If you’ve ever found yourself stepping on the scale and instantly spiralling because the number went up, stayed the same, or didn’t move as quickly as you’d like—this is for you.
Let’s start with the truth: the scale is not the most accurate representation of your progress.
Weight fluctuates constantly. From day to day, even from morning to night. It shifts, it changes, it moves up, down, sideways—just like the stock market. Sometimes it’s bullish, sometimes it’s bearish, sometimes it’s stagnant. And honestly? It’s not your job to control that. It’s your job to understand it.
There are many factors that influence the number you see:
- Food volume (especially if you’ve just eaten)
- Stomach content and digestion
- Hormonal shifts
- Inflammation and recovery from workouts (especially leg day)
- Salt intake and electrolyte balance
- Water retention
- Bowel movements (or lack thereof)
The scale isn’t measuring fat. It’s measuring your relationship to gravity. That’s it.
So let’s say you wake up one morning and you’ve gone up a pound. You’re eating the same foods. You’re in an energy deficit. To gain one true pound of body fat overnight, you’d need to eat 3,500 so-called “calories” above your maintenance level—and unless that happened, what you’re seeing is not fat gain. It’s a normal, temporary fluctuation. Period.
And let’s be real—your body doesn’t work like that. Fat gain doesn’t happen instantly after one meal or a single day of eating more than usual. The body accumulates fat progressively over time when there’s a consistent energy surplus—not overnight, but over days, weeks, or even months. What you’re seeing on the scale is likely just water, food, or natural shifts in your body—not failure.
Also keep in mind: muscle is denser than fat. If you’ve been lifting weights, doing resistance training, or moving more intentionally, your body may be going through recomposition—losing fat while maintaining or gaining lean muscle. The scale may not drop, but your body is absolutely changing.
We’ve been conditioned to be happy when the scale drops, disappointed when it goes up, and frustrated when it doesn’t move. But if we let those numbers dictate our emotions, we’ll never have peace in the process.
And let’s be honest—it’s okay to feel triggered by the number. You’re not weak or broken for caring. It just means the scale has been framed as the ultimate judge of success. We’re here to unlearn that.
So how do you track progress accurately?
Forget obsessing over one day. Instead, zoom out and track weekly trends using the median mean method.
Here’s how it works:
- Weigh yourself every day for seven days.
- Write down each number from Monday to Sunday.
- Remove the two lowest and two highest numbers.
- Average the remaining three.
That’s your median mean—your true weekly weight.
Now compare that number to the following week’s median mean. If it stays the same for two weeks, you may be at a plateau and it’s time to reassess. But if it’s slowly trending down over time, you’re on track.
Meanwhile, your body is likely changing in ways the scale can’t track. Start noticing progress through:
- How your clothes fit
- Changes in body measurements
- Energy levels
- Strength increases
- Sleep quality
- Mood, confidence, and emotional regulation
- Consistency with your habits
The scale doesn’t know how hard you trained, how many cravings you resisted, or how much effort you’re putting in. It doesn’t reflect your discipline, your progress, or how much stronger you’re becoming—mentally and physically.
It’s just data. And when you learn how to read it properly, you take back your power.
Let it fluctuate. Let it do its thing.
You just keep showing up.
What if you stopped measuring your worth by a number, and started measuring it by how consistently you show up for yourself?
Your body’s not failing you. It’s adapting. Let’s honour that.
