I was having a progress check in with a client this week.
I said something slightly flippantly in answer to a comment she made about the numbers on the scales…
And I thought it was worth a bigger explanation to the wider masses!
This client has been weighing every day.
This is not something we recommend our clients do, but we don’t might if you do it.
But…
And this is a big BUT…
It comes with a health warning…
DON’T READ TOO MUCH INTO DAILY FLUCTUATIONS.
This client has got great results with us so far, and has been consistently losing weight…
But this week she weighed in on one day 1.5lbs heavier than the day before.
The next day the scales registered another 1lb heavier…
And then… 3lbs lighter the day after that.
She asked me how she could put on 2.5 lbs of fat on two days when she had done her workouts and eaten well?
I replied:
“It is not body fat…
And even if you could gain 1lb of actual fat in one day, it would also be possible to do it the next day, and the next day…
So you could put on 365lbs of body fat in a year”.
That equates to 26 stone!
Even if you ate utter junk food every day, you are highly unlikely to put on 26 stone in a year.
I am not sure if that has ever been done in history?
But we have all “been there”…
You wake up, weigh yourself, and you have put on ‘weight’ overnight.
If your goal is weight loss, this can be very discouraging.
Firstly, the scales don’t know if they are weighing a human or a suitcase.
They are not telling you anything about your body composition.
Just how much the ‘thing' on them weighs.
Secondly, let’s do the maths on the scenario above…
If you ate an extra two slices of pizza in the evening which were 750 calories, and drank two glasses of wine (500 calories), that’s an extra 1250 calories consumed that day.
A pound of fat is 3500 calories.
So even if every single one of those extra calorie went directly to fat storage (which they won't), the most you could have gained is ⅓ lbs.
So What Is It Then?
If you didn’t gain 1-2 lbs of fat (or muscle!) overnight, then what is this extra weight?
1. It is likely to be water retention. If you ate excess calories it was probably mainly carbs. Carbo-HYRDATES cause you to retain water (the clue is in the name!).
2. It could be the weight of food that isn’t digested yet (bowel movement!).
3. It could be due to the menstrual cycle.
4. It could also be that your scales round up at a certain point – and on this day, your weight hit that threshold.
At this stage, it is probably worth saying that if you CONSISTENTLY consume significantly more calories than you need, then over time you will gain body fat.
There is no way around it, if you want to maintain or lose weight (or body fat), you cannot over eat (consume more calories than you burn) and expect to achieve your physique goals.
If you do want to weigh daily, you need to take your weekly average weight to iron out any of these higher or lower days.
In the example of this client, over the five weeks days there was a maximum fluctuation in her weight of 3lbs.
But her actual weight difference over these days was a loss of 0.5lb.
I just wanted to share this with you, to liberate you from the numbers on the scales.
The Core 4
Remember as you read this, you are the exact average of your daily actions over time.
If you want to tone up, feel more comfortable in your clothes this summer, increase your energy levels…
Start working on your daily habits right now.
Base them around the Core 4:
1. Hydration
2. Movement
3. Nutrition
4. Sleep/Recovery
If you would like help with this so that another summer doesn't pass you by…
Book in for a call with me so I can help you get started.
Book Here Now:
https://planbfitness.co.uk/letschat
Let's do this!