Numbers are real data that can show health metrics and progress. Data driven results are a huge priority in the fitness industry and a part of creating SMART fitness goals. This is because numbers work, and they are real. In fact, wearables are number one on the ACSM fitness trends list for 2025. However, your personal relationships to the numbers can be empowering or have the potential to be out of balance. If you’re finding yourself chasing numbers, whether on the scale, on the barbell, or in MyFitnessPal, numbers can become the very thing holding you back.
What Is A Weight Loss Mindset?
A weightloss mindset is the most common trap to fall into. It’s one that is determined by the number on the scale as the holy grail of metrics. And, it’s not your fault, doctors use it as a health determiner and our culture places a huge significance on it. However, weight is the total amount that you weigh, which takes muscles, water, bones, fat, what you ate, and everything you are physically made up of into account.
For this reason, weight is actually not a good metric to base any health status from. Muscle mass is a primary indicator of good overall health, which is unrelated to weight. You can hit your target weight and still lack muscle mass or the body composition you want. Inversely, having more muscles makes you weigh more even though you have a healthier body composition and look great. There are also multiple studies indicating that people with higher body fat who have more muscle mass are healthier than thinner individuals with low muscle mass.
Signs Your Stuck On Worrying About Weight
- You weigh yourself daily (or multiple times a day) and your mood depends on the number.
- You constantly compare your body to others online, in public, or even your past self.
- You avoid social situations or clothes you used to enjoy because of how you feel in your body.
- You categorize food as “good” or “bad” and feel guilt or shame after eating.
- You exercise mainly to “burn off” food or to change your appearance, not for strength or joy.
- You feel like you have to “get back on track” after eating something indulgent.
- You can’t imagine feeling good about yourself without needing to lose weight first.
- You feel like your worth or health is measured by your body size.
- You avoid full-length mirrors or obsessively check your body in mirrors.
- You delay things in life whether it’s dating, vacations, photos, or wearing a swimsuit until you lose weight.
The Problem With Focusing Only On The Scale
Because weight is such a poor metric for identifying overall health, have grace with yourself around how much you weigh. Or, better yet, make a commitment to not know how much you weigh. Ditch the scale and you may find you’ll be much happier.
Otherwise, chasing a very arbitrary and meaningless number on the scale has the potential to hold you back and or make you unhappy with your results. Even if you hit that number you’re chasing, you’ll always want to chase an even lower number. Sustainable fitness is about longevity, not about winning any game. Learn to enjoy the journey and enjoy your healthy lifestyle. Torturing yourself over a number will never be worth it.
How To Shift From Weight Loss To Wellness
Weight loss is a short-sighted goal, whereas overall health and wellness is ongoing, and most importantly, sustainable. When you make choices from a place of overall health, you know how to stick to a workout routine and allow yourself to build consistent healthy habits that are flexible. Losing weight isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but when you combine it with health and wellness goals, you’ll start doing the things that will actually improve your body composition while nurturing your relationship to yourself, and strengthening your perspective on what’s actually important.
If you are in a position of wanting to lose weight, it’s important to know the difference between fat loss vs weight loss. Most people that want to lose weight actually want to lose fat and change their body composition. To do this requires living a healthy lifestyle and building muscle over time.
Start by incorporating strength training into your routine. Building muscle increases your resting calorie burn, making it easier to change your body composition without drastically cutting calories. When you train consistently with progressive overload, you’ll start to see results. Pair this with daily walking. The benefits of walking are numerous, and it’s an underrated tool for fat loss. Understanding the difference between strength training vs cardio for fat loss is also key: you don’t need punishing workouts or chronic cardio. Strength training and getting your steps in is enough to make a real impact.
Ditch Diet Culture For Sustainable Habits
Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to losing weight that doesn’t involve starving yourself of calories and nutrients through fad diets, which are harmful for your metabolic health. Starting a new diet is something that is absolutely not recommended. Multiple studies show that individuals that engage in dieting almost always gain the lost weight, or more, back. This is because dieting is not sustainable.
Instead, focus on fueling yourself with nutrient dense whole foods. It’s important to know how to track macros, and if that feels like too much, just track your protein and make it the center of your eating habits. If you want to eat at a deficit, make sure you know what your maintenance calories are, then subtract 100-300 calories per day for no more than three months, and resume your normal caloric intake. This ensures that you are not ruining your metabolic health in your deficit. If you are currently eating 1500 calories a day or less, consider reverse dieting to restore a healthy metabolism.
Food is an important part of life, and is meant to be enjoyed. There are no “good” or “bad” foods. There’s enough space to eat a healthy diet that is delicious while also giving yourself grace to indulge. When you can start having a more neutral relationship with food and stop dieting, you can start to listen to your body, gain awareness and trust around how to intuitively eat, and restore a healthy relationship with your body.
How To Rewire Your Fitness Mindset
Just like chasing a number on the scale, you can also get caught in a cycle of chasing a number that is related to performance. This is especially seen in powerlifting and other strength training competitors. You might even notice yourself chasing how many push-ups, chin-ups, etc. you can do. Chasing a performance number can lead to pain, injury, and strain on your overall health. Bottom line, don’t let that number you’re chasing determine your self worth.
Reframing A Weight Loss Mindset
In the 80’s and 90’s, when society decided that women should look like sticks, calorie counting became a cultural norm. Aiming to eat 1200-1300 calories a day became a rule of thumb for most women. However, counting calories vs paying attention to macros is completely different. Calorie counting can be used as a weapon against yourself vs prioritizing hitting your ideal macro levels with a focus on your overall health. Macro tracking allows carbs, fats, and protein to all have a place in sustaining a healthy lifestyle.
If you’re focused on optimizing your training, especially for body composition, tracking your food to get a baseline of the amount of calories and macros you’re consuming on a daily basis can be a useful tool. Especially tracking your protein. However, this can always be taken too far. If you tend to track every little thing and can get stressed out when you go out to eat because you can’t track your food, it’s most likely time for a break from tracking completely.
It’s important to remember that everything is optimal when it’s balanced, not extreme or excessive. You’re not a number. You’re a person. If the thing you’re doing makes you miserable, it’s not the ‘healthy lifestyle’ you think it is. The scale, the weights, and the macros are all just tools. Use them, but don’t worship them.
