Latest / Build for Health with Srdjan Injac / Tracking Progress Without Losing Your Mind
Transcript
- Pete Wright Welcome back to Build for Health, where we pull back the curtain on what it takes to build a strong, healthy body and a fitness routine that sticks. I’m Pete Wright, here with Srdjan Injac. Today: the scale. It’s a terrible narrator of your fitness story. This week we’re exploring the metrics that actually matter—performance markers, body composition, and the biofeedback signals your body sends you every single day—and why obsessing over a single number that fluctuates based on whether you had sushi last night is probably a recipe for frustration. Let’s get into it. All right, Srdjan: the scale problem. Srdjan Injac Yes. Pete Wright How you doing? You weigh in every day, right? You probably have a team of fitness engineers that wake you up, punch you around a little bit, and then put you on a treadmill. I imagine, Rocky. Srdjan Injac It’s funny that we talk about this today, because I did weigh myself this morning. I did take my InBody measurements—just wanted to see where I’m at. A little disappointed, but it’s okay. And that will happen. I want to make sure people know it’s normal. You’ll get disappointed. I get disappointed sometimes too, and it’s part of the progress. But yeah, I try to tell people to stay away from the scale. If you have a scale at home, throw it away. Pete Wright Why? Srdjan Injac You don’t need it. Pete Wright Why, though? Isn’t that a marker of change? Srdjan Injac Oh, the scale is so wrong. It’s so bad. It tells you only one thing: how much you weigh. It doesn’t tell you what that weight is made of. It doesn’t tell you how much is muscle, how much is fat, how much is water, or how much inflammation or stress your body might be holding onto. Your weight can fluctuate a few pounds day to day based on sleep, hydration, stress, sodium, hormones, even when you eat your last meal. I’ve seen people lose five pounds and feel weaker, more tired, and worse overall. And I’ve seen people gain five pounds while getting leaner, stronger, and feeling better than they have in years. So if you’re judging your progress only by the scale, you’re missing most of the story. It’s not what you should be focused on. Pete Wright What are the things that go into our weight that make the scale such a problem? You already named a bunch—water, sodium. What are the things people don’t think about when it comes to weighing themselves that are part of the journey? Srdjan Injac That’s what it is. They’re just looking at the weight and when they see the number, they think that’s fat. Because they want to lose fat. They look at themselves in the mirror and they see they’re big and they’re fat, and they step on the scale and think it’s all fat. And then they think all the weight they lose is fat loss. They’re not thinking about muscle mass, how much muscle they have, and what their water intake is—because none of that is shown by a basic scale. So you might be losing weight and you’ll be like, “Oh my God, the number is going down. I’m glad, I’m happy,” but you’re actually less healthy now than you were before. Because you might be losing muscle, which is very important and crucial to your body. It’s your body’s medicine. It controls everything. So it’s actually worse to look at the weight and go that way. Srdjan Injac The way I measure with everyone is I put them on an InBody scale. Now that’s different. That looks at everything. It looks at your body fat, the fat percentage, muscle mass—everything. So that way we know what we’re losing and we know what we’re gaining. It’s completely different. Pete Wright It’s like shooting something through you, because it has handles and stuff. You’re on it barefoot, holding the handles. It’s like shooting electricity through your body, right? It’s going deep. Srdjan Injac Yes. It’s sending an electrical signal through your body, and that’s how it measures. You step on it barefoot and you hold the handles with your arms, and it measures. It measures things like lean muscle mass and overall muscle balance. Those tools aren’t perfect, but when they’re used consistently they’re great for tracking trends over time. The key is not to obsess over one reading, but to look at what’s happening over weeks and months. That’s why I do monthly measurements—so people can see the progress and see the up and down, like I did today. It went a little bit down because I wasn’t really good the last month, the last couple of months. Pete Wright Well, it’s the holidays, right? Srdjan Injac Yeah, it affected me. I don’t want to blame it on the holidays. Pete Wright I’m trying to let you off the hook. Srdjan Injac I know. I’m really hard on myself. I’m like, “This is not supposed to happen. This is bad. Get back on track.” Pete Wright The reason I ask is: between InBody—which does the full body composition—and the regular scale, you still could fall prey to the psychological trap of the weigh-in, right? I’m definitely that person. I’m so relieved that pretty much right when you and I started working together, the batteries died in my home scale. My accommodation is I just didn’t replace them. If there are batteries in there, I obsess. I look at charts, it’s attached to my phone, and I do it every day. But what about the people who say, “Look, you can weigh in—just make sure you don’t weigh in every day. Weigh in every Monday at 7 a.m.” Where do you stand on that? Srdjan Injac I agree with that. You shouldn’t weigh every day because everything can affect it. Your weight can fluctuate a few pounds day to day based on sleep, hydration, stress, hormones, all that stuff. People weigh themselves throughout the week, and then one day they see they lost a few pounds, and the next day it’s, “Oh my God, I gained it back.” And I’m like, “No, it’s not fat. It’s