“This is depressing coach, how come my weight this week hasn’t improved. I’ve been doing my workouts, following your meal prescriptions but this week it seems like I have done nothing at all!”
This is an actual message that I got from one of my female clients under my #LifestyleBasedNutritionSystem. And she is not alone actually... I have encountered this concern so many times that I decided to feature this topic here at #CoachJeanethAro.
Weight measurements alone are not enough to assess real progress. Measuring and monitoring other parameters like body fat percentage, girth measurements, and muscle mass weight would be a lot helpful
This post is for all the ladies who have been wondering why sometimes there are “fat days”. You know, the times when you feel so bloated, so heavy, and craving for everything that you’ve been trying to avoid— potato chips, donuts, cakes, burgers and fries, etc. And of course in those days that we just can’t control ourselves and simply give in to our cravings, the weight on the scale will surely increase!
Ok, ok, ok... calm down... this is absolutely normal. As I always tell my clients, there’s really no need to panic nor be disappointed especially if you are doing your best to eat healthy and exercise regularly. In some cases, weight measurements alone are not enough to assess real progress. Measuring and monitoring other parameters like body fat percentage, girth measurements, and muscle mass weight, would be a lot helpful. But what if you don’t have the means to have them measured or the skills to do them on your own? What if all you’ve got is the humble weighing scale???
Here’s a trick, and this is what I do personally...
Step 1: keep track of your monthly cycle. Divide it into 3 phases:
• Phase 1: Day 1 of period up to day 4 or 5
• Phase 2: Day 5 to 15 (last day as your ovulation day)
• Phase 3: Day 16 to 28 (or 30, depending on the length your cycle)
Step 2: record your weight for specific days in each phase. You may check weight on day 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, and so on. It’s up to you. Just make a record/baseline data.
Step 3: make the same recordings again on Month 2. After completing your month 2 weight record, compare now your weight on the same day of the same phase. You may keep on doing this to continuously monitor your weight.
Using myself as an example, I would normally weigh 121-122 lbs at the onset of my cycle. At Day 4 or 5, I’ll be down by 3 lbs. Then as I transition to phase 2, it’ll go down to 117lbs. My weight will be stable at 117-118lbs depending on how “behaved” I was the day before. Then on the last 4-5 days of my cycle, I will allow myself to have an extra 200kcal/day worth of my “fav food” depending on what I craved during those times— of course this is with expected slight and temporary weight gain.
By doing it this way, you will have a fair assessment of your weight change. You will also be able to manage expectations and will be less disappointed knowing that you’re really doing your part to eat healthy and workout regularly. Because let’s face it, many of us didn’t win the genetic lottery of being constantly in our ideal weight. Majority of us needed to work double time just to shed some extra pounds. Yeah...ganyan talaga ang buhay.
(Note: this is applicable only to those who are in a normal 28 - 30d menstrual cycle and are not taking any hormone pills.)