When The Scales Won’t Move

Scales Are Stuck!

Do you feel the scales have “got it in for you”? Sometimes, the scales stay stuck in the same place or even go the wrong way, despite your best efforts! It can be hard not to get discouraged and to think “Why am I not losing weight” or “this is not working for me!”. It’s only a step away then to giving up the diet altogether and thinking “I just can’t do this!”.

Tips to Help

  1. Some people are slow movers, stick with it, it WILL work.
  2. It happens. Some weeks you lose a lot and others very little or you gain a bit. Try averaging it out, so if you lost 2 Kg the first week and none the second, well, that’s an average of 1 Kg a week, that’s 2 pounds a week, which is a good steady loss.
  3. Think about what else is happening with your body. For women, is it hormonal related? You may be retaining water and then you’ll have a bigger weight loss in a few days time. Are you stressed? Maybe you are constipated and holding onto a bowel movement?
  4. Are you weighing at the same time of day and wearing the same clothes? I don’t actually own a set of bathroom scales, I use my daughter’s and have no intention of stripping down to the buff in her bathroom to use them. I also don’t use the scales every day or at the same time, so I use the result as a guide. If it’s generally down over a few days, that’s fair enough.
  5. Check your body measurements. Sometimes, the weight may not go down, especially if you are also exercising, because you are building muscle, which “weighs more” (technically, is denser) than fat so you are getting slimmer, even if you weigh the same or a bit more. A quick check is to see whether your clothes are looser, if so, you are winning, even if the scales are not moving.
  6. If you think you are cheating, even a little bit, try drinking more water or eating a low calorie high fiber food, such as celery, when hunger pangs hit. “Just a little bit” DOES hurt. You can keep feeling full for longer by drinking hot drinks or making your own high fiber soup or even just making a hot savory drink with a stock cube in a pint of water or a low sodium bouillon base.
  7. Remember, while water has no calories it does have weight, so drinking a full glass of water just before you step on the scales, may affect the weight shown.

Stick With It

Sometimes our inner child gets fed up with the health kick and tries to get us to eat “just a tiny bit” or “once won’t hurt”. Remind that inner child of the health reasons you found for going on a diet or the treat you have planned when you reach your target weight or how you will feel going to an event in your new dudes!