Most people on a fat loss journey tend to focus mainly on the scale for progress and results. I always encourage my nutrition client and regular clients to look beyond the scale, since the scale can easily cause frustration since it doesn’t always seem to cooperate. I like to use an analogy of comparing progress on just the scale to determining if a Thanksgiving Turkey is good based off of just the temperature of the meat. So instead of considering if the Turkey, is juicy, tender, flavorful etc. we would judge if it was good based solely off the temperature (kinda like how people only focus on the scale and won’t be happy if they’re clothes fit better or they’ve lost inches etc.). Let’s talk about a few reasons why we should look past the scale when on a fat loss journey.
1. The scale will always fluctuate
In a perfect world on a fat loss plan we would just see the scale trend downward. Unfortunately that doesn’t happen. The scale will fluctuate up and down over the course of every week. You could be down in weight one day and back up the next. It can be easy to associate the scale going up with a feeling of failure. The scale will fluctuate during the week for a variety of reasons such as: excess sodium intake, eating more fiber than you’re used too, not having regular bowel movements, being really sore from a workout/having done high volume workout the day before, alcohol intake, and hormones (especially for women the hormones!). So the next time you see the scale spike take a deep breath and don’t panic and just remember it’s all part of the process.
2. Focus on inches lost
I always encourage all of my clients to focus on circumference and girth measurements. Seeing inches go down is tangible proof that body fat is also going down. I’ve had clients tell me that even though their weight spiked during the week, they still were able to see inches lost. Use as many sites as possible when it comes to measurements, I recommend that all of my clients at least do their waist and hips, but I also encourage measurements being taken of thigh, calf, arm, neck, and chest. Taking measurements every other week is a great way to track progress during fat loss phases.
3. Non-Scale victories are key
A non-scale victory can be anything! Maybe you started noticing that your clothes are fitting better, or you’re sleeping better at night. Maybe you can climb a flight of stairs without feeling as winded when you get to the top, run faster, or are able to do more pushups in one set. Maybe you received a compliment. Whatever the case may be, just remember that there is so much else going on that doesn’t involve the scale.
So the next time you’re in a fat loss phase or whether you’re in one now, focus on more than just the scale! Remembering to look past the scale can help keep you motivated to continue on even when you feel like you’re not making the progress you want. Can you think of any non-scale victories you’ve had lately?