all the other stuff.” They don’t understand everything that goes into it, so they get discouraged. That’s why I say take at least three weeks. I don’t go less than that, because nobody’s perfect. Weight goes up and down. So do three weeks minimum and then step on the scale—or don’t step on a basic scale. Find a place that has an InBody and step on that. Look at your visceral fat, your total body fat percentage, your muscle mass. Maybe you gained muscle—that’s why your weight went up. Or maybe your weight didn’t change because you gained muscle but lost some fat. The weight stayed the same, and you’re like, “Well, it didn’t change yet,” but you’re feeling better. Pete Wright And you have numbers to justify the change—proof that something is happening. Srdjan Injac Exactly. Then you can see it and focus on those numbers, not just your weight. Pete Wright What keeps you from getting upset? You have an InBody—like, is there even a little part of you that wants to do this every day? I want to know how much my right arm weighs, moment to moment. Srdjan Injac Sometimes, but I know it’s not realistic. If I step on it right after a workout, the numbers go up because you’ve got the pump and inflammation. Pete Wright Yeah, numbers go up. Srdjan Injac Yeah, I’m huge. And the next morning I weigh myself and everything went away. So I try not to do it. I really do it once a month, maybe once every two months. For me it takes a little longer for the body to change. Pete Wright Try to give yourself a break. Srdjan Injac Patience. Yes, yes, yes. Pete Wright So we’re talking about this from the perspective of building strength. Beyond the scale, beyond InBody, how do you track and recommend tracking change over time? A simple scale is simple, but there are also simple measures in the gym: how much weight you can lift or push or pull. That seems like one way. What else are you looking at? Srdjan Injac Everything. At the gym I’m looking at: are you lifting more weight, doing more reps, do the movements feel smoother, are you recovering faster between sets, is your balance better? You compare that to when you started and you’ll see the difference. And I see that difference in my clients, and I remind them: “Remember when we started and you couldn’t do this? Now it’s so easy you do it effortlessly.” Then we put more weight on and they’re like, “Oh yeah, I remember that.” Those are the little things people don’t notice because they’re focused on the number on the scale. Srdjan Injac And then there’s biofeedback: energy level, sleep quality, mood, stress, appetite, digestion, soreness and recovery. Everything improves. People tell me they’re sleeping better, they have more energy during the day, they can play with the kids, they have the strength to pick them up, they’re not sore as long—maybe it was a few days before, now it’s a day or two. Their joints feel better, less pain. Even nutrition changes: cravings are more manageable, they’re not craving everything. And they’ll say, “We went hiking and I went up and down and I didn’t feel like I couldn’t catch my breath.” So all these things matter. Pete Wright I think that’s really important, and I have to remind myself. Sometimes there’s urgency: I’m not moving fast enough, I don’t feel like the change is happening, I don’t notice enough. And yet people around me say things like, “You just seem a lot more sturdy than you ever felt.” They give me a hug and they’re like, “I can’t touch my hands behind you,” and I used to be able to do that. Last week I went to put on a shirt—one that has always been reliable—and it doesn’t fit anymore. That feels pretty good. Srdjan Injac Yeah, I tell people, “Now you’re going to need a new wardrobe.” You got new clothes. You get muscles. Your shoulders are wider, your arms are bigger. You can’t fit in your sleeves now. Or the waist got smaller, so they’re like, “Oh my God, now I gotta buy all these new pants,” and I’m like, “I thought that’s what you wanted.” That’s a good problem. Pete Wright I’m totally fine with that problem. Do you spend any time thinking about body composition metrics beyond InBody? We’ve never talked about measuring circumference—my thighs, my neck. That’s never come up. Have you ever gone down that road? Is that a reliable metric? Srdjan Injac Usually I did that more with athletes, and with people who are really interested and wanted to know—trying to put on muscle mass and see if their arms got bigger, legs got bigger. But I don’t use it as often as InBody. I look at InBody more because it shows more of what matters for health. People come here and they want to lose weight because they want to be healthier, so I focus on that. I look at things like waist-to-hip ratio. It’s simple: most people focus on body weight or BMI, but those numbers don’t tell where the fat is stored. Waist-to-hip ratio does, and that matters for long-term health. You measure your waist and your hips, and that number tells us how much fat someone carries around the midsection compared to the lower body. Srdjan Injac The reason it matters is because fat stored around the abdominal area—especially deep visceral fat—is more dangerous than fat stored in the hips or legs. It’s strongly linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, inflammation, even overall mortality risk. There are numbers that say where women should be and where men should be, and you shouldn’t go higher than that. That’s why BMI can be misleading. Someone can have a normal BMI and still carry too much abdominal fat and be at higher risk. Waist-to-hip gives a more clear picture. And improving that ratio isn’t about spot reducing belly fat—it’s about improving overall metabolic health. That’s where resistance training plays a big role, especially training your lower body, walking, managing stress, sleeping well, eating enough protein—all