It’s one of the most frustrating moments for any dieter. After a week of hard work, you step on the scale only to find the number hasn’t budged at all. Sometimes, the reason is obvious (think social events and takeaways?)
Often the case is – that we do not know how you have not lost anything after a hard week of being really good and strict with your training and diet.
Here are 5 reasons why you might not of lost weight this week:
1. Your Weight Naturally Fluctuates
It’s perfectly normal for your weight to go up and down by a few of pounds throughout the day. This happens to everyone, not just dieters. When you’re judging the success of your diet, it’s best to look at the trend of results over time — don’t give up just because there’s a “blip” one week where you maintain or even gain weight.
To avoid fluctuations from external factors, make sure you always weigh yourself at the same time of day, and wear the same clothes each time. Ideally, weigh yourself in the morning, before eating or getting dressed to get a more accurate reading.
2. You’re Retaining Water
If your period is due, or if you’ve eaten a salty evening meal, you may put on a pound or two. This is due to water retention—your body is storing more water than usual, and this liquid is making you seem heavier.
The best way to avoid water retention is to avoid salty foods and have the recommended amount of water each day. Roughly 2 litre’s for women, 3 litre’s for men.
3. You’ve Hit A Plateau
Sometimes when you’re trying to drop a few pounds, your weight might not budge for several weeks in a row. This is known as a “weight-loss plateau” and while it doesn’t mean your weight loss strategies aren’t working overall, it can be bad for morale.
So what to do? First, don’t give up — it’s a plateau, not a failure, so relax and don’t take it too seriously. Second, try making some changes in your routine: update your meal schedule, for example (like adding a healthy afternoon snack so you’re not starving when you get home from work), or start a new exercise class or routine.
This is why we measure your progress every week or two to make sure you are always moving forward and then, if you hit a plateau, we can make some changes and keep moving forward. If we didn’t measure your progress, how would we know what’s working and what’s not?
4. You Forgot Thos
e Little Extras
It’s easy to get complacent when you’ve been dieting for a while. If you’ve slipped back into bad habits like plastering butter on your toast, nibbling while you’re cooking or havi
ng dessert every night, you may be taking in enough extra calories to prevent yourself from losing weight.
One thing that might work is to keep a food diary for a few days to become more aware of your food intake. Research has shown that dieters who record what they eat are much more likely to succeed.
When new people come to work with me and have me help them with their training and diet plans – I always get them to write down everything they eat for 3 to 5 days first, before I can help them. That just gives me a real good idea of your eating patterns and habits, and then the best way to move forward from that.
5. You Weighed Yourself On Monday
Did you step on the scales first thing Monday morning? If you normally weigh in on a Friday or Saturday, weighing yourself after the weekend can be a nasty shock. Many of us eat more on the weekend than during the week.
Planning ahead for regular, healthy meals, especially at the weekend helps, as does paying attention to portion sizes (especially when eating out).
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