Celebrate the Small Wins
It can feel very demotivating when body scan results take a downward turn, but all is not necessarily what it seems. Ensuring scan conditions are consistent and having an understanding of the results and how each metric relates to another will give a clearer picture on how you or your client are really progressing.
It is incredibly important that clients understand that fat loss is never a linear process and often there are plateaus and rises along the way. The end goal should always be the focus and celebrating the small wins like being consistent with training, drinking more water, getting more sleep, being more active with steps etc. Clients will take onboard your advice so setting them up to concentrate on wins and areas of improvement will always yield a better client/trainer relationship and allow the client to progress in a positive manner. The scanning process should never be a negative experience but rather an opportunity to improve and get one step closer towards that goal.
As with all forms of body composition, the technology of bioelectrical impedance (BIA) requires standardised conditions when scanning to provide proper repeatability of measurements. The technology reads impedance and reactance of tissue at a point in time which can differentiate Lean Body Mass from Body Fat Mass.
The human body is quite dynamic in response to training stimulus, nutrient partitioning and supplementation/medications so those things need to be taken into account with respect to scan readings. The technology is validated in science and used in medicine so generally, variabilities in scan results are mostly due to human factors, this is why it’s important to always ensure there are standardised conditions around testing.
So, what could be the reason for results not being as expected, provided that the scanning conditions are consistent to previous scans?