Why aren’t the scales dropping?!

 

Let us show you what 58kg look like with more body fat vs 58kg with more muscle and teach you what you can do instead of jumping on the scales every day.

 

Ok, so you’re longing to see progress, I get it. I really do. I’ve been there too. You’re training hard, eating pretty well and you’re jumping on the scales every single day. When they drop you feel amazing and when they go up you feel like throwing in the towel and you start the yoyo cycle of dieting.

Here’s the thing though, the scales are keeping you a slave to the lifestyle you’re caught up in, the pain of feeling trapped in your body, feeling like this is another failed attempt.

Meet Carlie, pictured below. When Carlie joined us, she weighed 58.2kg. 12 weeks later, Carlie on the right also weighed 58.2kg. 

Yep! Crazy isn’t it! So let’s help you overcome the daily ritual that’s jeopardising your results and dictating your mood!

Tip 1. Hide your scales in the garage for the next 3 months! If you need a reminder why this is tip number 1, look at the photos below again and think about how hard it would have been for Carlie to stick to her plan for 12 weeks if she relied on the scales every day for feedback? 84 days of the scales telling her the physical and mental effort she was putting into eating healthy and training wasn’t making a difference. As much as we long to see progress, the scales are not what we need to be using as a daily form of measurement because fat doesn’t drop that quickly however, we live in the day and age where we want results and we want them now. When it comes to a successful long term transformation that doesn’t damage your health, we need to put things into perspective. Which brings me to point number 2!

Tip 2. Adjust your perspective. Ok this one may make you laugh but it happens. Have you ever jumped on the scales before going to the toilet, only to jump back on straight after and celebrate the victory of a 500g loss, even though it’s a poo victory, just because we have become so fixated on what the numbers say. Creating the right environment for fat loss takes time – when you are consistent. So if jumping on the scales is affecting your ability to remain consistent with your training and nutrition plan long enough to start seeing fat loss, how will you ever be strong enough to trust the plan before you if you’re relying on a pair of scales that measure weight.

Remember the scales take into account things like water retention, which fluctuates depending on what you eat and also by not drinking enough water and then there’s mass such as bone density and lean mass, which both should not be dropping but will if you’re not nourishing your body with foods your body can do a good job of converting into fuel. All these things start to help you understand why the scales measurement of weight loss is not an accurate daily form of measurement for fat loss.

Now think about this; If you were to stand at the bottom of a massive mountain but the terrain was rough, there wasn’t a path to follow and some sections looked so steep they almost looked vertical, so scary it looked unattainable, would you look at the top of that mountain feeling confident in your abilities to get there or would you try to find other ways to get up there or perhaps even talk your way out of it, because the path before you looks unknown and out of your comfort zone? Well guess what, we’ve physically done a trek just like that and when you read about it, you’ll start to see that once you begin on a journey like that, it’s not as difficult as you perceived from a distance, providing you are supported by someone who believes in you, who knows how to draw out your inner strengths and you just focus on your next step. After this article come back and read more about this trek I’m referring too, which I wrote about last year “How to gain perspective of your health and fitness journey“. In the meantime, think about how you’re perceiving your goal. Have you set it up so high that achieving it feels somewhat difficult? What small steps are you taking right now that are the foundation of the plan you are following?

Sometimes you need to take the focus off your primary goal and focus on another goal that will help you achieve your primary goal. For example if your goal is to drop body fat and the scales aren’t shifting, make it your goal for the next 2 weeks to increase your plant food intake with low carb vegetable choices in each meal. Once you’ve mastered that, make it your goal to ensure that the protein you are consuming is a complete protein, one containing all the amino acids required for a better functioning body (see our article on protein), after that you might want to make it your goal to ensure you’re drinking enough filtered water (see our article on water). Other smaller goals you can set can be found in this article.

Tip 3. Track every single thing you consume for 7 days. Tracking everything you consume will give you a clear picture of your eating habits. There is no one best way for every single person to eat however there are some things you can do before further help is needed. Sign up for our 10 Day Overhaul program which is available free via our website. Every day for 10 days you’ll receive a tip to help you eat in a way that will help you change your body composition for life.

Tip 4. Get yourself a new form of measurement you can do at home. Something you can do daily, something you can do weekly, something you can do monthly. It’s the small things you do consistently that contribute toward the greatest changes.

Daily: If you’re stuck for ideas, some daily things you can track are your water intake, your plant food intake, your daily steps, how many meals you ate sitting down uninterrupted, how many meals you ate that were nutritionally balanced.

Weekly: Some weekly forms of measurement can be tracking how many bouts of activity you got into the week, how many times you chose to stick to your plan when the easier option was to give in.

Monthly: Some of my favourite forms of measurement which can be done weekly but may be better kept for monthly tracking is to pick out an item of clothing you want to have fitting you better and take a photo in this every month. Also, if you’re under the care of a health professional, make an appointment to have your blood pressure taken and get your measurements done by someone experienced in taking measurements, body composition assessments or a dexa machine (purely to measure progress, not for the stats as these are never 100% accurate anyway).

Tip 5. Progress is more than the number on the scales. It’s easy to become fixated on numbers but permanent change comes from all the small things we do that helped us reach our ultimate goal. Grab yourself a pen and start by noting down 50 changes you have already seen since starting your journey. Have you had to buy new clothes, drop a few belt notches, been able to replace your take away options, not binge when you’re emotional, get enjoyment out of exercise, feel better from eating healthy that you now have more willpower to say no to foods that once gave you much enjoyment, people who don’t see you often complimenting you on changes they can see, have you become a more pleasant person to be around, are you happier these days, do you have more energy, what do you do with your spare time now that you wouldn’t have done before, what does your shopping trolley look like now compared to 3 months ago, are you more educated on your food choices, can you think clearer, are your meals different, are you drinking more water. Keep going with this, progress is seeing changes like these things too!

We’ve been helping clients change their lives since 2008 and would love to help you get to the bottom of what’s been holding you back too. If you want more help, drop us a line! We have an online life coaching option (for women) and in person 1 on 1 personal training options for everyone.