Why the Scale Is Lying to You: The Truth About Fat Loss vs. Weight Loss

00:00A lot of women are doing Pilates or boot camps or F45 or Orange Theory or the high cardio intensity aspects. And I'm not saying that it's wrong to do them, but you need to incorporate more strength training because without strength training, you will not reshape your body. What's going on, you guys? Hey, everyone. Welcome back to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkie Stott, co-founder of WarriorBabe.

00:31And on this podcast, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. I am your host, Nikkie Stott, and welcome to episode number 265. And today, you guys, it's going to be short and sweet and like a friendly reminder to you all. You guys know that I'm taking like the topics from the Instagram story that I put up like a week or so ago that you guys were dropping topic ideas because I felt like I had hit a dry spell.

01:06And there was one in there about the scale. And I know that I've done a couple episodes on the scale, but I was like, hmm, they're actually probably like way back, like way back in like the hundreds, right? Or even before, like in the single, in the double digits. So I was like, let me bring this one back. And I was also inspired today because I was talking on a WarriorBabe success interview, and that one is definitely going to be aired soon. But she was mentioning the scale and how it was frustrating to her. And she didn't realize the difference between weight loss and fat loss.

01:38And so that's what I want to chat about today because I feel like so many of you guys are either you're confused by it, you're frustrated with it, or you're just flat out obsessing over what that damn scale says. And it either controls you or it makes you feel a type of way or mess with your emotions or the way that you go about your day after you step on the scale in the morning.

02:09And you probably could be weighing yourself every single day. It may not even realize that it could be controlling you in certain aspects. So I want to get into it. I want to talk about the difference between weight loss and fat loss and why that number that you see on the scale does not tell you the full story. So let's start here because I've seen it a thousand times. And I have been there myself too as well. So you guys are not alone. And if you still feel like you're relying on the scale, you're controlled by the scale, you use it every single day, but you maybe use it more so not as a tool, but just like feel good or feel bad after you look at it, right?

02:44But I've been there a thousand times. This is probably where you're at. You're working your ass off. You're starting training. You're eating according to your nutrition or according to your macros. Sometimes you're feeling stronger. You're maybe even noticing like your clothes are fitting different and they're fitting better, but that scale isn't moving. And suddenly you're like if that's how you're like you feel like you're doing all those things and then you start to question like you're starting to question everything like is this even working?

03:14I'm putting all my time and effort into this. I should just quit now because it's nothing's even changing. Like the scale isn't moving at all. Should I just go back to eating less? Should I just go back to doing more cardio? Because it seemed like, you know, at least the scale will fluctuate on a daily basis more so than it is now. Like nothing's moving. And let me just tell you, flat out your answer should be no. You shouldn't. That scale that you are relying on. And it may be the only thing that you're using to track your progress.

03:45That is just one metric. That is just one tool that you could be of many that you should be using in your journey. And honestly, it's one of the least useful ones. If you are focusing on body recomposition, changing your body composition and being more lean and being more toned and having more muscle. Weight loss. This topic gets me so fueled up. Let me just take a deep breath. Weight loss is a very broad category.

04:19Like it literally includes everything. It includes the fat on your body. It includes the muscle on your body. It includes the water in your body. It includes the undigested food in your body. It includes your organs. It includes everything. But fat loss is more so about reducing body fat specifically. And that's where the real change happens. Where your body composition shifts.

04:51Where your physique starts to look more lean. More strong. More defined. The way that I look at it is you can jump on like the next crash diet. You can go intermittent fasting. You can go keto. You can do all of those things. And you will drop weight. Yes. But you are dropping a little bit of everything. You're dropping fat. You're dropping muscle. Which let me just pin that there. Because if you want to be more lean, strong, and defined.

05:21Dropping muscle. Losing muscle. Losing. Which is what every one of those programs does. Is counterproductive to the end goal that you want to accomplish. With being more lean. Being more strong. Being more defined. It totally. When you are just focusing on weight loss. You are missing the bigger picture of what it looks like to change your body composition. Like it is completely different than changing your body composition is what I am trying to say. Because here's the truth.

