Reasons Your Weight Hasn’t Changed (or has gone up)
First point, most of us are trying to reduce fat not weight. The number on your weighing scales is just a proxy for this. And, it’s not a very good one. Because your body is a complex machine so the relationship between fat and weight is not simple. So here are some reasons you might not be losing weight, even though you are doing everything right.
- You are more hydrated now than last time you weighed yourself
- You ate more salty foods in the last couple of days. Salt increases water retention i.e. bloating
- You ate more last night and your body hasn’t quite finished processing this food.
- You are constipated
- Anything, literally, hormonal could be happening. Time of the month, just before the time of the month.
- You are stressed
- You have been working out hard and have lots of micro tears in your muscles (soreness), which equals inflammation.
- You are battling a cold (inflammation)
- You drank alcohol (inflammation)
- You’re building muscle
The list is quite long. So whilst I do recommend using a weighing scale from time to time (once or twice a week is fine) don’t worry too much if the result is not what you were hoping for. For two reasons:
A change in weight is the OUTCOME. But we should be focussing more on the PROCESS. Do the right things, consistently and the OUTCOME will be delivered. However as we’ve seen there are lots of factors (that influence weight. Many of them are out of our control.
So focus on the things you can control: Meal planning, meal preparation, and creating an environment where you can make healthy choices, consistently.
There’s one more reason too: IT TAKES TIME. Much longer than you imagine. Unfortunately, we’ve got a short attention span and a desire to get results immediately. But the truth is that changes, real changes take time.
So remember to have patience, and to focus on the process not the outcome.
You’ll get there!!
