Cara Kempf is a certified personal trainer with the Fitness Zone in Carmel and a group fitness instructor with NIFS in downtown Indianapolis. She can be contacted at fitnessblog@theindychannel.com.

So I've had something happen to me a lot lately and I want to get it straight. I don't know how many people approach me every week saying they want to lose just 10 more pounds. The problem is, they are frustrated because they started working out and hit a plateau and can't lose any more weight. Well, to some extent that doesn't surprise me because at the same time they are losing fat, they are gaining muscle! Here's one story in particular (to my client, if you're reading, thanks for the question!):

I have this particular client who has been working out with me for about four months, so she's still pretty new. Well, over those four months her body has changed in a great way. She's lost weight, and she's growing more and more proportional every day (see what happens when you listen to your trainer!). Recently she has been a little frustrated because originally she had a goal weight that she wanted to achieve and is starting to hit that wall where she isn't losing as much weight. So, I asked her to look at me and guess how much I weigh. She jokingly said something like 110/115, I can't remember exactly, and I just laughed. I told her I weigh around 140 pounds and she about fell off the treadmill. But she quickly began to understand my point. I weigh as much as I do because (for the most part) my body is totally muscle. Since then, she has tried to continue to push herself hard every day and eat healthily to move toward her ideal body, not her ideal body weight.

See Who Else Is Blogging!

Now, don't look down at your scale and say, "Oh, I'm 15 pounds over my ideal body weight, but that's OK because Cara says I can't judge off my weight." Stop right there. Your weight does matter to an extent (don't want to make any doctors mad!) However, there is a balance, especially if you are beginning to work out pretty hard. Look in the mirror -- how do you look naked? How do your clothes fit? Those are also very good judges of ideal body weight!