scales up? don’t panic
You’ve stuck to the plan all week.
Step on the scales come Sunday to find that they haven’t gone down at all, they’ve gone up.
How can this happen? You’ve done everything right? What is the point…this clearly isn’t working…
Don’t panic!
Fluctuations are normal, but they can certainly play tricks on your mind.
So why might this happen?
Scale weight can fluctuate for many reasons such as:
Hydration levels
Stress
Sleep
Menstrual cycle
Sodium/salt intake
Carbohydrate intake
Having an understanding of why can help you realise that the scale weight you’re seeing is likely one of the above and not actual fat gained. To gain 1lb of fat you need to roughly eat 3500 kcal over your maintenance calories, so if you know for certain you haven’t done this, it’s pretty safe to say one of the above factors will be responsible.
So what can we do about it?
1. First of all I’d make sure you’re weighing in consistently.
By this I mean:
At the same time of day
On the same scales
The same amount of food or liquids consumed
Consistent toilet habits
Using the same scales in the same location
This way you’re comparing apples to apples, not apples to oranges.
2. The next thing I recommend is weighing in daily and taking an average for the week. This give you a far better idea of what’s actually going on.
3. Use more than one method of measuring progress. The scales only tell half a story, you could also use measurements, body fat% and progress photos to give you a better all round idea of progress.
4. Consider carbohydrate intake from the previous day. 1g of carb holds 3g of water, so if you have an extra 200g of carbohydrate you’ll see a scale weight increase of just under 1kg.
5. Consider the stage of your menstrual cycle (women). During different stages of the cycle you’ll hold more or less water weight, see the chart below for more details.
So next time you see your scale weight go up, don’t panic. Don’t go off plan, don’t give up. Apply logic, consider everything I have told you about today and figure out whether it could just be a fluctuation, or do you need to readjust your plan.
need help?
Feel free to send me a message on Facebook, Instagram or via e-mail (conormoranpt@yahoo.com) if you’re struggling with this or have any questions, I’d be happy to help.