By Nikki Jarrett
This is one is for those who are struggling and want to quit or have quit so many times before because “[insert whatever diet fad here], isn’t working…blah blah blah.”
I’m here to tell you that fat loss is not linear.
Again, for the people in the back…
FAT LOSS IS NOT LINEAR.
Now, I’m not talking about weight-loss. That is “easy.” But what most people actually want when they talk about weight loss is FAT loss. FAT loss is different than weight loss. Anyone can lose weight, you can restrict what you eat for 2 weeks to fit into your favorite jeans, manipulate your water intake to make weight for a competition, or do a crash diet to shed those last 10 pounds before vacation, but that will result in gaining the weight back as soon as you stop what your doing because it isn’t as sustainable as they sell it to be.
But, let’s talk FAT loss.
FAT LOSS is NOT Linear.
I’m sure we all know the scale all too well, and you probably don’t have the best relationship with it either. If you are the type of person that weighs themselves everyday, then you already know this, that scale will move up and down EVERYDAY. You can have up to 8 pounds in fluctuation! Yes, that’s crazy, but that is not 8 pounds of FAT you gained over night. You can fluctuate because you ate a meal later than usual, drank more water or not enough water, it could be that time of the month, your sodium intake increased, you need to go to the bathroom, lack of sleep, or you stress level has increased, but none of that equals FAT gain.
The daily recording of your weight will show fluctuation in either direction. BUT, if you take your weight everyday and graphed it out, overtime you will see the downward sloop. You can not let those daily fluctuations detour you from your ultimate goal. Use those readings as a way to manage your stress, motivation to stay hydrated, sleep, and find consistency in training and nutrition.
Be patient, find consistency, and understand that the scale is tool to track your daily stresses and to help gauge where you are on your FAT loss journey. It will never show an even loss every day or weekly! But, don’t give up, just keep going and you will reach your goals.