Weight Loss Progress

Weight Loss Progress

There have been many times in my career when I have had to reassure clients about their weight loss progress. For some reason, it is assumed by many that weight loss is a perfectly linear process and that there will always be a regular drop of 2lbs per week.

The truth is somewhat different. Weight loss progress is more often a not a series of peaks and troughs – losses followed by gains followed by losses. Weight loss is almost NEVER linear.

As we diet, we trigger hormonal and structural changes in the body. We create an environment in which the body literally re-designs itself and how it works. Energy is liberated from different metabolic reactions, chemical processes in the body change and storage pathways are altered significantly.

On top of this there is this the stress of the additional activity that usually accompanies a weight loss phase. As we know, exercise causes a number of physical and mental stresses, all of which have to be dealt with by an already incredibly busy organism.

Physically there are structural changes that have to be completed – muscle tissue has to grow, contractile filaments have to be increased, capilliarisation of tissues is improved, neural pathways have to be remodelled. The cardiac muscle capability is improved, vascular elasticity is improved. Bone tissue is strengthened, increasing its density to improve its ability to handle increased load.

Hormonally, insulin sensitivity is improved. We deal with food substrates better than before. Brain chemistry is altered – we produce more feel good-chemicals serotonin and dopamine and as a result our self esteem and mood improves. Our bodies remove lots of the build up of stress hormones such as cortisol. We sleep better thanks to improved night time hormonal regulation – we produce more melatonin and fall to sleep better and stay asleep longer thanks to improved hormonal control.

These are a snapshot of the changes occurring in the body as you lose weight. There isn’t enough room on this post for me to document them all, but be assured it’s not as simple as eat less, move more. The process of losing weight is a major structural reform for your body and as with any building project there will be times when you hit a snag!

This brings me to my point of the journey of weight loss being full of peaks and troughs. As a fitness professional, I use a number of different markers to assess weight loss progress. Simply relying on your scale mass is going to lead to jubilation and depression in almost equal measure!

There is no ‘typical’ weight loss progress. I have seen clients lose 20lbs in 4 weeks, then put 2lbs on for two consecutive weeks, despite not breaking any dietary protocol. By doing the right things often enough though, weight loss resumes.

The important thing is to focus on the trends – over the long term, is the weight coming off? Are you reducing in size? Is your body fat reducing? Do you look, feel and perform better? There is no feasible explanation for fluctuations in weight, other than they happen. As long as the long term progress is in line with expectation (an average of 1-3lbs of weight loss per week) then you are on the right tracks.

To give you an all-round picture of your weight loss progress, you have to look at more than just your scale weight. Use these as a general guide to progress…

• BMI (Body Mass Index). Only use this when you first start training as muscle mass disturbs the figures. If however your starting point is particularly untrained (more than 30lbs overweight) it will be a useful tool.
• Waist (around the belly button) measurement.
• Hip (top of the pelvis) measurement.
• Chest (around the fullest part) measurement.
• Thigh (mid point between hip and knee) measurement.
• Upper arm (mid point between shoulder and elbow) measurement.

These are all measurements that can be taken by an amateur with only the most basic of equipment. If you hire a personal trainer then you can explore other options when it comes to body composition measurement.

The point is simple – on a weight loss journey, be patient. As long as you are doing things correctly the long term trend should be weight loss.

Expect and accept occasional fluctuations – they happen and there is little you can do to change it. Don’t let the occasional slip put you off. Even slow progress is still progress!