05:51When you focus on just losing weight quickly. You're losing a combination of water. You're losing a combination of the fat diet. The muscle I just said. You're losing a combination of the fat. But doing and losing the muscle is completely the opposite of what you want to do. Muscle. If I can just like make this stick in your brain so hard. Muscle is metabolically active. And what I mean by that is that it supports your metabolism. It keeps your body strong and functional.

06:22And it gives you that tone look that everyone is chasing. Everybody wants the better arm. The look better looking arms. They want the lines on the stomach. That doesn't happen in the weight loss category. You will lose weight. But you are losing a little bit of everything. When you shift your focus to the fat loss aspect. You're training smarter. You're eating enough to fuel your workouts. To build muscle. To support your metabolism. You're doing the strength training that actually reshapes your body.

06:52The programs that are out there that I'm kind of harping on. Like keto or intermittent fasting. Like a lot of women are doing Pilates or boot camps. Or F45 or Orange Theory. Or the high cardio intensity aspects. And I'm not saying that it's wrong to do them. But you need to incorporate more strength training. Because without strength training. You will not reshape your body. When you're doing strength training. Yeah. The scale might not move as fast. But your body is changing in ways that actually last.

07:26Like I remember talking to this babe today. And you're going to hear her story in a couple of weeks. But she was like, yeah, I just, I started. I just listened to everything my coach was telling me to do. Once I joined Warrior Beam. And in the first six months, she's lost 5% body fat. But five pounds, just five pounds in six months. But her body looks drastically different. Okay. And then let's not even forget to like. I'm kind of going back to the weight loss aspect.

07:56Like let's not forget water retention. Hormonal fluctuations. Like your cycle on a monthly basis. If you still get that. Those can all cause a scale to spike. Or to stall. Or to plateau. Or not even move. But none of that reflects true progress. None of that reflects like. Like the work that you are putting in on a daily basis. That's why I recommend. We recommend. The coaches at WordBet recommend. Progress pictures. Or how your clothes fit. Or how you're noticing. How much stronger you're getting. And the non-scale victories.

08:27They are so much more important. Than the number that you are seeing on the scale. The woman I talked to today. And of all the other success stories. That you guys have heard. I'm sure we've touched on. How some people have weighed the same. In their photos. But they look. Or weighed the same on the scale. But they look drastically different. In their photos. They weigh the same in their before. They weigh the same in their after. But there's a complete total difference. In the photos. This is why I harp on taking the pictures. Because the pictures are going to tell you the full story. Not the scale. The scale is telling you. It's the least reliable measuring device.

09:03On your fitness journey. In my opinion. The pictures. If you take. If you can see. I say take. I know that you don't want to. I'm sure you're like. Nikki. I hate seeing myself in the pictures. I don't want to see them. I hate the way that I look. There's that. That's the reason why you're starting. And that's going to tell your whole story. From start to finish. And then you can also paint the picture in between. Were you consistent or not? Maybe three months later. If you haven't seen change. It gives you the awareness. To take some honesty. And responsibility on your journey. And be like. Damn. I wasn't as consistent in those three months. That's probably why I didn't see that much change.

09:34And then if you take them. On the. Say the three months. And you take them for the next three months. You actually apply it. I guarantee you. You're going to see some type of change. You may not see it on the scale. But you're probably going to see it. In the pictures. Or again. How your clothes fit. These women say. That they weigh the same. In the pictures. And their before and after. And I ask them. How their clothes are fitting. And they fit drastically different. They've had to get different sizes. But they weigh the same. Hey. While you're listening. If you're getting value. From this episode. Take a moment. To tap that review button. Or share this podcast. With a friend.

10:05It's a small gesture. That goes a long way. In helping more women. Find their way. To feeling stronger. And more confident. In their skin. I appreciate you so much. For taking the time. To support this show. Ladies. Are you feeling frustrated. With body changes. You're experiencing. During menopause. It's time. To take control. If you're between. 45 and 65 years old. And tired of struggling. With body fat. And muscle loss.

