Mirrorman – do scales get you down?
For a long time I was blinded by science and the media into believing that the best way to measure your weight and hence keep track of your progress was by using the scales.
Scales don’t lie (well not too much), it’s scientific, mechanical truth. Mirrors on the other hand really can lie as a trip to an amusement park can show you. Gossip claims that the mirrors in gyms are carefully angled to make you look good.
But I’ve come to discard that commonly held notion. It’s true that the scales can be an important tool in the armoury for someone looking to lose weight, but for someone looking to add muscle to an underdeveloped and underweight frame, the scales are a threat.
There are many issues with scales which we all know, such as variations in fluids, but we put too much faith in their scientific truth. Our subconscious minds rely on that too much. “Two pounds increase! But I only ate a quarter pounder!”
There is so much media attention on weight that I think people underestimate the impact not just on the overweight, but on the underweight too. I know that I get paranoid about gaining weight. I know consciously that putting on muscle will increase my weight but my subconscious panics when the scales increase.
It’s true that the mirror can lie, but while I’m in a more bulking phase of my program I lock the scales away. If I use the same mirror, I get a consistent image from day to day. It’s impossible for me to micromanage my weight because a few pounds here or there don’t show.
So for now it’s mirrors only, and I do it in the knowledge that they have their own flaws. Great when pumped, not so great when things have relaxed!
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