Why the Scale Isn’t Moving
So the scale isn’t moving like you anticipated. You’re hitting the gym 3-5 times a week, active during the day, aiming for your calorie goal. For at least 2 months. And the darn thing is. Not. Budging. What could be going on?
You Are Not Alone
First of all, I want you to know that you are not alone! Navigating a new lifestyle can be very challenging. Especially, when you know what you are aiming for is lifelong, sustainable habits. But I encourage you to keep going! Even if your actions are imperfect, there is still SO much value in moving forward!
Measuring Your Success
If you are using the scale to measure your success, exclusively, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. The scale is just one small tool to measure your progress. There are so many other huge impact areas to be mindful of! It’s so important to identify these other areas, not only to improve your relationship with your body, but also to learn to enjoy the process rather than always seek out results.
As far as other non-scale measurables, check out some of these ideas:
Gym performance
Water intake
The way your clothes fit
Fruit and veggie intake
Sleep quality
Cooking more meals at home
Feeling more productive
Managing stress better
Honoring hunger and fullness cues
Enjoying indulgences without guilt
Planning more meals ahead
Trying new foods
Regular eating cadence
Body composition (maybe you are losing fat and gaining muscle)
As you start treating the scale as just ONE of the tools, it allows you to put more emphasis on how you FEEL, which is so much more valuable than just one number in one point of time.
A Bigger Deficit is Not Always the Answer
Sometimes dropping your calories may be the answer, but a lot of times it may not be. We have to fuel the body to expect anything out of it! For weight loss, a calorie deficit is required. However, it is most definitely possible to have too large of a calorie deficit, putting your body at risk for nutrient deficiencies, reduced metabolic rate, muscle loss, and many other health problems.
Instead of further dropping your calories, consider your ratio of macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fat.) It is not uncommon for protein to be lower than it should in order to support balanced macros for weight loss.
Work on balancing these macronutrients to support your overall health and goals before you start dropping that calorie goal again.
Lifting Heavy Things (and exercising your heart)
If fat loss is your goal, it’s important to include both cardiovascular exercise along with strength training. Aiming for at least 2-3 days of weight bearing activities will be helpful in maintaining and/or building lean muscle mass (aim to hit each major muscle group at least twice per week). Incorporating at least 3-5 days of cardiovascular exercise for 30-60 minutes is recommended for supporting cardiovascular health.
Moving Your Body
Sure, you get your workouts in a few times per week. But what does the rest of your day look like? Think about your non-exercise activity. This is a much larger component of how much fuel our body uses on a daily basis compared to your workouts. Do you kill it in the gym, but then spend the rest of the day sitting or relaxing on the couch?
Build movement into your day, and make it a regular habit. Things like parking the car further back in the lot. Walking to your destination when you know it’s a short drive. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Cutting back on evening screen time for completing a few chores. All of these small actions build over time.
Diet Quality
What kind of foods are providing most of your calories? We all have a pretty good idea of the poor quality foods (cookies, cakes, candy, fast food, chips, etc.). Aiming for a diet that consists of at least 80 - 90% quality foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, quality protein, etc.) is vital towards maintaining progress with your goals.
Similar to diet quality is the structure of meals. Are they balanced? Do they contain protein, carbohydrate, color (fruit/veggie), and healthy fat? Building your meals following this template will not only help you feel more satisfied after each meal but will also support more long-term, sustainable change.
Hydration will also play a role in your progress. Are you practicing mindfulness of your water intake (while also getting enough electrolytes to maintain fluid balance)?
Another barrier that could be halting your progress is alcohol. While it’s possible to include alcohol in your diet and accomplish your goals, it does have the potential to hijack your goals. Ideally, keep your alcohol to a minimum - less than one to three days per week (1 - 2 beverages/day).
Signals from Your Body
Biofeedback is your body’s way of communicating with you. Whether you listen to it or not, your body is sending you signals all day to do certain things. Noticing and responding to the signals is a skill that must be practiced! Some things are obvious, like going to the restroom when you have to go, or putting on a jacket when you get cold. But other signals are a bit more challenging to be mindful of. Things like your general mood, hunger levels, sex drive, energy levels, etc.
These signals are telling you what your body needs! Are you being mindful of them? In order to have long-term success with your nutrition (and overall well-being) goals, it’s vital to learn how to be aware and respond to our biofeedback.
Change it Up
It can be easy to start getting bored with an exercise regimen and diet. Maybe it is time to change things up a bit. Find new exercises to incorporate. Or maybe start trying some new foods and recipes. This process needs to be fun…you have to learn to enjoy the process rather than focus so much on the desired results
How long have you been in a calorie deficit? Have you been dieting too long? If it’s been twelve weeks or more, it’s probably time you take a little diet break for your mind and body. Bring your calories back up to maintenance (quality foods, here) for at least two to three weeks before you aim for another calorie deficit.
Addition rather than Restriction
Diet culture tells us that restriction = success. This just isn’t the truth and causes so much stress and internal battles. Instead of stressing about the restriction, focus on what you can ADD to your journey. Things like more home-cooked meals, daily meditation, bedtime routines, fruit-infused water for hydration, etc.
Be Honest with Yourself
Lastly, it’s time to be real with yourself. Are you giving the process the dedication it takes? Or are there competing priorities that you need to sort out instead of half-a$$ing the new lifestyle you are seeking? This journey takes consistency, and it should be supporting an improvement in your stress levels, not add to it.
Take it slow. Enjoy the process. Remember that you are working towards long-term sustainable change. It is YOUR journey. You make the calls. Six months down the road, you are going to be so glad you had the struggles that made you so resilient.
Just. Keep. Going.