10:36Warrior Babe. Is here for you. At Warrior Babe. We've helped over 18,000 women. Just like you. Lose body fat. Build toned muscle. And understand their bodies. Better. With personalized plans. Based on hormone. And thyroid testing. And more. Imagine knowing. Exactly what your body needs. To see real results. And results that last. Look. Don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health. And join our community. Of strong. Empowered women. Visit. WarriorBabe.com. Forward slash. Apply today.

11:06To start your transformation. That's. WarriorBabe.com. Forward slash. Apply. All right. Let's get back to the show. Here's the kicker. The shift in understanding. Isn't just about. Like these facts. I'm talking about. And like spitting. Like the signs. Behind things. It's about the mindset. That you go into this. Every. Like if you guys. Know me by now. 265 episodes in. Right. I've talked a lot.

11:37About the mindset. Aspect. Aspect of your fitness journey. And that is something that we. Pride ourselves on. In WarriorBabe. Because we're not just fitness. Like yes. We are. That fitness is our foundation. But dude. Where are we at. With you. We're meeting you. Where you're at. Where's your mindset. Along the way. With all of this. Are we coming in. Scale heavy focused. Or scale focused. You know what I'm saying. Like heavily focused. On the scale. And it controls. And dictates your every move. Or you know. What's your relationship with it. Like we ask those type of questions. Understand you. And where we're. Where we're starting with you.

12:08And understanding. How we can better support you. With acknowledging. And validating those things. But shifting you. To a better perspective on it. That's going to support you. Long term. Because if you're married to the scale. Just hear me out. I'm saying this. Because I love you guys. You are going to. Sabotage yourself. And you're probably hearing me like. Yeah Nikki. Like I've already done that. And I'm here. In the weight of. Of going up and down. And fluctuating. Between showing up to my workouts. And not showing up to my workouts. And showing up to my nutrition.

12:38And not showing up to my nutrition. I'm two months in. I'm trying to do this. And it's just not working. Because the scale isn't moving. Babe. You're going to throw the towel. In way too soon. Because you think it's not working. When in reality. Your body is doing. Exactly what it's supposed to. So you have to. Redefine progress. Like that. And that means. Like you have to celebrate. Hitting. Your nutrition consistently. Hitting your protein consistently. That means acknowledging. That you went up. In last. In weights last week. Like one of the.

13:09The babes. One of her. Milestones. Was that she tripled her weights. In six months. That's a non-scale victory. That means. Realizing that your genes. Feel. Fit looser. Or your sleep is better. Or your mood is more stable. That's all progress. That gets so overlooked. And that's like. Ten different aspects of progress. Than the one that's just. Reliable. From the scale. And I want to say this. Loud and clear. Like I want to say this. So the people in the back.

13:39Hear me. So loud. Your body. Is not. A math equation. It's a biological system. That responds. To consistency. That responds. To patience. And that responds. To nourishment. So if you're doing this. Back and forth. And up and down. In two months. Inconsistency. Consistent for three days. Inconsistent for seven. Because of the scale. And trying to calculate. How much is going to go down. Or up. Or I need to lose. Ten pounds.

14:09By x amount of time. Ten. Thirty days. And then. Two pounds a day. Equals. Whatever. That you're not a math equation. And you can't view yourself like that. Because you're going to sabotage yourself. You are. A complex system. Internally. And you can't see it. Your biological system. That is. That will. It when applied. The right way. With the right strategies. And the right protocol.

14:40For you specifically. Will respond to you. Following through. With that. Following to that plan. Or that program. Or the strategy. Consistently. And having patience. Noticing that maybe. A month in. Nothing's changing. But I'm still going to keep going. Or when you hit a plateau. And you've been doing the work. And you've been seeing the progress. But you plateau out. You have patience. And you don't change anything. You just keep going. That is so hard to do. But it's so normal. And then you feed your body. The right way.