that helps reduce visceral fat. That’s what I look at when I do the InBody. Pete Wright Where do you stand on progress photos? Taking your shirt off and taking a picture in the mirror. Srdjan Injac Yeah, you can definitely do that. I tell people at the beginning: take photos—front, side, back—and then take them every month and see the progress. Some of my clients have done it. I remember one client did it and I didn’t even ask her. She came to me for knee problems. We were focusing on getting her knee better—she had scar tissue and the doctors told her she wasn’t going to get full range of motion back. So I was working on that. I wasn’t focused on losing body weight. But during that process, she was eating good and took pictures. She sent them to me four months later and it was a huge difference. I was like, “Whoa. I had no idea you took progress pictures.” She was really happy. So yeah, I encourage photos. I’d rather do photos than step on the scale. Pete Wright I reflect on that and I wish I had started when I started coming to you. I wish I had taken photos. I feel different, and yet sometimes I still look at myself and think, “Still soft. Still soft around the middle.” That’s my next cause—fixing the gut stuff. I’m looking at it from the perspective of: what is the minimum effective dose of tracking that’s going to help me move progress forward if I’m targeting a specific region? Srdjan Injac Yeah. Take pictures and see how your clothes fit. A lot of people tell me, “Oh, I couldn’t fit in these pants or this shirt, and now I can.” Plus you don’t really see changes because you’re constantly looking at yourself in the mirror every morning. You don’t see the little changes over time, and you think you’re still the same. But you’re not realizing you lost a lot and you look different. I have clients tell me they got a compliment from someone who didn’t see them for five or six months: “Oh my God, you look completely different.” They can see the difference because they haven’t been seeing you every day. So go by that, not by the number on the scale. Pete Wright The real marker is that the measures can be very personal. For me, it’s: when I get up and down off the floor, am I making creaking noises? Functional stuff. Can I carry groceries differently? What am I able to do, and how am I noting that? Also, having somebody I haven’t seen in a long time tell me I look different is addictive. I could get used to making notes of that. Because that’s a sign you’re right. Srdjan Injac Yes. Pete Wright That’s why I think I’m harder on myself than I should be. Absent other tracking, I look in the mirror and I see the same guy yesterday and today. And that’s not fair, because that guy’s doing work. Srdjan Injac And it’s good that you’re hard on yourself. I’m hard on myself too, and I want to be hard on myself because I always feel like I can improve. I’m always trying to do better and finding ways to improve—diet, workouts, whatever it is. It helps me stay hungry and humble and keep working. I’m trying to be better than I was yesterday, and better than last month. That’s why I do measurements and set goals: “Okay, next month these are the goals.” And just because somebody tells me I look great, I’m not like, “Oh, I’m perfect.” I’m like, “Good. I made some progress. It’s working. Keep going.” Srdjan Injac I just heard from one of my clients—two of my clients are friends—and last weekend they met outside the gym and were talking. One was saying she’s still not seeing results, she didn’t lose any weight, and she’s getting discouraged. She also has joint issues where she can’t do some exercises, so I’m trying to fix her knee first. But she did say she has more energy and feels stronger. So I explained: you feel it before you see it. Keep that in mind. When you start, you’re going to feel it before you see it. You can’t just drop weight right away. You have to change your whole lifestyle to start seeing it. Be patient, enjoy the progress, learn things, learn how to maintain after you lose weight. Don’t look for the quick fix. It’s not going to be quick, and you will get disappointed. Measurements go up and down. I tell people: it’s normal. Don’t be discouraged if the numbers aren’t where you want them to be. We’re working on it. Success is never a straight line. Accept the dips and keep working. People need to be more realistic. Pete Wright I love it, but go easy on yourself. So: throw the scale out the window. Minimum, every three weeks. Srdjan Injac Yeah. Pete Wright You have permission, but really you should throw it out the window and focus on the functional stuff and the targeted stuff you want to change. But also, if you want, you could get on that InBody and find out how much your right leg weighs. And I think that’s really cool. Srdjan Injac It is, because it shows you all these different things, so you kind of get into it. It’s pretty cool. It will make you feel better about that day you see a number and you think it’s just “how much you weigh.” It can encourage you more. Pete Wright Good stuff. All right, everybody, thank you so much for joining us today. If you’ve got questions about training, recovery, tracking, or anything else you want to talk about, head over to the website. And I bet, in moments, I’m going to figure out how to post this to Srdjan’s Facebook page. So if you follow Srdjan on Facebook, you’re going to find out about this podcast there. Because by God, we’re going to solve this problem. We’re going to solve technology today, you and me. Srdjan Injac Okay. Pete Wright Send us those questions. We want to hear them. Head to the show notes—you’ll see a link in there—and you can send the question in right for the coach. Don’t forget to subscribe and share. This is how we grow stronger together. Thanks for listening to Build for Health. We’ll catch you next week.