26 Sep Weight Loss: When The Scale Won’t Budge
Imagine this, you sign up with me with a goal to lose weight.
You do everything I tell you to do.
It gets to the 8 week mark and the scale hasn’t budged.
What would you do?
Would you quit?
This is what happened to my client Georgia. She was only 19 years old when she made the decision to commit to weight loss once and for all.
And commit she did. Not only to the process but also to me.
When the scale wouldn’t budge Georgia did not quit.
In this article I want to share her story to help inspire you not to give up too soon.
Weight Loss: When The Scale Won’t Budge
Georgia was like you. Things didn’t happen easily for her. They didn’t happen how she wanted or how she expected them to.
But they did happen. And they can for you too.
I asked Georgia some questions so you can get an idea of where she started:
What made you decide to take the leap to work with me?
I was at a really unhappy point in my life, feeling like I would never come close to reaching my goals and was just making excuses for myself thinking that I would learn to accept my body overtime. I had nothing to lose with reaching out to Jodie, I loved her energy in her videos and thought to see how things would go.
Where were you before finding me (in terms of your body, body image and relationship with food)?
I wasn’t in control or even aware of how my body was changing (not in a good way) and the unhealthy relationship with food I had. I would categorise foods as good or bad and always make compromises and sacrifices when choosing what to eat.
What were you struggling with?
As being mostly overweight through my childhood and teen years, weight loss, keeping it off, developing better habits and a healthy mindset were always the major factors I could never stick to and had trouble with.
What had you tried to change and how did it make you feel?
I tried not eating past 6pm, eating soup three times a day, replacing meals with “weight loss” bars, skipping meals, “influencer” 10 minute workout videos – and did not manage to maintain and see results. I thought that these things would truely help me lose weight and keep it off. It really demotivated me that after a week or two of trying these things, that my body, weight and attitudes didn’t change. I would feel really down and rather put on a facade of pretending everything was ok and that I would just have to accept that nothing would change for me.
How has working together changed things for you?
Working with Jodie has honestly changed my life for the better in so many different ways. I have been with Jodie for around 10 months at this point and have completely evolved as a person. I have learnt so much during this time that can be applied to many other fields in life. I have learned to be patient and forgiving with myself and realised that there is no end time for making such big changes. Never have I experienced such confidence and self belief in myself.
What results have you got?
At the start I was seeing no change in my weight on the scales, in fact in the first 8 weeks it only went up. I felt really discouraged but Jodie encouraged me to look past the number on the scale and continue sticking to the plan. It was really hard to try and accept this but I did and slowly overtime that number kept going down and down though I came to a point where I was not phased by the scale anymore and rather shifted my focus on how my body was becoming smaller, how my jeans were becoming loose, learning how foods are all equal (not to be labelled as good or bad) and thinking smart to incorporate all foods I love but keep them in moderations to fit in my goals. Results go beyond what I can physically see. I know that my attitudes and beliefs have changed dramatically and to many people I have not seen in months, I am now an unrecognisable person. And I love this change! I feel like Jodie has really been there alongside me, helping me reveal to myself who I am as a person being only so young.
Weight Loss: When The Scale Won’t Budge
You might be wondering what I told Georgia to do when the scale wasn’t going down week after week.
I told her to keep going.
I didn’t change anything in her plan because I didn’t need to.
This is where you go wrong.
When you don’t see change after a week or two, if you don’t quit altogether, you start adjusting things. You start eating less or adding more exercise.
But the result is not weight loss. The result is being unable to stick to it and you giving up.
In order for change to happen, you need to do things that are different to what you’d normally do.
And you need to fully trust the process, or if you have a coach, you need to fully put your trust in them.
Georgia could be stuck still if she had’ve quit after the first month when the scale wouldn’t budge.
The reason she succeeded in her weight loss journey is she stuck to the plan and didn’t quit.
After 8 weeks of consistently sticking to her calories and workouts, the scaled moved. And it kept moving down for the next 6 plus months without a plateau.
Just because the scale won’t budge, doesn’t mean it’s not working.
When The Scale Won’t Budge
How do you know you need to keep going and not change anything?
That’s a tough one to answer because a lot of it comes down to experience working with clients over the years.
In Georgia’s case, the main reason I knew she had to keep going was because she wanted sustainable results.
Everything about her plan was built around that. Cutting calories when the scale wouldn’t budge at the start would’ve taken her away from sustainability. So it wasn’t really an option.
Make sure you’re following a plan that is sustainable and not a quick fix. Then stick to it!
You also need to change your focus.
Georgia was not attached to the number on the scale. Of course she wanted it to go down. But she focused more on how she was feeling rather than what the number on the scale said.
Despite the fact the scale wouldn’t budge, Georgia was feeling better. Her clothes were fitting differently. Her measurements were going down.
In those first 8 weeks when the scale didn’t budge, Georgia lost 10cm from her waist.
It sounds like a lot looking back, but remember this happened slowly over those first 8 weeks. If Georgia hadn’t of switched her focus then she would’ve been too upset by the scale not moving to care about her measurements.
This sounds easier to do than it actually is. You need to start working on your mindset if you want to achieve sustainable weight loss.
Finally…
The scale doesn’t have to move in order for progress to be made especially if you are also weight training. Don’t ignore taking your photos and measurements to measure progress.
I know you want the scale to go down too, and it will. Just not in the linear way you want it to go down.
If you’re eating in a calorie deficit and working out, yet the scale won’t budge, be patient.
Weight loss is a dynamic process. Progress is not going to be linear.
When the scale won’t budge, even when you’re doing everything right, don’t quit.
Trust the process and keep going.
Commitment is so important if you want to change- it’s going to take time and you will get nowhere if you’re in and out.
You have to be all in.
If you’d like some help with your weight loss journey, feel free to reach out here.