Why isn’t the number on my scale moving?

This is a question that EVERYONE struggles with and I am guilty of all the time. Let’s be honest, majority of us spend our lives on a diet or trying to lose weight. As you are reading this, you are probably thinking about your weight loss goals, starting a new program, or maybe just thinking about “starting tomorrow”. Almost every person I know is trying to lose weight at this very moment. That means that all of them are looking at their scale daily or weekly to check their progress. This is such a bad habit that we have gotten in to. Especially, in today’s generation of Crossfit, High Intensity Interval Training, Bootcamps and Women’s Power Lifting, where weight training is not only incorporated, but heavier weight is encouraged, you are more than likely going to put on lean muscle mass while losing body fat.

I recently began a new workout routine 3 weeks ago and attend at least 5 days/week. It’s a bootcamp style with high intensity interval training and weight training 2-3 times per week. I have been prepping my meals and eating clean every day, including a 30-Day No-Sugar Challenge, which I started 2 weeks ago. But, guess what? My weight hasn’t changed a bit! I found myself getting frustrated and was reminded of my own words. “Be patient, stop looking at the scale and start looking at your measurements and how you feel.” A good friend messaged me and told me that her and another friend had been doing a challenge and she kept holding true to the words I told her when she participated in one of our challenges. “Be patient. You’ll see results in 4 weeks!” Sure enough, she saw the results in 4 weeks, at the end of her challenge. Well I’ll be damned!? Lol

I know this, I have experienced this myself, and I have preached this. And yet, I still have to be reminded of this as well. Why? Our brains are programmed to track weight on a scale and we have a direct correlation between the weight on the scale and being on a “diet” or changes in our body composition and how we look.  This was the norm long ago when women went on diets or did aerobics and consumed less calories, in turn losing weight and seeing the number on the scale go down. But, I am sure that even then, people were looking at the scale wondering why it wasn’t moving as fast as they wanted it to. Now, we live in a day and age where women are stronger, they lift heavy weights (sometimes more than the men) 😉 and we have extremely different training techniques than we did years ago. We are building lean muscle, which burns more fat and have better body composition, but we aren’t used to tracking our progress in other ways like body fat calculators or measurements. Not to mention, we live in a generation of instant gratification where we post a picture and instantly get feedback on how many people like it or how beautiful or amazing we look. We want this in every aspect of our lives. We want things and we want them now! Unfortunately, as we all have experienced at some point, this is NOT how weight loss and fitness work. Especially,  if you want to have some lasting and true results. You can do a crash diet, start juicing, drinking shakes all day, cleanse, get in the sauna, drastically reduce your calorie intake or any one of the other crazy or dangerous fads and see the number on the scale drop. I have tried majority of them throughout my life, so I  know all too well how that saga ends, in failure.

Here are 2 ways to track your weight loss and progress without checking the scale everyday.

Track your Body Fat

It’s possible for your weight to remain the same, even as you slim down, especially if you’re losing fat and gaining muscle. Below are some options

• Online Body Fat Calculators (The link provided, Linear Software, is what we typically use in our Ripped Quick Challenge measurements in conjunction with Calipers)
• Calipers
• Bioelectrical Impedance Scales
• Hydrostatic Weighing

Choose the right method for you, and what works best with your goals. Keep in mind that most health clubs offer some type of body fat testing and you can purchase calipers and tape measures directly from the Linear Software site provided in these links or from a local Fitness or vitamin supply store. You can also access the Linear Online Body Fat Calculators for free or pay for upgraded versions and they also have a free Mobile App. The software provides easy instructions and videos displaying proper measurement and how to enter and track your progress.

Track Your Measurements

This is one of the easiest ways to track your progress because it is simple and just requires a tape measure. Measurements can provide a little bit of that instant gratification that we continuously seek and help reassure you that you are making progress.

Try to have the same person measure, if it’s not yourself and try to wear the same clothes or no clothes each time, for consistency.

Here’s How to Take Your Body Measurements:

• Bust: Measure around the chest right at the nipple line, but don’t pull the tape too tight.
• Chest: Measure just under your bust
• Waist: Measure a half-inch above your belly button or at the smallest part of your waist
• Hips: Place tape measure around the biggest part of your hips
• Thighs: Measure around the biggest part of each thigh
• Calves: Measure around the largest part of each calf
• Upper arm: Measure around the largest part of each arm above the elbow
• Forearm: Measure around the largest part of the arm below the elbow.

Get the most out of your body fat measurement by:

• Checking it once a week or every other week instead of daily. Body fat doesn’t vanish overnight and you may not see those small changes if you measure every day.
• Having the same person measure you each time. Different trainers will measure you in different ways, so stick with the same person each time and make sure the person is experienced in measuring body fat.
• If using a bioelectrical impedance scale, be sure to measure under the same circumstances each time. Food intake, water retention and skin temperature can affect body fat measurements.
• Keep track of your numbers and progress in a journal.

Here are just a few things that can increase your weight, causing it to fluctuate as much as 10 lbs in one day:

• Water. Because the body is about 60% water, fluctuations in your hydration levels, especially from sodium intake, can change the number on a scale. Similarly, many women retain water during menstrual cycles.
• Food. Weighing yourself after a meal isn’t the best idea simply because food adds weight. It doesn’t mean you’ve gained actual weight, just that you’ve physically added something to your body (something that will be eliminated through digestion over the next several hours). Weigh yourself at the same time, before food or water is added for the most accurate weight.
• Muscle. Muscle is more dense than fat and it takes up less space, so adding muscle could increase your scale weight, even though you’re slimming down.

Ultimately, KEEP GOING! It is very true that we do not see results until 4 weeks in to a program. Then, once we see results, we wonder why no one else is complimenting us, when we know we have made progress. But, our friends and family will not see the progress until ~8 weeks and finally, the rest of the world after 12 weeks. This seems like a lifetime when you are truly working hard, sacrificing some of your favorite foods on a regular basis, and breaking bad habits. But, hold strong and remind yourself not to focus so harshly on the scale. Use an alternate method to track more true progress and know that you will see the results in due time. Don’t give up! Your goal is right around the corner.