It's not all about the scale

As I mentioned in another blog, you will not lose weight every week. Sometimes, even if you think you "should have lost weight because you did everything right", the scale will not go down. In can *gasp* even go up when you don't expect it!

There are so many reasons for this, I'll just name a few-

• The weight of the clothes you are wearing at the moment (assuming you are weighing in at WW and are not home naked!)
• Where you are in your cycle - you will likely weigh more right before or during your period, when you tend to be holding onto water.
  
• Your body may be holding onto sodium from a meal that day or the day before your weigh in. I stopped eating frozen entrees because of the high sodium content - Eating out is also going to put a lot more sodium in your system.

Because your weight at the scale can vary, you must not rely on this as the sole measure of how you are doing. Over time, the numbers will go down if you are following the plan - but in the mean time, you should focus on the following-

How do you feel? You should feel physically better within days of starting the program. You will eventually notice that you have more energy, wake up/fall asleep easier, and are probably more confident and in control of other areas of your life as a result of taking control of your diet.

Notice how your clothes fit- They will get looser and eventually be too big to wear. I noticed that approximately every 10 pounds I lost, I was down another clothing size.

Take your measurements. Keep track of your measurements. Sometimes you will see changes in inches when you are not seeing a change in pounds. That's what other people notice, and what makes your clothes loose - losing inches- so this is a bigger measure of success than pounds. Eventually the scale will move too.

Evaluate subtle ways your life has improved. Have you noticed that you aren't as winded when you walk or climb the stairs? Are you able to do an activity you couldn't before (even if it's something as simple as bending down to tie your shoes more easily) That's huge progress! It means you've made every day tasks easier by simply changing your diet! You are literally improving your quality of life!


Quick story for you: When I started working out last year, I lost weight every OTHER week on program. The in between weeks I was gaining or staying the same. At the time I was "PERFECTLY" on program. It irritated me, yes, but I knew I was following the program. I knew I was doing my activity. And I knew that eventually the scale would move. I did not let those weigh ins get to me. I did not use them as an excuse to quit or get discouraged. And after about 2 months like that, I was seeing losses more consistently. I hung in there and it paid off. The point is to just keep doing it and notice all the OTHER victories and successes.

So do not get discouraged when you do not see a loss- or if that loss is not as big as you expected. Because it's not just about those numbers on the scale.