Has this ever happened to you? You finally decide, “I’m doing this, I’m going to lose weight!” So, you throw out all the snacks you have in the pantry, get rid of the sodas, purchase lots of greens, and hit the gym 3-4 times a week. Then, after two weeks of pure excitement because of these new habits, you get on the scale but don’t see any changes.

After seeing the scale, you might think it’s your metabolism or you need more cardio. But, considering you’ve already made so many changes, this makes you feel crushed and discouraged. So you now start thinking to yourself, why am I even trying? I should just quit!

Before I go into why this might happen, I want you to know that the scale doesn’t always tell the whole story. The scale is just one method you can use to track your progress , but it will always fluctuate for various reasons.

Now let’s talk about three areas you want to investigate to make sure you’re on the road to success. First, if you have been consistent with your meals and working out several times a week but still not seeing changes, it could be any of these 3 reasons we’re about to discuss.

People usually feel that they’re on the road to fat loss because of clean eating, the keto diet, Low carb, etc. However, you still need to be in a calorie deficit for these methods to work. Without a calorie deficit, it doesn’t matter how much salad is consumed; fat loss will not happen. Clean eating does not necessarily guarantee weight loss.

To recap, here are some of the main points I want you to consider:

• A calorie deficit is needed for fat loss to occur regardless of the method you choose.
• Be patient! Progress takes time. Give yourself two weeks and be very consistent before deciding that your attempts are not working. Instead of just relying on the scale, make sure you take pictures and compare your measurements.
• Keep in mind that your eating habits on the weekend also count. If eating out is part of your weekly routine, tracking your calories will allow you to make room for these foods. The goal is to make sure you’re being consistent even on the weekends.