Scale Weight – Why You Shouldn’t Rely On It

Are you someone who is constantly frustrated with how much you weigh? Do you feel as though you are doing everthing right with nutrition and exercise only to realise that the needle on the scale has barely moved?

You’re not alone!


The scale provides an objective measure of fat loss. Studies have shown that those who track their weight frequently were more likely to maintain it.

Whenever clients sign up for my program, I get them to weigh themselves daily. However, taking daily measurements can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety.

How do I help my clients deal with this?

Here’s what I help them understand:

  • Scale weight fluctuates daily

Daily fluctuations in weight can be caused by hydration status, stress, food intake, sleep, bowel movements, hormones etc. For example, if you ate foods that were higher in salt the night before, you may wake up heavier due to water retention. The reason why I get my clients to weigh themselves daily is so that they can take the average over a week. This gives a better picture of what is going on.

  • Scale weight alone fails to capture actual fat loss

The scale is just ONE of the tools to measure fat loss progress. I encourage my clients to also take body measurements (waist circumference etc), snap pictures, notice the fitting of clothes, how they feel etc. If you are actively going to the gym and building muscle, scale readings may not even move much as muscle weighs more than fat!

  • Progress is not linear

This is NORMAL! There will be ups, downs and plateaus along the way. What you need to do is to make sure that you KEEP GOING! Of course, you need to make sure that you’re ACTUALLY in a calorie deficit.

If you still think you’re doing everything right and not seeing results or if you are unsure of anything, shoot me an email!

2018-12-22T01:55:25+08:00 December 4th, 2018|Categories: Weight Management|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments

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