I don’t care how much I’ve learned about weight loss over the years when it comes to losing weight, the numbers on my scale never seem to be what I want it to say! I can eat like a bird, workout like a dog, and still get on the scale and it not budge but a pound. If you’re anything like me, once you get on the scale and it’s not the number you want to see, you instantly feel defeated. It’s not the fact that the numbers aren’t going down the way you want them to that leads to feeling like a complete failure (meanwhile I’m thinking “Screw it, I’m eating everything I want tonight!”), it’s checking your scale every morning that does. You’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, eating the yogurt, buying the fruit, trying out Keto, cutting the sugar, and drinking more water every day. You’re doing the boot camp class and walking but the numbers on that scale every morning say the same thing.
So Coach, why am I not losing weight as I should be? I’ve seen it time and time again with clients and for myself. If you’re feeling defeated and can’t figure out why you’re not losing like the IG models you follow, first of all, stop comparing yourself to anyone other than your experience. Next, applaud your efforts. Celebrate your progress. Celebrate you’re now walking 30 minutes daily, drinking more water, and taking your lunch to work. Those are huge steps towards a healthier you. We have to stop looking at these visuals from social media to validate whether or not we’re successful or not. They had a journey, and so do you. It’s going to take a few falls off of the bike before you figure out the formula that works best for you.
Losing weight takes time, effort, focus, self-compassion, patience, and determination. I always tell my clients, “A constant balance of good food, movement, and having fun, the weight will eventually take care of itself.” I’m not sure why we put so much pressure on ourselves but we do. I do it to myself and I’m learning to not focus so much on the “losing” aspect of weight loss but more so on the rebuilding myself to “win”. We will fall off the bike, we will have ice cream or two glasses of wine. We are human, and food is meant to be enjoyed. Look, try not to focus so much on the scale as the progress check but understand that there are multiple reasons as to why you may not be losing the weight you want.
Water Retention
Every diet, detox, and fast will have everyone thinking they’re losing fat but in fact, it’s water. The human body retains fluid, so if you lose about 5-10 pounds starting a trendy new diet, you’re going to lose water weight first. It’s not a bad thing, just know you’re not losing fat. Eventually, you will plateau and the scale won’t be so exciting to look at anymore, but don’t give up! Scientifically our bodies can not lose more than 2lbs a week, and that’s for an extremely healthy person. If you’re like me and over the age of 40, ideally our bodies won’t lose more than 1/2 pound a week. Just don’t give up and keep doing what you’re doing.
Fat Burning
Another reason your scale probably hasn’t moved is that you’re eating better and working out. That’s right folks. Because of your good efforts, your insulin levels may have gone down. Remember, every time we eat anything our insulin goes up which attributes to weight gain. By keeping our insulin levels lower, it helps to keep the weight down. When your insulin levels are down, you actually spike a growth hormone that makes protein and is absorbed in the body ultimately leading to the building of muscle. Keep in mind too, muscle is much heavier than fat. So if you’re eating better, working out, and keeping the stress down, and the scale still hasn’t moved, it could be because you’ve got some muscle-building action happening, my friends.
Health Problems
You might also consider any existing health problems that may attribute to the lack of weight loss. Health conditions that require prescription meds, lack of sleep, perimenopause, stress, and inflammation in the body, all can plan a role in weight gain. Take account for what’s going on in your body and examine other factors that could also be considered as to why the scale hasn’t moved.
Focus Forward
Keep eating a good diet composed of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and healthy fats with some good moderate exercise. Those are great first steps towards your weight loss journey. Instead of hopping on the scale, grab some measuring tape and measure your waist. You don’t need to measure yourself every day but check in with yourself weekly. You might consider taking a picture of where you are now and an after photo once you reach your goal. If you start to lose inches and your gut starts shrinking, it sounds like you’re headed in the right direction. Use the inches as your progress checker and stay off the scale every day. Keep the defeated mindset at bay and watch the weight fall away!
Thanks for reading!
Coach Robbin