15:11And that's why I say. In many podcasts. Like. Mentally grasping that. And then applying it. If everybody would do that. We'd. We'd be back in like. The times where. People were walking around. With chiseled abs. And like. Greek goddesses. Every day. Because. This would be consistently. Followed through on. Okay. So. If we're ditching the scale. That's what I want you guys. To focus on instead. If we're ditching the scale. As our. Our only source of validation. Then. What do you need to focus on? You need to focus on.

15:41Taking the progress photos. Not every day. Not like how you'd. Step on the scale every day. You need to take progress photos. Maybe. Once a week. Depending on. Like. You know. That's what we do with warrior babe. Or. Really. Depending on your relationship with. And that's how we narrow it down. A warrior babe. Depending on your relationship. With. Seeing the photos. Maybe it's not. A once a week type of thing. Maybe it's a. Bi-weekly type of thing. Or maybe a once a month. Type of thing. And you will be shocked. By what you see. When you consistently. Take them on a bi-weekly basis.

16:11On a monthly basis. Another thing that you need to focus on. Do you need to focus on measuring your strength? You need to track your list. You need to pay attention to. Okay. I'm doing the shoulder press. And I'm using 25 pounds. Per. Hand. Next week. Maybe. The 25 pounds. By rep 10. Is easy. And I know. Nikki. And my coach. Have told me. That the last three reps. Should be really challenging. Because that's where. Your. The metabolic stress. Put in your body. Is going to. Create the stress. Needed. In order for the muscle.

16:41To grow. To break down. And to grow. So I'm going to try. And up my weight. Five pounds. So I'm going to up my weight. I don't know. Maybe the 10. Is way too easy. And you up them by 10. I wouldn't recommend that. But maybe it's. Maybe you just didn't. Apply the weight. The right way. The first week. Because it was just. Going through the motions. But you got to track your weight. Because getting stronger. Means that you are building. More muscle. That's why you get stronger. You just get. Don't get stronger. Because you go consistently. To the gym. You get stronger.

17:11Because scientifically. What your body is doing. Is it's breaking down the muscle. It's breaking down the muscle fibers. As you're working out. And during your recovery. After the workout. When you are feeling your body. The right way. And you're hydrating. You're getting enough sleep. And you're recovering. You are building the muscle. So you are getting stronger. When you're getting stronger. You're building more muscle. Monitor how your clothes fit. Monitor how you feel in your body. Pay attention to your energy levels. Because I guarantee you. When you're eating. 2,000 calories a day. 2,100 calories a day.

17:421,600 calories a day. Whatever it is. More than what you were doing before. You are going to notice. A drastic change in your energy levels. You're going to be more elevated. You're going to be more heightened. You're going to be more awake. You're going to be more happy. You're going to be more energetic. You're going to be more. All of the things. And then notice your digestion. Notice your sleep quality. Those are all signs of having healthy metabolic health. And most importantly. Dude. What you should be focusing on is your mindset. Are you leading from a place of self-respect.

18:15And long-term thinking. Or are you still chasing the quick fix? Because there's one thing that I noticed. With these worry babe success stories. By the way. You can go check them out on our website. On the success page. I probably don't have 40 of them by now. And they're so good. There's so many aspects of these women's journeys. That are totally different. That you may click into. And resonate with. But what I've noticed is. When they stopped relying on the scale. Because what they were once doing before warrior babe. Was like intermittent fasting. Keto.

18:45Like all the things from back in the day. They were trying to recreate the successes. That they had when they were 20. In their 50s. And they shifted away from chasing that quick fix. To you know. Putting the scale away. Because they understand what I'm sharing with you guys here now. Because we lean heavy on it in the program. Because we want your mindset to change quick. And we want you to grasp it quick. So you can have a successful journey. But what I hear is like. Now I love myself more. I have more self-respect. I have more self-worth. I understand this long-term thinking. Of like this is a lifestyle.

