
Obsessed with you your weight? Aren’t we all? And who could blame us, with perfect (photoshopped) men and women looking up at us from every magazine cover? When it starts to make you feel depressed or pressured, it’s time to take a step back and realize that there are many reasons NOT to obsess over your weight.
1. Stress, cortisol, and weight gain go hand-in-hand.
You heard that right. All the obsessing, the stressing, the agonizing of an extra pound here or a skin fold there, is actually counter-productive. Your body produces a hormone called cortisol in response to stress. This hormone is produced naturally and plays a vital role in your body, unless there is too much in circulation due to constant higher levels of stress. Elevated levels of cortisol lead to increased hunger cues and visceral fat (belly fat).
2. Weight is just a number.
Your scale can only read one number. Scale weight is such an emotional number—it can be very discouraging when it won’t budge. It’s also a number that fluctuates daily, based on things as trivial as water intake. You shouldn’t compare your weight to anyone else’s. First of all, is anyone really honest on their driver’s license? Second of all, your bone density, muscle mass, and water weight all affect your body’s natural number.
3. A pound of muscle and a pound of fat are not the same.
This is the best reason for throwing your scale out the window, if I’ve ever heard one. A pound of fat actually has a much larger volume than a pound of muscle, taking up a larger amount of space, and consequently making you appear larger. A pound of muscle, although it weighs the same amount, will give you a leaner, harder, more toned look.
4. A healthy weight is relative.
Years of training and dieting will never make you a size 0 if your body cannot physically be a size 0. Some frames just won’t allow it...and that’s okay! If you have curves, you’ll always have curves. If you got rid of them, you’d no longer be healthy—and shouldn’t health be our true end goal, anyway? Don’t work out to be skinny, work out to be the healthiest you can be, however that looks on your body. Every body is different. That’s what makes us unique, different, and beautiful.
5. You aren’t the only one.
According to a survey conducted in 2014, 45% of Americans worry about their weight all or some of the time. The United States contained 318.9 million people in 2014. This means that roughly 1.5 million people are also obsessing over their weight. Find a support group. Work out together, report your diet to each other. Reach out to one another for support. Realize that while your scale says that you gained a pound rather than losing one, no one else noticed. Give yourself a break, but keep on working. Consistency is key, and if you stick to a healthy food and exercise plan, you can make it!
Emily Wiley
iFit Trainer
WARNING: This post is not intended to replace the advice of a medical professional. The above information should not be used to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or medical condition. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet, sleep methods, daily activity, or fitness routine. iFit assumes no responsibility for any personal injury or damage sustained by any recommendations, opinions, or advice given in this article.
We’ve reached the final stretch in iFIT’s Finish Strong journey, a three-month commitment to staying active, motivated, and focused through the end of the year. You’ve built your consistency, and now it’s time for the grand finale: the Dash to the Finish Challenge.This month is all about pushing to the finish line while celebrating how far you’ve come. Embrace the season, whether you’re walking through the holiday markets in Germany or feeling the Jingle Bell Burn in the iFIT Studio.It’s time to finish strong!Complete the workouts from your selected Challenge level by December 31, 2025 and you’ll earn this digital reward for your Trophy Case. Here are this month’s Challenges:Treadmill and elliptical workoutsWalking and Running: Finish strong this month with walks and runs! You’ll explore the famous holiday markets in Germany with Casey Gilbert, complete holiday-themed walks and runs in the iFIT Studio with Ashley Paulson, John Peel, Richard Biglia, Jesse Corbin, Pearl Fu, and Jonnie Gale, walk across a glacier in Argentina with John Peel, and wrap things up in Nepal with Ang Tshering Lama.Join the Dash to the Finish Challenge: Walk & RunCycling WorkoutsCycling: Cycle to the finish line this month! iFIT Trainer John Wessling will lead you through an interval ride and an endurance ride alongside a dog sled team in Alaska. Then, you’ll head to Colorado with iFIT Trainer Keith Gabel to explore the Devil’s Thumb Resort. Finally, iFIT Trainer Ashley McIvor will join you in Norway for a HIIT ride and strength ride that is sure to get you in the holiday spirit.Join the Dash to the Finish Challenge: CyclingRower WorkoutsRowing: iFIT Trainers Alex Gregory and Susan Francia will take you on an epic adventure this month! Join Alex in Wales for endurance and speed rowing workouts, then head to Canada for quick but effective training with Susan, focused on HIIT, power, and endurance.Join the Dash to the Finish Challenge: RowingStrength workoutsStrength: Build strength in the iFIT Studio and in Iceland this month! Catch the incredible dynamic duos of Hannah Eden and Paulo Barreto, John Peel and Ashley Paulson, and Hannah and Ashley, and a solo workout with Shannon Cooper for fun, holiday-themed workouts. iFIT Trainer Jonnie Gale will round things out with two strength-focused workouts in the stunning backdrop of Iceland.Join the Dash to the Finish Challenge: StrengthDisclaimer: The primary purpose of this blog post is to inform and entertain. Nothing on the post constitutes or is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. Reliance on any information provided on the blog is solely at your own risk. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, and please consult your doctor or other health care provider before making any changes to your diet, sleep methods, daily activity, or fitness routine. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of information available on this blog. iFIT assumes no responsibility for any personal injury or damage sustained by any recommendations, opinions, or advice given in this article. Always follow the safety precautions included in the owner’s manual of your fitness equipment.
December 1, 2025