Measuring the amount of weight you have lost using a standard measuring scale can sometimes be quite disappointing. Despite all your efforts to exercise and eat healthy, the numbers on the scale stay the same, stubbornly refusing to budge.

But, remember! The scale does not tell you even a bit about what is happening in your body. The weight displayed only shows your total body weight, which is made up of muscle, fat, organs, skin, bones, fluid etc. So while your body weight may be the same as when you started, it could be because you have built muscle and lost fat tissue. This will reflect not as coveted weight loss, but as a healthier body composition. This should make you feel a whole lot better!

Muscle and fat vary in density. Muscle occupies less space in the body than the same amount of fat. Increased muscle makes the body look firm and toned, as opposed to the flabby look that fat gives. By increasing muscle mass you will lose inches in your waist, thighs, hips and buttocks. We have to make a shift in our thinking and look at indicators of health and wellness and not just at ‘weight loss'.

Building lean muscle has its advantages; it increases your metabolic efficiency and improves glucose control by increasing insulin sensitivity.

A pound of fat equals 3,500 calories of unused energy. To burn this off, you need to either create a deficit of 3500 calories in your diet or do exercise to burn the calories. When lean muscle mass increases, this automatically helps your body burn calories. A pound of muscle at rest burns more calories than a pound of fat tissue.

Having an increased muscle mass also helps improve blood sugar control and lowers the risk of diabetes. Less dietary glucose will turn into fat and less insulin is needed to keep the body functioning normally. When endocrine system works properly, it is much easier to maintain a healthy weight. A healthy insulin level and good glucose control with an increased resting metabolic rate (RMR) helps a person with overall fat loss.

Increasing muscle helps to:

• Reduce the risk of exercise related injury
• Increase stamina and enhanced athletic performance
• Creates a lean physique
• Increase your metabolic efficiency
• Improve insulin sensitivity and improve blood glucose control.

Shift your focus away from weighing scale readings and use other methods to track progress such as- Body composition testing, Circumference measurements ( of waist and hip) or before and after photos. At the beginning, gather information about your body composition, circumference measurements, assess your strength and flexibility, blood pressure and lipid profile.

Positive changes in these parameters show that you are building muscle and increasing your fitness.