This is the final installment of this series, but probably the most important one to understand. Weight fluctuates. Even when you eat exactly as you've been advised to. Even if you weigh and measure everything out. It just does. And it's not 100% tied to what we eat. We cycle as humans, and those cycles are reflected in our weight.
We weigh more in the evening than we do in the morning. Of course we do, there's food in our bellies, and there's water we've drunk! In the morning we're dehydrated and hungry. So it is counterproductive to weigh in the morning as well as the evening and assume that any conclusion that the evening weight reflects how much fat we've gained or lost…is logical. I can't stop you from doing that…but I can tell you it isn't a scientific…or self-esteem promoting…technique.
If you have lost your menstrual cycles, it's important to remember that as they return, they will affect your weight. Your weight can fluctuate between 1 and 10 lbs. throughout the month. Every woman is different in this respect. Part of that is fluid, and many women (unfortunately, myself included) experience constipation as part of their PMS. It just happens, and it's a reflection that your body is working just as it should.
I used to notice when I worked more exclusively with eating disorders, that weights would often cycle a couple of months before the period actually returned. It was kind of like the reproductive system was ramping up and taking running starts at menstruating, and eventually got there. Since my clients didn't have the period to validate that this internal process was what was happening, it was hard for them to live with the temporary weight shift.
So in addition to, as I mentioned in the last post, being sure you compare a Monday weight to a Monday weight, etc., you may do best to compare a Monday weight from week one of your four week cycle to the Monday weight from four weeks earlier.
Most of my clients actually notice that they lose waist inches before they lose real weight. That's a really good sign the rest will follow. But you are going to have to look up from your scales and focus on the more important information in order to see that for yourself.
If you're addicted to getting on and off the scale multiple times in a day, perhaps you should hand your scale to a friend for safe keeping. It's not the most accurate indication of how you're doing with your nutrition plan. Really, all it's telling you is how hard the earth has to use gravity to keep you from floating off into space. Really? Really. Maybe it's time you gave up your astronaut fantasy and focused on what is important.
If your mood is stabilizing, your hormones are cycling, your cravings are dissipating, and your energy is better, that's what matters most. Take care of that…and the rest will follow.