The scale isn’t dropping, so here’s what I’m doing
Welcome to The Insider: Three weekly emails — Mindset, Meals, Movement — all based on my real daily life staying lean, building muscle, and living healthy over 40. Sign up here
I’m 20 days into my next 100 day push, and I have not lost a single pound. I’m not trying to lose weight (per the scale), but I’m “pinching more than an inch” if you know what I mean. I absolutely have body fat that I need to shed.
And, my pants feel a little tighter. So that’s humbling. I’m thinking twice before I wash my jeans, because I know I’ll have to stretch them out with some air squats to get them comfortable again. LOL
The last few weeks I’ve been trying to eat with the smallest calorie deficit possible. My thoughts are: This is the best way to lose fat, and RETAIN my muscle this time.
I’ve been tracking pretty accurately. Not perfectly, but honestly. I know roughly what I’m eating. I know my protein is consistent. I know how much I’m moving. I know what my workouts look like. So when the scale doesn’t move, instead of panicking, I can just look at the data and say, “Okay. This intake is maintenance. Or it’s slightly above” Which can happen with any margin of error on reporting.
It means nothing is broken. It just means my deficit is too small to create visible fat loss. And if I want the scale to drop, I need to widen that gap a little bit. No more teeny tiny deficits that leave so much room for error that one underestimated tablespoon of peanut butter wipes it out.
What I don’t want to do is abandon the plan just because I didn’t get quick feedback.
We live in a time where collecting biofeedback is easier than ever. We have food scales, apps, smart watches, step counters, heart rate monitors. We can gather more information about our bodies than any generation before us. And yet so many women still make decisions based on feelings instead of data.
Now, even the data isn’t perfect. Cardio machines, for example, are almost always wildly generous with calories burned. Most of the time they’ll say I burned double or even triple what my Garmin tells me. And even my Garmin isn’t perfectly accurate. There’s always a margin of error.
But here’s the thing. If I consistently use the same tools, the trends are still meaningful. Even if the numbers aren’t exact, they’re consistent, which gives you something solid to evaluate, instead of reacting emotionally every few days.
I think where we get into trouble is when we haven’t really measured anything carefully, the scale doesn’t move, and we immediately assume the plan “isn’t working.” Then we jump to something extreme. Or we quit.
When you treat your body like a science experiment, the tone changes. Instead of judging it, you can observe it.
And that’s where I am right now. I don’t love that my pants feel snug. But I do love that I have clarity. I know I’m not in a meaningful deficit. So my next step is simple: adjust slightly and keep going.
No drama. Just data. (My favorite mantra if you haven’t noticed!)
When you have good information, you make good decisions. And good decisions, repeated long enough, are what actually change your body.
We don’t need more intensity. We need more honesty.
And honestly? I’m grateful I know.
Here’s some related posts!!
Hope this helps some of you today!!
Amy
P.S. A bigger deficit makes it easier to see results faster, which is why my 1200 calorie diet plans are so popular! Here’s a free printable 1200 calorie 7 day plan if you want some ideas.
P.S. I’m still unsure where to share random things about my journey, but for the last few days, I’ve been dumping my camera roll of my meals onto my Facebook feed. So, check out my Facebook page for the last few days of meals!
Want to save this post?
Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox.
My favorite data tracking tools
- My Bathroom Scale (for weight and body fat)
- My Kitchen Scale (for EVERYTHING I eat)
- My Garmin Watch (for tracking exercise)
- The Lose It App (for tracking food) YES. I broke up with Myfitnesspal!
- The Strong App (for tracking lifting – so I can continuously lift heavier. When I share screenshots on Instagram for my workouts, it’s from this app)
DISCOUNT CODES
- My Shop! Weight Loss meal plans and digital cookbooks
- Clean Simple Eats: Code: HEALTHBEET
- I Love Peanut Butter!! (10% off HEALTHBEET)
- Built Bar Code: HEALTHBEET
- Skinny Syrups: Code; HEALTHBEET
- Gardyn (indoor veggies- my latest obsession! coupon code for $100 off IRL37QK8XWR)
- My Amazon Must-Haves
