Slimming World

Myth: Muscle weighs more than fat, so it’s because of exercise that I’m not seeing the result on the scales

Answer: There’s no doubt that regular exercise strengthens and tones muscles, which is why it helps you look better in and out of clothes. Actually adding muscle, though, is not an easy task (just ask any bodybuilder!). It’s highly likely there’s a non-exercise related reason for the scales sticking.

Is there such a thing as the slimmer’s plateau?

Answer:
The simple answer is no. However, the full answer is a touch more complicated! Many members find, after Food Optimising for several weeks – even months – that they reach a sticking point. Despite great weight losses to begin with, those pounds just don’t shift! (We’ve all been there!)

Firstly, remember that it’s not unusual for weight losses to be inconsistent from week to week. All sorts of factors can affect our weight from the time of day the weighing takes place, the amount of clothing worn, differences in fluid retention etc. This is why we recommend you get weighed just once a week at around the same time, and wearing similar clothes. Seeing our weight loss over, say, a month gives us a much better guide to our progress.

Our weight loss tends to slow down or stop altogether, for one of the following three reasons:

We assume something is Free when it is not
We underestimate Syns
We stop counting Syns altogether.
We can do this and still lose weight in the beginning, but not further down the line. Weight loss does generally slow down after the first few weeks too – where you might have experienced 5, 6, 7 or even 8lbs losses. Weight loss should generally settle to a steady rate as the body adjusts to your new way of eating and body fat is lost.

After Food Optimising for a while, it’s also easy for little habits to sneak in – to lick the lid of the kid’s creamy yogurt pot, to finish off the leftover oven chips, to be a little too generous with your Healthy Extra portions.

No matter how positive we are that we’re Food Optimising 100%, sometimes sneaky Syns creep in and can play havoc with our weight loss. (Mrs Ivy Been Good knows all about that!). We have a wealth of motivational tools to help you discover if any little habits might be scuppering your weight loss, and overcome them to get beautifully back on track… so whatever might be causing you to think ‘plateau’, take advantage of all the support offered, because you’ll be back on track in no time.