Word Count: 591
Average Read Time: 2 minutes
I’m going to start this blogcast with a story and I’ll warn you, we’re about to become really close. I started a mini cut a couple of weeks ago. One night I was eating at a family gathering and something I ate didn’t agree with my stomach. While sparing you the details, this eventually led to me taking some Pepto-Bismol.
The crisis was averted and all was well. The next day however, I didn’t use the bathroom. Fast forward to the next day. I still didn’t use the bathroom. Fast forward another day and I was finally back to normal. When I started the diet, I weighed 187.4 pounds. When constipated, which was twelve days into the diet, I weighed 187.8 pounds. After twelve days, I weighed more than when I started.
The day after I returned to normal, I weighed 185.6 pounds. Why does this matter? When I stepped on the scale for those few days of being constipated, I knew before I stepped on the scale that my weight would most likely be up because the extra waste I was carrying around weighs something. Think about it this way: If you grab a dumbbell or put on a backpack full of books and stepped on the scale, you’d expect it to go up, right?
Why do we not think this way with constipation? Unfortunately, many dieters don’t think about the extra weight they’re holding if they’re constipated. They just see the scale go up, start to panic, think their diet has quit working, and immediately start wanting to make changes to the diet.
Notice that in my story, I never mentioned a single diet change. I simply stuck to the original plan, did what I knew I needed to do, and “magically” dropped two pounds. This thinking also applies to if you had a late meal or more water than usual the previous day. The food and water inside your body weigh something and that will be reflected by the scale in the morning. Don’t let this cause you to panic.
Keep in mind that there are many more things that attribute to how much you weigh other than just if you’ve gained or lost body fat. Don’t panic just because the scale has gone up. Don’t immediately assume there needs to be a change to your diet. In fact, I don’t make any changes to a client’s diet unless they’ve stalled for at least two weeks. (Click to tweet this.)
I previously wrote a three part series about how to correctly identify fat loss stalls and how to fix them. You can read and listen to part one of that series by clicking here.
Takeaway
Know before you step on the scale if there’s a reason your weight may be up such as constipation, eating your last meal later than usual the previous night, and/or more water than usual the previous day.
Don’t panic just because the scale goes up.
Stick to the plan and don’t even consider changing your diet unless you’ve stalled for a couple of weeks
Thank you so much for reading! If you found this information helpful and want to help the Treadaway Training blog grow, simply share this post with a friend. If you like what I have to say, sign up below to become a Treadaway Training insider and get notified for each blogcast and video. I will be back here Thursday with another fat loss topic. As always, God bless you AND your family and I'll see you Thursday.
