What to do When the Scale Stops Moving

The scale going up or not moving at all can feel so defeating. I know that feeling. But it doesn’t have to be that way. What you think is really up to you. The scale? That “bastard” as we all call it? You can actually use it to your benefit. When you weigh in, it’s an opportunity to notice what you’re thinking. Notice what you’re feeling and what you’re going to do next. You can use that information to move forward. Faster.

In this podcast episode of Losing 100 Pounds with Corinne, we dig into all of this.

We talk about:

• how to become your own hero with the scale
• how to make sure you’re not quitting on yourself regardless of what the scale reads
• how to lose your weight faster without bullshit tricks

Want to speed up your weight loss? Don’t miss this podcast.

Your Relationship with the Scale

Most people use the scale against themselves. People have shitty ways that they think about the scale.

You can redefine your relationship with the scale. What is my relationship now? Is that helping me? What relationship would I have?

The scale is not the devil. It can’t control you. It doesn’t hose you. It doesn’t make you crazy. The scale is a piece of metal that gives you a digital readout.  Listen to how you talk and think about it. Know how much power you are giving it. It has no power.

We don’t get upset at the thermometer when we check the temperature on a piece of meat we’re cooking and it’s not done. Yet we get upset with the scale when it doesn’t give us the right number. They are both pieces of metal.

Whatever the number is, it’s tapping on an insecurity you have about losing weight. When you have strong feelings about something, you need to wonder why you have such strong feelings. Is it telling you something about your relationship with your ability to lose weight and keep it off?

Scale Journal Prompt

Weigh a few times and listen to what you’re thinking before you get on and write a couple of sentences down. Get on the scale and listen to where your brain goes and write those sentences down. Get off the scale and wait a few minutes and see where your brain goes.

• Is there anxiety before getting on the scale?
  
• Is there judgment while standing on the scale?
  
• What thoughts are you thinking?
  
• After getting off of the scale, there is the feeling of motivation (either negative or positive).
• What thoughts do you want to think about the scale instead?

I look at weighing in as a way that allows me to make progress. I know the number is a reflection of what i should do more or less of, and that I’m in control, not the scale.

The scale is an amazing opportunity to practice taking ownership. The number is because of things you did (or didn’t do). It’s not a reflection of if you’re a good or bad person, just on the decisions you make throughout the week.

Busting Through Weightloss Plateaus with Belief

When I was losing weight, there was one point where I was training super hard for a triathlon. I was still around 200 pounds. I would have to do two trainings back to back on many days. I was eating well, and even though I was doing “all the things” the scale didn’t move for several weeks in a row!

Around weeks 3 or 4, I was getting frustrated and upset. I wanted to just say Fu*k it. Then I had a moment where the new Corinne came in and told the old Corinne that I wasn’t going to say Fu*k it anymore. I had to step up and show up.

It’s not about what diet you’re going to follow. It’s not about what foods are good and bad. How to lose weight is about changing how you think, not as much about what you eat. You need to learn to ask yourself “is this going to get me where I need to go?”

I coached a No BS Weightloss Program member recently who was depressed and I was telling her that she had to tell herself new things whether she believed them or not.

If you only rely on what you’re saying now, you’re only going to get what you have now. You need to identify the conversation that you’re having in your head around the scale. You have to set yourself up so that you don’t want to quit. At some point, you’ll have a week where you don’t lose any weight and you have to be ready for it.

If you quit on the scale, then you’ll likely quit on the food, on your plan, and on yourself. You can’t keep quitting.

When weighing, you need to focus on things you did right, things you can level up, things you weren’t doing that week. When the scale goes down, you don’t celebrate the number. You celebrate the fact that you showed up for yourself that week. Write these things down.

The No BS Weightloss Program members use a worksheet called “Hello Scale” each week when they weigh-in and there’s a thread in the Facebook group where people can check in with their results and their next steps.

Journal Prompt for When the Scale Doesn’t Move

• Guess why what you’re doing is not working. It’s easier to say I don’t know then to face the problem.
  
• Once you know what the problem is, you’re faced with the choice to fix it or not.
• Get out a piece of paper and write down the things you’re thinking.
  
• Look at what you wrote and figure out if the things on that list will help you or not.
  
• There might be some things that you’re thinking that you need to retire because they are out-dated thoughts. Remember, it takes time to change your thinking.

Remember, You are NOT Your Weight!

If you’re in maintenance or someone who came to the podcast later in the game and you haven’t worked on your relationship with the scale, you need to know that you are not what you weigh.

Every time that you get on the scale is an opportunity to love yourself. If you’re having a hard time letting the scale talk back to you in a way that motivates you for the weekend, think about what your best friend would tell you. Pick a good friend, not an asshole. Or you can picture Beyonce talking to you!

One of my No BS Weightloss Program Coaches, Kathy, said that she has very little emotion around the scale because she tells herself the number is just data. For myself, it is a locker room getting pumped up for the game experience.

During the holidays, the scale can be used as a way to keep you moving forward. You can’t sit there and think the scale does anything to you. Use it as motivation. You can figure it out. You can think about what you want to think. The scale can’t do anything to you or for you, it’s just there with a number. Work with it, not against it.

If you want to work with me on your weightloss goals or relationship with the scale, start by taking my free Losing for Life Kickstart video course. Once you’ve taken the free course, you’ll be notified when the No BS Weightloss Program is allowing new members to join my program.