Just because the number on the scale doesn’t go down does NOT mean you gained fat!

Almost every single client I work with comes to me freaking out at some point on our journey together because the number on the scale doesn’t go down one week.

And as much as this sucks to accept, the truth of the matter is the number on the scale will probably NOT go down every single week on your weight loss journey.

That is NORMAL.

That does NOT mean you gained fat!!!!!

Check out the 6 most common reasons you didn’t lose weight while eating in a calorie deficit:

1. You ate late at night. If there’s still food in your stomach/GI track, it’ll show up on the scale. 

2. You moved the scale or used a different scale. Every time you move your scale it adjusts the calibration. And your scale at the gym is definitely different than the scale at home… Stick to one scale for weigh-ins and recalibrate it if you move it.

3. You weighed earlier or later than normal. My own weight can fluctuate 2-4 pounds every single day depending on when I eat and the time of day I weigh. 

4. You ate salty foods the day before your weigh-in. When this happens, you retain water which makes your weight go up. 

5. You haven’t pooped yet today. Enough said.

6. Your hormones and monthly cycle cause bloat and water retention among issues. This spike on the scale is not from you gaining fat (unless you use your hormones as an excuse to eat crazy).

I KNOW it’s frustrating to step on the scale after a week of doing everything “right,” only to see the number go up.

My words of wisdom to you: Look at the trend over multiple week’s worth of weigh-ins. Overall, you want the trend to move downwards.

Start to learn what happens to your OWN trends. Maybe you’ll notice that the scale always spikes before it dips even lower. That’s normal for lots of people.

Most importantly, don’t get upset and frustrated by one single data point. And whatever you do, do NOT allow a silly number on the scale to dictate your actions.

Stay consistent with your choices, be patient, and the number on the scale WILL go back down!