Scale Disappointment

The majority of those who have been involved in the health and fitness community know the rules of the weight loss tango.  We know weeks may exist that you eat a near perfect diet paired with giving it all at the gym and you still might post a gain, especially for women whose hormones dictate our body.   We know that in the end, over a span of time, our bodies will adjust and overall if we are eating right and working out we WILL SEE RESULTS.  We know all these facts, and more, but getting over the days when we don’t see the loss we expected or even worse see a gain on that scale after the week were you didn’t give in to any temptation that came your way doesn’t make the emotional disappointment any easier.

There is a plethora of reasons from water retention to DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) that can be temporarily throwing off your results.  But how do you stop the feeling of defeat from carrying into the next week?  If you have been at the weight loss game for a while try looking at the total number lost.  Just like any other big project you have accomplished in your life you have to take it one step at a time.   Maybe one step you worked on was a little more complicated and took a bit longer than you expected but that does not mean you are not going to finish what you started. Think about the advice you’d give you a friend who was experiencing the same thing, what would you tell them?

Most importantly do something that you can visualize your results.  My absolute favorite things to do is put on an old pair of fat jeans and just feel how big they are on me and visually see the progress I have made.  So maybe try on that shirt you forgot about that was just a little too tight on you, you might find yourself surprised that you can put it back in your rotation of things you can wear.  

When you don’t see the results on the scale it is important to try to see the results somewhere else.  Get creative.  Go workout and remind yourself how hard your first workout was and how much further you have come since day one.