Your scale, best friend or worst enemy.
Clearly the easiest way to measure your dieting success is to check the scale. Who doesn’t like to step on a scale when dieting and see that they have lost!
But, too much reliance on the scale for instant gratification can actually have a negative affect on your diet progress. That’s why we recommend only using the scale once a week.
Why? Throughout the course of a given week, your body’s weight will actually fluctuate. What most dieters don’t reaize is that the amount of salt you eat, actually regulates the amount of water in your body. And based on changes in salt intake (sodium) the “water level” in your body will shift too.
The goal of weight loss is to lose fat, without losing too much water.
At the beginning of any diet, you will lose water in the first few weeks in addition to fat. Most people see a great deal of weight loss in the first few weeks of a diet, which gradually tapers off and becomes more consistent as the weeks progress.
This is due to the fact that a diet will “restrict” the amount of sodium you eat on a daily basis. Actually restrict is not the best word for this process as most people eat a diet that is super high in sodium, which causes excess water to stay in your system. What diets like The Fresh Diet do, is more like, normalizing the amount of sodium you take in on a daily basis.
Sometimes throughout a week, if you step on the scale, you may see your weight go up due to salt/water fluctuations. And seeing your weight go up could cause you to lose motivation or become frustrated; something we at The Fresh Diet don’t want to see happen to you.
Some tips for scale time:
- Don’t weight yourself more than one time a week. If you follow the Fresh Diet properly you should lose weight. Don’t worry, just go about your business and do a once a week “weigh in”.
- If you are physically able to, exercise. Even a little exercise helps. (note: before starting any exercise regimen consult your Doctor.)
- Be consistent. Always weigh yourself at the same time of week and same time of day. We suggest mornings before breakfast as they will give you an accurate and consistent reading.
- For the women out there, remember this. Many times women will not lose so much weight as they will lose inches.
- Men on the other hand tend to lose weight quickly and lose inches more slowly.
- There will be times as you get closer to your goal weight where you may see little or no change in the scale. Don’t worry about this, it could be water level adjustments, or it could be a plateau.
- Plateaus happen occasionally. Sometimes you may need to eat less in a week, or sometimes on a plateau you may need to eat a bit more. If you don’t lose weight in 2 weeks, contact your diet concierge and discuss this with him or her.
Note (regarding #3): our kitchens have become even more flexible. Now we can accommodate your food likes and dislikes even better. If you need a larger portions, or smaller portions we can help. Food allergies can be accommodated as well. Contact one of our diet concierges to find out more at 866-FRESH-50 (373-7450).