19:16And that number isn't controlling them anymore. It's not. Like they're not being emotionally weighed down. From if the number on the scale has gone up. And then they're defeated. And then their actions spiral. To eating whatever they want that day. Or then if the scale goes down. The emotion is they're excited. And so that spirals in. To how they show up that day.

19:48And can you imagine that roller coaster? Because the scale fluctuates on a daily basis. Given all the things that I mentioned earlier. I can be from having too much sugar. It could be from having too much salt. Right? Like you guys have heard me say these things before. So this is like a quick reminder in this episode right now. That the scale is not the end-all be-all to your fitness journey. And there's so many other important aspects that should be focusing on. That you should be focusing on as a source of validation. That you are exactly where you need to be.

20:19And your body is doing exactly what it needs to do. So this journey that you are on. The fitness journey that you guys are all pursuing. It's not about shrinking yourself to fit some outdated standard of. I need to be skinny. I need to look like the woman in the magazine from the 90s. Or the 80s. This outdated standard of being beautiful. That's not. Because that's where the scale. Like that was heavily focused on.

20:50And especially for the women that are 50, 60 years old. That was a thing that was very much focused on. In the time that they were growing up. This is why I do what I do. Like I don't want women to chase skinny. Or to chase small. It's about you guys building strength. For longevity. So that when I just saw this. Oh my gosh. I just saw this incredible. Right before I recorded this episode. On Instagram. Of this 82 year old mom. The daughter was filming her. Where she was having a really hard time. Walking. And doing her normal daily activities.

21:22Standing up. And moving around. She couldn't go for long walks. And her husband and her. Started to strength train. And now she walked at a two minute pace. Faster than she's ever done before. Unsupported. Not having to use a walker. Because she started to strength train. And she was walking more upright. That's what it's about. It's about you. Adding years to your life. You having longevity. You having more strength. More energy. More confidence. From the inside out.

21:52It's about fat loss. If I'm going to tie this all back around. It's not about weight loss. And you shouldn't be focusing on weight loss. The fat loss. The way that I view it. Is like. Okay. You're going to be eating right. You're going to be eating enough. You're going to be fueling your body. You're going to be hydrating. You're going to be sleeping. All the things. That takes into account. You decreasing the body fat. Around the muscle. That you are building. When you're incorporating strength training. It's like. That's the way I think of it. Think about just. You. That's how more toned comes about.

22:24More tone happens. Are you focusing on fat loss. Not on weight loss. It's about becoming that person. That lifts heavier. It's about becoming that person. That eats. To fuel their body. And doesn't. Doesn't just let a number define her. When she. Steps on the scale. So. Hear me out. If the scale hasn't moved in a while. But. You're showing up. You're lifting heavier. You're feeling stronger. You're sleeping better. Dude. You are winning. So please. Keep going. Don't. Trade.

22:54These long-term results. That you are actively. Participating in. For the short. Short-term validation. Of what the number on the scale. Is or isn't going to tell you. So. Just continue. The trust. The process that you want. You are on. Continue to trust your body. Continue to. Stay focused. Be consistent. Be patient. Be all the things. That are. Of long-term thinking. And just. Ditch. Ditch the scale mentality. For good. And trust me.

23:25I understand. It's easier said than good. Than. Easier said than dumb. But. One thing that you could do right now. If you know that that's you. It has a scale mentality. Is just. Go. Seriously. Like. This is for your good. Go put the scale somewhere. Like. Under the bed. In the closet. And just. Focus. On. The same things that you are doing. On a daily basis. For. For a period of time. Before you even touch. That scale again. Okay. You got this. You got this. I. Try. I believe in you. And just keep showing up.

23:55On a daily basis. All right. It'll all compound. In the end. Love you guys. Appreciate you guys. And I will see you in the next episode. Peace out. Real quick. If this episode resonated with you. Or gave you the push that you needed. I'd love for you to pay it forward. Drop a quick rating. And review. Share the podcast with someone who might need it. And help me keep spreading the word. Your feedback. Not only helps the show grow. But it might just be the nudge. Someone else needs to kickstart their transformation. Thank you. So. So.

24:25So much for your support.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.