When The Scale Won’t Budge Learn To Celebrate These Non-Scale Diet Wins

One of the most common frustrations that I hear from clients as they endeavor to get healthier is that they do not see the results on the scale.

They are working hard, but the scale is infuriatingly not budging.

When the scale is your only measurement tool, not seeing results as quickly as you’d like can make you feel like giving up.

However, I’ve noticed that it is right at that giving up moment that we often start to see results if we can push through those feelings of frustration.

The scale doesn’t tell the whole story

The problem with using the scale as a measurement tool is that it’s not always helpful (or accurate).

When you first start to exercise, your muscles retain water as you tear your muscle fibers and rebuild.

Your body is also adjusting to storing more glycogen (along with more water) for fuel in your muscles. As a result, starting a new exercise program often causes an initial weight gain.

Additionally, eating better does not necessarily result in weight loss. Yet, that doesn’t mean these healthier eating habits don’t have other valuable effects on your overall health.

Why move towards a non-scale approach?

The Health at Every Size (HAES) movement is a weight-inclusive approach that encourages a healthy lifestyle and behavior, not for weight loss but for overall longevity and health.

The premise is that we are hardwired to maintain a specific weight range, which we’ll talk more about next.

Factors that affect our weight, other than diet

Many factors influence our weight besides what we eat. These include hormones, genetics, natural weight set points, stress, sleep, and movement patterns.

1. Weight set point

When the aim is weight loss, we often see weight regain as our bodies adjust back to their set point.

Our weight set point is set by our hypothalamus, which acts as a sensor in our body and protects against weight loss by stimulating other organs to release hormones, enzymes, and other chemicals to maintain balance.

And it does this with the help of Leptin.

When we diet, our body decreases leptin production. And as a result, this increases our appetite and decreases our metabolism to stop further weight loss.

Our bodies will do whatever they can to maintain our setpoint and current fat stores.

What is our set point? There was no formula for identifying this, but scientists estimate that the average person has a set point range of ten to twenty pounds.

Our set point is the weight range in which we can make some dietary changes, and our body will make those changes comfortably (weight gain or loss) without resisting those efforts.

We find our set points by listening to our bodies and practicing intuitive eating and gentle movement.

When we are within our set point range, we will comfortably recognize hunger and fullness and easily maintain our weight.

2. Genetics

Our genetic predisposition also is a significant factor in our weight and body shape.

Many of us are born with “thrifty genes” and are very efficient at storing fat from food whenever possible for our best chances of survival. Most of our bodies are very adept at storing fat, which is how we as a species have survived famines and wars.

3. Stress

Stress also plays a significant role in weight management.

When stressed, our brains activate our sympathetic nervous system, which causes a release of the stress hormones cortisol and epinephrine.

Mental stress causes these same hormone releases, even though a hungry bear isn’t chasing us. When this happens, our sugar storage mechanisms are suppressed, and the unused blood glucose gets converted to fats.

Cortisol stimulates our bodies to produce fat storage and is an appetite stimulant, which is why we get hungry when stressed. Stress also reduces our growth hormones, speeding up our metabolism.

4. Sleep

Sleep is also a key factor. The connection between sleep and weight gain is well established.

However, research has shown that lack of sleep decreases our leptin levels, so we don’t feel as satisfied after a meal. Sleep deprivation also causes ghrelin to rise, which increases our appetite.

5. Exercise

Exercise plays a crucial role in long-term health!

Exercise has many benefits, including reducing our hunger drive and improved sensitivity to hunger and fullness cues.

Exercise increases our body temperature and metabolic rate and increases energy levels. It also increases lean body mass and our fat-burning enzymes.

Lastly, it increases our cells’ insulin sensitivity and can help stabilize our blood sugar levels.

Non-scale victories to track

Many factors influence our weight, so try not to get discouraged if you are working hard and not seeing results yet.

Here are some non-scale wins that you can use to stay on track with your long-term health goals:

• Clothing fitting more comfortably.
• Less bloating/digestive discomfort.
• Improved stamina.
• Increased vegetable and vitamin/mineral intake.
• Regular bowel movements.
• Improvements in lab values, like cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, blood sugar, and HbA1c levels.
• Decrease in overeating behaviors.
• Improvement in sport or fitness performance.
• Sleeping better.
• Improvements in mood, energy levels, and anxiety.

The Bottom Line

Long-term success includes joyful movement, eating for pleasure, leisure time, adequate sleep, and self-care. 

And we can have this long-term outlook when we focus on improvements in our health and well-being that don’t have to do with the number on the scale.

Below are some additional resources if you are interested in learning more about HAES:

1. Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon Ph.D. 2008. BenBella Books, Inc. Dallas, Texas.
2. https://lindobacon.com/_resources/resources-health-care-providers/
3. https://haescommunity.com/   
4. Association for Size Diversity and Health https://www.sizediversityandhealth.org/content.asp?id=31
5. https://www.thebodypositive.org/
6. https://www.thecenterformindfuleating.org/
7. https://www.intuitiveeating.org/

Last Reviewed 09/2022