When The Scales Don't Change
I'd love you to just chuck out the scales! Seriously. They are not a good indicator of what is happening inside your body. When you weigh yourself, all you are doing is weighing your self-esteem.
Too often I see people who weight themselves daily, focusing on that number on the scales. They benchmark their entire progress on this single metric, which means that momentum, adherence and further progress all hinges on it.
IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE WEIGHT
One of the most effective ways to reduce the fear or apprehension toward weight change is to highlight the factors (outside of actual fat loss/gain) that can influence it. I'm going to highlight these below.
WATER RETENTION
This is definitely one of the main culprits. Often, individuals will weigh themselves on Monday morning after a busy and indulgent weekend, only to find that they have added 1-2 lbs. of weight. However, if you
did not adequately hydrate, consumed a little more sodium than usual, these can both lead to the retention of water. This will increase weight, but it is not permanent weight.
MUSCLE
If you are following a nutrition plan, you have no doubt ramped up your weight training at the same time right? Well, muscle is more dense than fat tissue and whilst it is more difficult to gain than fat, the change or lack thereof in weight could be due to an increase in lean mass. Think about it! You may have even lost fat, but gained muscle, but the scales is giving you a very distorted image of your progress!
FOOD & WATER
Are you consistently weighing yourself in the mornings, fully nude, after emptying your bladder and *cough*? Maybe you didn't do so last week?
USE OTHER PROGRESS MARKERS
HOW ARE YOU FEELING?
Energy and fatigue reduction are a common sign that your nutrition is improving. How do you feel in the morning getting out of bed? Do you have energy throughout the day? How do you feel at work?
HOW ARE YOUR FITNESS LEVELS?
Cardiovascular fitness is a very common indicator of an effective fitness and nutrition regimen. Is that five kilometre run getting easier? Are you squeezing out a couple more repetitions with the same weight you struggled with last month? Do you feel more recovered after a day of working out?
HOW DO YOUR CLOTHES FIT?
If you do feel that you've lost weight, but the scales aren't reflecting this, this might be due to the reasons mentioned above. If you have gained muscle, then you'll notice it in the mirror. But, if you've had a difficult week and your weight has increased, skip the mirror test, relax and get back on track tomorrow!
