Over the last 3 months, I’ve been at maintenance.
That means:
- No deficit.
- No surplus.
- No weight loss.
- No weight gain.
Instead, my goal has been to maintain my current weight.
To reach this goal, I’ve been super consistent with all of the following:
- My calorie intake: Calories are set to maintenance, and I’ve been eating about the same number of calories every day. Some days may have been a little higher, others a little lower, but the average has been super consistent every week for these 3 months.
- My macros: My protein intake is the same every day, and while carbs and fat will vary a bit from day to day, the averages over the course of the week are consistently within the same small range.
- My food choices and meals: For the most part, I eat the same foods/meals every day. My breakfast is exactly the same, my lunch is exactly the same, and it’s really only my dinner that has any real variation. It’s simple and consistent and easy, and it puts my shopping, cooking, prepping, and tracking on autopilot. Which is perfectly PECS for me.
- My exercise activity level: This was exactly the same every week… 3 days of weight training (Mon/Wed/Fri) and 3 days of cardio (Tue/Thu/Sat).
- My general activity level: This was also super consistent. I averaged about 9,000 steps per day. Just like my calorie intake, some days might have been a bit higher or lower, but the average for every week was right around 9,000.
So when I say I’ve been “super consistent” with everything these last 3 months, I’m not exaggerating.
This was realistically as close to “perfect” as a person can be.
Now…
With that in mind…
Let me show you what my weight actually did…
My daily body weight during this time.
This is my weight every day for 3 months.
Well, technically speaking, this screenshot could only fit 2ish months, but you get the idea.
As you can see, my weight fluctuated a ton every day.
One day it was down.
The next day it was up.
The next day it stayed the same.
Then back down again, up again, down again, up again, etc. etc. etc.
And these weren’t tiny changes, either.
My weight fluctuated by as much as 3 lbs from one day to the next.
Crazy, right?
These are the kinds of daily changes that scare the hell out of people.
I know this, because I hear it from clients constantly.
They see their weight go up one day, assume they gained fat, and freak the F out.
They see it go down, think they lost fat, and feel happy.
They see it stay the same, feel confused, and try to figure out what they did wrong.
Every daily fluctuation makes people wonder if they should adjust their calories, macros, workouts, or just give up altogether.
And this makes stepping on the scale a stressful, frustrating, confusing, discouraging, and/or demotivating experience.
- Why did this happen?
- What did I do (or not do) to cause it?
- What should I do (or stop doing) to fix it?
Let me answer all of that for you in one sentence…
It’s all bullshit.
Listen closely.
When you see your weight change from one day to the next, it’s almost never because of changes in fat or muscle.
It’s almost always because of changes in:
- Water.
- Glycogen.
- Poop.
- Food in your stomach waiting to be digested.
This is the stuff that makes your weight go up or down each day.
Not fat.
Not muscle.
So, for example, if you’re trying to lose weight and you step on the scale, see you gained 1 lb, 2 lbs, 3 lbs (or even more) since yesterday, and feel discouraged because of it…
I want you to know that you’re letting yourself be discouraged by meaningless shit.
In fact, that may literally be the case, as your weight can increase from day to day as a result of pooping less than you normally do.
Now let me show you something else.
My monthly body weight.
You already saw my daily weight and all the crazy fluctuations that took place every day for 3 months.
But wait.
What happens if we look at the monthly averages instead of the daily numbers?
Let me show you…
See that?
It’s a straight line.
My monthly average weights were:
- Month #1: 176.9 lbs
- Month #2: 176.9 lbs
- Month #3: 177 lbs
In this context, we can consider that to be “staying exactly the same.”
Do you know what that means?
It means that…
Despite being super consistent with my diet and exercise…
And despite my weight remaining exactly the same for these 3 months…
My daily weight still fluctuated a ton!!!
Think about that for a second.
I was “perfect.”
I did everything right.
My consistency was amazing.
And my weight did exactly what I wanted it to do over these 3 months (i.e. it stayed the same).
But the number on the scale still went up or down by as much as 3 lbs from one day to the next.
Now imagine this…
Imagine if I was like everyone else who freaks out over their daily weight.
You know what would have happened?
- I would have lost my mind over these 3 months.
- I would have felt unhappy and discouraged most of these days.
- I would have adjusted my calories or macros for no reason (and it would have been detrimental to my progress).
- I would have changed my workout for no reason (and it would have been detrimental to my progress).
- Maybe I would have just given up altogether.
But I didn’t.
Why?
Because I don’t give two shits about the daily number on the scale… AND YOU SHOULDN’T EITHER.
What did I do instead?
- I kept doing the things I needed to do with my diet, workout, and tracking.
- I kept being consistent with everything.
- I focused entirely on my average weekly body weight and the trend of what that weekly average was doing over a period of weeks.
- I completely ignored the meaningless day-to-day fluctuations.
Let me make this very clear.
Regardless of whether you’re trying to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain your weight…
Your daily weight is still going to go up, down, or stay the same at times.
Regardless of how consistent you are with everything…
Your daily weight is still going to go up, down, or stay the same at times.
Regardless of whether you’re 100% perfect with every aspect of your diet, workout, and tracking, AND you’re making amazing progress in the right direction towards your goal…
Your daily weight is still going to go up, down, or stay the same at times.
So…
- Weigh yourself daily.
- Log the number somewhere.
- Don’t let that number affect you positively or negatively, because your daily weight is never good news or bad news.
It’s simply a data point you’re collecting for the purpose of tracking averages and trends.
And THAT’S what’s going to show you what is (or isn’t) happening with your weight.
Well… unless you’ve already given up because you let yourself be discouraged by meaningless shit.
