Measuring body weight for weight loss is only effective when you know what percentage of that is lean muscle, body fat, and water. Only then can you determine your ideal calorie intake and what type of workouts you need to be doing. If you think this sounds too complicated or intimidating or expensive then think again. HoMedics SC-560 Tri-Fitness HealthStation Body Composition Scanner
Why do you need to know bodyfat percentage?
If you are 5'7" and you weigh 155 lb with 35% body fat then you are going to benefit more from strength workouts and increased protein intake than you would from doing more cardio and cutting back on fat. If you are 5'7" and you weight 180lb with 24% bodyfat then you are going to benefit more from a boot camp style workout and from cutting back on sugar and fat than you would from traditional strength and cardio workouts.
If either of these women dropped 20 lb. of weight but a majority of that weight was water or lean muscle then that would only make losing weight that much tougher. Remember that losing weight isn't just about dropping that number on the scale. It's about losing fat weight and boosting lean muscle which in turn will boost metabolism, boost energy, and make you smaller and tighter. Monitoring your body fat is a great way to know whether your diet and workouts are actually working for you or against you.
Why do you need to know water weight?
If you are like most women you probably don't drink enough water and the signs of dehydration are sneaky. You might feel more hungry, crave sugar, crave carbs, get headaches, have low energy, feel sleepy, etc. In addition being dehydrated means that your fat burning process is compromised and your dieting and exercising efforts are not as effective. Losing weight and losing fat is closely tied to your hydration levels. If you monitor this number then you are more likely to stay hydrated and give your body exactly the water it needs to help it burn the fat.
Why do you need to know ideal calories?
Not everyone gets results from going on a 1200 calorie a day plan. There a plenty of women who actually lose more weight when their calories are higher and the only way to get this number is to determine your ideal weight which can only be calculated when you know your weight, body fat percentage, and activity level. If you are 5'4" with a few extra pounds but high body fat and your activity level is average then your calorie needs will be much different than a woman of the same height who's weight, body fat, and activity level are in the athlete category. In addition to this your calorie needs can change on a daily basis so monitoring that number is crucial to create the deficit necessary to drop fat pounds.
Measure what's important and you'll get results much faster. Best scale for this: HoMedics SC-560 Tri-Fitness HealthStation Body Composition Scanner



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