg, maybe lost a few which could be put down to water weight.
thanks for popping in
Wow!! Thanks now I can substitute fruits instead of eating lots of carbo. What other food can you suggest in to go with fruits that are not fattening and wont make me feel weak.
Fruit DOES NOT make you fat (just letting you know) I eat up to 50 bananas a day and I’m 120lbs and 5’6. Come on 30bananasaday.com or my new site http://www.thefruititionist.com
Great post freelee
thankU x
As a teenager I was obsessed with my weight, always starving myself and taking pseudo-ephedrine to quell hunger twinges. Which resulted in constant migraines, depression, dizziness and I’d faint all the time. Funny thing was, I was never even remotely overweight, I always weighed under 50kgs. Anyway, eventually I got tired of this and decided, there and then, that I would never diet again. I threw away the scale and I stopped criticising myself in the mirror and I’ve never looked back. I truly believe that losing the scale helped me towards a better body image as you cannot be happy with your body if you are obsessing about tiny changes in your weight. Focus on the things you love about your body, always see yourself in the best light and eat what is best for you, and you will get and maintain your ideal body weight. That’s what I have found. My journey from vegetarian, to vegan, to raw vegan has been a constant journey of self-discovery and I’m pleased to report that through it I have discovered a love for exercise, particularly running, that I didn’t know I possessed. So my advice to anyone is, throw away the scale!
Ahhh what an awesome snippet of your journey you have shared here Melissa, thank you so much. I can relate totally. Throw the scales!!yeh!
Yeah you are absolutely right Melissa throw the scales. We have the same problem, Now it feels light to know its not like me..and we can fight it right!!
I have to say you look good not While everyone understands the importance of eating fruits and vegetables, there are still a lot of people who are not too keen on the idea of eating their greens on every meal. Taking your fruits and vegetables in juice form is a good alternative especially if you don’t have much time to sit down for a proper meal.
There are lots of benefits that can be had from incorporating fresh fruit and vegetable juices in your diet. In fact, there are many aspects in which fresh juice can be much better than eating cooked or processed fruits and vegetables.
“that’s why you may see an increase in your weight overnight sometimes”
I like what you’re saying elsewhere, but you cannot gain weight without eating. Regardless of how food/energy is stored in your body, it cannot increase its weight once inside of you.
Other than that, very motivational. Keep it up.
Hey Dustin, you can Definitely gain scale weight with the addition of salt, I could gain a good few kgs overnight if I was to consume salt. What salt does
is retain body fluid/water weight in an effort to dilute the pollution (salt) so the overall reading on the scales increases.
Oh Hi Free, maybe that is one reason im gaining wait..bacause i eat most fruits with salt. Nobody told me that, or maybe my mom doesnt care she thinks I am too young to be conscious about my weight. Great Day!!
i just found you… this makes a lot of sense to me. thanks for sharing your journey.
cool thanks for reading
this is my favorite blog. . now I can slowly losse wait without starving myself. Thanks so much .free and to my friend who gave me this link. love it
Hi johann, I’m sure you mean weight instead of wait haha. Seriously, I like this blog so much also. I will try to eat more fruits than burgers and fries. It will make my skin nicer also.
Hi free, i am overweight and have diabetes family history, but still not a diabetic.
Would you suggest fruits other than mango ang grapes to avoid. Is it true that cucumbers are good in fighting diabetes. Please suggest fruits and veggies to eat!!Thanks!!
All of them! Come on 30bananasaday.com for more information. Diabetes is a fat metabolism problem. Excess fat in your bloodstream hinders the uptake of sugars into the cell.
Wow i’m at a loss for words. Your transformation is Amazing! I’m dealing with weight issues at the moment. I go up and down the scale constantly, my health is declining, and my cholesterol levels are through the roof. I have toyed with the idea of becoming a raw foodist but out of fear i quickly abandon the thought. After reading your story and seeing how going raw changed your life i have decided to give it a go. I’m still a little scared after all this is a total lifestyle change but, i look forward to the day I can say goodbye to dieting & hello to me. Thank you so much for the inspiration. (: