Weight Loss Mantra: Routine First, Results Second.
The Quick Cut:
When it comes to losing weight, worrying too much about your results too soon can cause frustration.
Instead, focus on adopting the right mindset and habits that create a consistent routine.
Measure your initial success by the consistency of your actions, not the scale.
If you are patient, trust the process, and do the right things consistently, achieving the results you're after will be inevitable.
The Long Slice:
Recently, I had a coaching call with one of my clients who was frustrated.
He was frustrated because he was weighing himself every day and his weight was fluctuating up and down, and up and down, but never getting lower than his starting weight.
His compliance with the personalized meal plan I created for him was also fluctuating up and down. (No surprise then, that his results were oscillating!).
The Right Way to 'Weigh'
First of all, I recommend that you do NOT weigh yourself every day. (Shocking to some of you, I know.)
Instead, weigh yourself only once per week - first thing in the AM, before eating or drinking - on the same day of the week each time.
There are two reasons for this:
Many factors can affect how much water weight we retain each day: hormones, inflammation, sodium intake, etc. Water retention can give your scale a false reading, so when you weigh yourself daily, you may end up getting a weight that's higher than reality due to the excess water you're holding at that moment.
Weighing oneself every day can lead to an obsession with the scale. Weight goes down one day, and you're happy. Weight goes up the next day, and you're bummed. Remember: Your body weight is only part of the picture of your overall health and progress. It's not the whole picture. The scale's biggest flaw is that misses is the amount of muscle you're adding to your body. If you lose a pound of fat but gain a pound of muscle, according to the scale you've made zero progress (when, in fact, you've made big progress!).
More importantly, put your focus on getting your eating and workout routines consistent.
If you do the right things consistently, the results will come. But if you don’t do the right things and then check your results, you’re going to be disappointed, and this can cause you to lose hope and motivation.
DON’T PUT THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE
At the beginning of a weight loss program, too many people make the mistake of focusing on the scale right away to see if they’ve lost weight. For the reasons mentioned above, this is like putting the cart before the horse.
Instead, measure your success with how consistent you are in keeping the habits and taking the actions you’re supposed to be taking.
Once this new lifestyle is in place, and you have a foundation of consistency, it’s very easy to tweak a few things (your workouts, calorie intake, supplementation, etc.) to create progress in your weight loss.
This is exactly what I do with my body transformation clients. Once they get in a groove, I make what I call 'one tweak per week' to help them find their unique formula for predictable fat loss success.
So early on, measure your progress by the consistency of your actions, not by the scale.
Stay consistent enough for long enough and the results WILL come. If they don’t and your routine is in place, all you have to do is make a few tweaks in order to keep succeeding.
Conversely, if you’re inconsistent in your actions, it becomes too hard to know what to tweak to improve your results.
So, be patient, be consistent, and rock your routine. THEN, focus on the results.
Now, that’s putting the cart after the horse.
