Why am I not Losing Weight?

I’ve been on this health kick for three days. No alcohol has passed my lips, no refined sugars have entered my stomach and I have exercised everyday. I’ve tracked my calories in Fitday to keep me honest and have been under 1500 calories per day. Its hard to contain my disappointment. The scales at the Gym still read 70.7kg.

Five things to keep in mind when the scales don’t budge

1. Am I being realistic?
When I start a fitness regime I want to see results straight way. All I feel is tired and hungry and for what? The scales haven’t moved an inch. What I have to remember is that I didn’t get this way overnight. The kilos sneaked on slowly and they will creep off even slower. Patience and consistency will get me there in the end.

2. Water
Did you drink a lot of water before you weighed yourself? Did you eat a bit more salt than usual and are retaining water?

3. Its just one day
That scale measurement is just one day, it could be a blip on the radar. Don’t worry about individual days, instead look for trends. Have you been slowly creeping up a kilo or hovering around a certain point on the scale? +/- 500g for weeks? Real gains and plateaus will show with trends over weeks not two days.

4. If anything I am healthier
Even If I still weigh the same I have been eating foods that are good for my body and I have been exercising my heart and other muscles to keep me strong and vital.

5. Muscles!
You can go on a workout regime and not lose any weight but your body fat percentage may have fallen through the floor. Muscle is dense tissue, but its lean and tight and not jiggly like fat. Sometimes the scales are not the best way of measuring progress.

Well I can’t let any disappointment stop me. I’m in this forever.
Lets face it. For some of us, we will be watching our calories and exercising till the day we day. Not blessed with a natural tendency towards activity I must schedule exercise and My fullness indicator is broken, so I need to count all those calories. I cant let one day get me down.