How often do you weigh yourself?
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Daily scale weigh-ins are habit for some women, “progress” checks for others, and for too many, another obsessive habit to add to the long list they’ve already made in the name of fitness. I’m sure you’ve heard this so many times and it’s true – your weight on the scale is just a number…
And it’s impacted by so many factors. To name a few –
- Hormonal fluctuations – your menstrual cycle, phase of menopause, imbalances due to stress and medical conditions such as PCOS, thyroid irregularities, adrenal fatigue, etc.
- Lack of sleep – you can pretty much blame everything on a lack of sleep.
- Intense training sessions and soreness can cause water retention as your muscles take time to recover
- Increased carb intake – protein and carbs contain the same amount of calories per gram (4) but for roughly every gram of carbs ingested, the body will retain 2-3 grams of water. So no, carbs don’t make you fat, but they can make you retain water, which is reflected on the scale. This is totally normal and totally temporary.
- Increased sodium intake – again, temporary.
- Dehydration – your body has an incredibly difficult time burning fat when it’s dehydrated
- Stress – both good and bad!
- Inflammatory foods such as wheat, sugar, dairy and all processed foods
- Typically, your weight is higher later in the day after eating – this isn’t making the case to weigh yourself in the morning but highlighting another reason your weight is bound to fluctuate
- Increase in muscle mass – the best reason, in my opinion! Muscle does not weigh more than fat – a pound is a pound. However, since fat takes up about 4x the amount of space compared to muscle, it’s likely that you’ll look and feel trimmer even if your weight is exactly the same or hasn’t changed much.
I hope that helps you breathe a little easier. Your weight is just a number and besides, there are so many awesome things happening while you’re waiting on the scale to change.
Also known as non-scale victories – all the things to measure and track instead of your weight on the scale
- Clothes fitting better (and wedding bands, watches, necklaces, shoes, etc.)
- Skin looking brighter
- Energy lasting longer
- Mind feeling sharper
- Vision getting clearer
- Breath getting deeper
- Recovery getting faster (from workouts and late nights and that extra glass of wine)
- Muscles have more definition
- Aches and pains have subsided
- Core is getting stronger (bye bye pesky back pain)
- Thoughts are more positive
- Sleep is more sound
To name a few!
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I’m getting bold here and challenging you not to step on the scale again this year. Enjoy this final stretch of 2018 and work toward putting a big checkmark next to each of the non-scale victories above!
What are some of your current non-scale victories? Comment below!
