10 Reasons The Scale Isn’t Budging YET
By admin
We’re half way through the month of January! Can you believe it?
That means that the percentage of people that started the year gun ho to lose weight has already dropped significantly.
That means that percentage of people that started the year gun ho to change any goal has already plummeted.
But for the sake of this post (and podcast) we are going to stick to the weight loss goal.
I want to talk today not about those people that have given up, but to those people that are committed, are really trying, yet they haven’t seen a single pound fall yet on the scale.
Why? What’s going on? After all, you’re doing everything right… right?
That’s what we’re going to cover today.
Perhaps you’re not quite covering all of your bases, and simply making one small tweak can help the results pour in.
This is my honest post for the week, the post that might have some tough love mixed in and that might sting a bit. But it’s important! Without tough love, changes may not happen and you’ll continue to be bewildered from the lack of results.
So, without further ado, let’s get a new episode of What The Fitness rolling!
10 Reasons The Scale Hasn’t Budged YET
There is no reason why you can’t see results. There is no reason you can’t be just as successful as your friend who dropped 50 pounds. There is no reason why you can’t reach your goal weight or jeans size.
Okay? Okay!
1. Are You Tracking EVERYTHING?
I can not stress the importance of tracking your food. Tracking helps you to learn so much… what you’re doing right, wrong and helps with accountability. Studies show that by tracking just 2 days a week can lead to smarter nutritional choices the other days of the week.
Perhaps you’ll see that you’re not eating any vegetables or that you’re eating way too much bread per day.
But it only works if you track EVERYTHING. Liquids, snacks, those 5 M&Ms from the candy bowl. It all adds up.
Don’t neglect the little things as those could sabotage your results. Be honest with yourself.
2. You’re Not Eating A Balanced Diet.
Yes, the major issue with weight loss is calories. You have to burn more calories than you’re taking in. We all know that, but getting a balanced ratio of foods is extremely important for the body’s metabolism to burn fat.
Like I mentioned in the podcast, my friend was doing everything “right” to lose weight. Working out, keeping her calories in a good zone to drop pounds… but she wasn’t dropping them.
It was only when she realized that she was eating an imbalanced diet of too many carbs and not enough fats or proteins that she was able to tweak a few things and lose weight. She lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks!
What does that mean?
A balanced diet of macronutrients (Fats/Carbs/Proteins) looks like this: 25-35% daily calories from fats… 25-35% daily calories from protein… 35-50% daily calories from carbohydrates.
If you’re curious that is roughly ~46 g of protein/day… ~36-50g of fat/day and ~100-150 grams of carbs/day. Of course everyone is different which is why these are just estimations.
3. Overcompensating For Your Workouts?
I’ve mentioned weight loss aps like MyFitnessPal before, and they are great for helping to track calories and macro nutrients.
They can also throw you off the wagon and teach you bad habits: by encouraging you to eat what you burned off. If you worked out to burn calories for losing weight, why should you re-eat those calories? You worked out to burn calories not eat them.
Or maybe you’re just over estimating what you actually burned during a workout, using calorie counting tools which can be off up to 25% and then coming home to get a post workout snack and going overboard? Break this habit. After a workout you only need a small snack to replenish sugar and protein. A protein shake with some frozen berries is great! And really filling.
4. Scales Suck.
I can’t talk about weight loss without professing my hatred for scales in the first place. Did you know that your weight can fluctuate up to 7 pounds? AND that scales don’t take into consideration your body composition? AND that the weight lose you see in the first 2 weeks of weight loss isn’t fat but water weight?
Yup, they suck. Here’s more on my love of scales.
5. Hormonal Fluctuations.
Oh the joys of being a woman…
If you’re getting ready to start your period, then give up on the scale (see above).
During this time you’re retaining water, you may be constipated, and you’re bloated and your weight can fluctuate up to 7 pounds. Just skip weigh in this week.
If you’re completely stressed out in life or not getting enough sleep at night, your hormones can go crazy and again affect your weight in the same manor that your period can.
Evaluate what’s going on in your life and decide if you need to make some tweaks to create some hormonal balance.
6. The 4 Week Balancing Act.
Don’t get discouraged if you really are doing everything right and nothing is showing on the scale. Or even if you see a gain of 1-2 pounds. That’s normal if you’re using a balanced workout program that combines both strength and cardio. You have 3 magical things going on:
Muscle building, fat burning and increased metabolism.
These don’t necessarily balance out and it can take up to 3-4 weeks to see a shift in the scale. DON’T GIVE UP.
7. Staying Hydrating?
During weight loss make sure to drink up MORE water to help your body carry out metabolic processes, as well as flush out your system AND quiet cravings. 75% of the time when you’re hungry, you’re actually thirsty.
One study revealed that people who enjoyed a glass of water before a meal ate around 90 calories less than those that didn’t. The water drinkers also ended up losing on average 5 pounds more!
How much water?
The recommendations generally say to drink about 9 cups per day for women and 13 for men. But if are are actively working out, then you’ll have to drink a a few cups more!
8. You’re Not Being Honest.
Closet Snacker?
Remember the tough love? Here it is.
Are you really making the necessary adjustments to allow weight loss to happen? It’s one thing to buy the new pair of workout shoes, or to create an account at MyFitnessPal, but are you following through?
If not, then ask yourself if you really want to lose weight in the first place? And then start taking the necessary steps needed! Use this as a guide.
9. You Are, Just Not Fast Enough
Remember when you were in your 20s and could lose 10 pounds in a week? Those days are over. And it’s good!
If you’re upset because you’ve lost just 2 pounds in a week, then rest assured that is normal. That is exactly what you should expect if you want to lose the weight and keep it off for good.
Slow and steady wins the race. It creates the lifestyle changes so that you don’t end up like the 90% of people who lose weight just to gain it back within 2 years.
Be patient, and take it pound by pound, or even better… inch by inch!
10. You’re Thinking Too Much About Weight
A recent study published revealed that when someone with a weight issue read an article on weight, they demonstrated less control over food intake. Read the article HERE.
If you’re always thinking about dieting, thinking about losing weight, and thinking about how fat you think you are… it makes it challenging. An awesome study was done on hotel maids where they were educated on their current lifestyles. When they found out just how hard they worked, they lost weight! Nothing changed, it was all mindset. Read about it here.
Take a breath and just take it day by day. One meal at a time. And make it fun. Instead of concentrating on the foods you can’t eat, start playing around to create some new meals that you love.
I promise, healthy foods don’t have to taste like cardboard! And exercise can be fun!
How are your goals coming along so far this year?
Got A Question?
Tomorrow I am doing my January’s Confessions of A Personal Trainer… if you have any questions for me throw them at me! I’m open and ready!
Feel free to ask below or email me questions at TaylorRyan0406@gmail.com