One of the biggest reasons that people give up on their diets is because of a lack of perceived progression on the scales.
Imagine this: you have been really good all week….you step on the scales to see what’s going on and you are UP 2lbs.
How can that be?! You have exercised loads, eaten all the right things, drunk loads of water??? Frustrated and annoyed, you throw your hands in the air and proclaim that nothing is going to work and off you go to get a doughnut from the bakery.
If this sounds familiar, you need to keep on reading…….
The scales are a good measure of fat loss progress over time, but day-to-day and even week to week they aren’t a good measure at all.
To understand why, we need to first look at what the scales are measuring vs what we actually want to lose….
What the Scales Are Measuring
The scales measure your body weight. That includes your excess body fat, bones, muscle, and undigested food, water, your organs. Everything!
If you weigh yourself at the end of the day, you will weigh a lot heavier than you did in the morning because you have been eating and drinking all day. Does that mean you have gained body fat in one day? No.
When you diet, want to lose weight and fit into smaller clothes, what you actually want to do is lose body fat. That is excess fat stored energy that you don’t want hanging around. What you don’t want to lose is your muscle mass – you need that to move, it’s your organ tissue – those bad boys are pretty vital. You don’t want to lose water and become dehydrated and you definitely don’t want to lose your bones!
You want to lose fat – that is what will make your clothes feel and fit better. You will feel healthier and have more energy and be at less risk of some pretty nasty diseases.
So, if we are in agreement that you want to lose body fat, are we still in agreement that at the end of the day you will weigh more on the scales because you have undigested food inside you not because you have gained body fat in a matter of hours? Yes. Good.
So, if we want to lose body fat, day to day the scales are not a good measure of this.
So what exactly does make the scales go up and down on a daily basis? Let me tell you:
The following are the main reasons for scale fluctuations day-to-day and, as you will see, none of them are a gain in body fat….
- Salt – if you ate a saltier meal last night (eating out often involves more salt) your body will be retaining more water, so the extra weight on the scales is water retention.
- Carbs – when we eat carbs they are stored in our muscles as glycogen. In order to be stored, they need to draw water with them (roughly 3g water per g of stored glycogen). Carbs aren’t bad, but if you had a carb-heavy day yesterday the extra scale weight is likely water from stored carbs.
- Food volume – many of my clients change their diets to include many more veggies, fruits, lean proteins and whole grains. And, whilst they are in a calorie deficit, the volume or amount of food they are eating is often larger because they are eating more nutrient-dense but calorie-low food. This means that sometimes they notice the scales go up, particularly after a large meal.
- Undigested food – food takes time to be digested through your system. So if you had a later meal last night or it was particularly high in protein it still might need time to work its way through.
- Toilet habits – if you haven’t been for a number 2 yet today, this could be showing on the scales. If you are constipated this will be even more prevalent.
- Stress – if you are quite stressed or if you are ill you will be producing more cortisol which will encourage the body to retain water.
- Sleep – lack of sleep is classed as a stressor on the body. And, as the above point says, stress causes an increase in cortisol and that will increase water retention.
- Hormones – where you are in your cycle can do different things to scale weight. Most women bloat just before their periods and some at ovulation too. It’s worth tracking your cycle so you know when these days are coming up
Did you know that it takes 3500 calories to gain 1lbs of body fat? Let’s say your maintenance calories are 2000 (the average woman is there or thereabouts). You would need to eat in excess of 5500 calories to gain 1lb of body fat. Let’s put that into perspective, 3500 calories is:
- 6 bottles of Prosecco
- 6 Big Macs
- 8.5 Starbucks Brownies
- 14 Grande Vanilla Lattes
- 16 slices (two medium) Dominoes Pepperoni Pizzas
- 38 Chocolate Hob Nobs
- 17 Standard sized Dairy Milk Bars
The Facts
When you look at the facts of it, if the scales are up this morning, is it likely to be that you ate two whole dominoes pizzas or that you actually are retaining some water?
By all means, use the scales but look for a trend down over time and not day-to-day or even week-to-week. But also see the scales as a piece of data – nothing more and nothing less.
The scales do not dictate your worth as a human and, if you don’t like the number you see, then by all means reach out to me here and let’s chat about how I can help you.
If you want more help to remove the emotional attachment to the scale weight then listen to this podcast where I share my 5 steps to doing this. These are steps that help my clients see the number on the scales for what it is (just a number) and not let it ruin their day.