The Number on the Scale…

I’m going to confess something to you guys. I had a weak moment.

For the past few months, I’ve been super focused on getting healthier. For the most part, I’ve been putting all of my efforts into the physical and I’m proud of my progress. I’ve gotten stronger, lost fat, gained an appreciation for my curves and actually have fun coming up with healthier meals and making the gym part of my daily routine. But even with all of that progress, I had a moment of weakness and let my insecurities get the best of me.

The culprit: my scale. 

It’s true what they say – the number on the scale does NOT matter. I’ve seen time and time again that muscle weighs more than fat. I’ve seen the “before & after” photos where the bodies look severely different with only 3-5 pounds in between them. I know that I’m not supposed to let the scale be the only thing that determines how I feel about my progress. However, that’s a lot easier said than done. When you lose 20lbs in two months, your expectations are officially set. You’re in the headspace that the fat is going to keep melting off at that same speed as long as you keep up the same amount of effort.

I’m here to tell ya – that’s not true and I learned the hard way.

I’m currently on week seven of my second round with Sumeet and while the progress has been great, I did a weigh-in about halfway through and nearly had a panic attack. The number on the scale hadn’t changed. I think it might have even gone up a few decimal points. I was freaking out. I immediately went to a negative place. Have I not been working hard enough? Was it the handful of hot tamales I ate the other day? What am I doing wrong?

I found myself sitting there stepping on and off the scale, trying to pee one more time, to see if the numbers would drop. I felt insane. Here I am almost five months in to this brand new journey and in just a split second – I lost all of my confidence.

And you know what – it’s normal.

It’s normal to have a moment of weakness. It’s normal to get wrapped up in a number when you’ve been seeing that number change consistently from week to week. But after those few moments, you gotta snap yourself back to reality.

I reminded myself that I’ve been losing fat but I’ve also been gaining muscle. Gaining strong, lean, curvy muscle. And muscle weighs something. Aside from the weight part of it all, even if I hadn’t gained so much muscle that it canceled out the number of pounds of fat I lost, I am slowly realizing that your body starts to react to exercise and diet differently over time. The more progress you make, the more you have to continue to work hard at not only maintaining that progress but making more (if that’s your goal).

The number on the scale doesn’t reflect the changes made. I look at my body in the mirror and it looks DRASTICALLY different than it did five months ago, three weeks ago…last week. The inches are dropping, the curves are popping and my clothes fit differently. I can lift 50lbs heavier than I could a few weeks ago. I have ABS that you can actually see. I have definition in my thighs. My back and my shoulders are toned – something they’ve never been.

And guys – that number on the scale doesn’t count ANY of that. 

So, I’m here to tell you.

1. Weigh yourself (if you want) but don’t let it be the only measure of your progress. Take physical measurements and snap a few photos throughout your journey to compare the physical changes.
2. It’s okay to plateau or not change as drastically or consistently as you did at the beginning.
3. Celebrate your progress no matter how big or small. If changes don’t happen right away, celebrate the fact that you made it to the gym or that you lifted 5 pounds heavier or that you drank water instead of soda. There’s power in acknowledging your accomplishments – and I’m a firm believer that putting positive energy into yourself helps to create better outcomes!

Have you guys had a moment of weakness recently – on the scale or off? Comment below!