As a nutrition company that specializes in weight management, we know that the scale can be a great tool to evaluate progress – it can measure overall weight, body fat percentage, muscle mass, and water weight. However, the scale doesn’t account for everything or paint the full picture of one’s health & well-being. Even though it’s a good way to analyze data, weighing ourselves can sometimes be misleading, intimidating, and can even lead to emotionally driven decisions based on the number we see versus the one we want to see. We never want a client or follower of the program to feel that the scale is the sole measurement of success because it’s not, and we’re here to remind you of the many other accomplishments you should be celebrating throughout your journey.

Inspired by F-Factor RD, Maria Stavropoulos’, MS, RD, CDN live video discussion in our Official Facebook Group, we’re going to cover all of the wins you may have or are currently experiencing that don’t involve numbers, but first, let’s discuss why our weight doesn’t always portray our progress. Like we said, our goal is to help everyone get to a healthy body fat percentage, but if you don’t have a smart scale, then you won’t be able to differentiate that number from muscle mass or water weight. Have you ever experienced the frustration of trying to lose weight, following all of the right steps, but the number on the scale still won’t budge? Don’t stress – weight fluctuations are normal and there are so many reasons for this! Have you been eating salty foods, are you dehydrated, or on your menstrual cycle? Chances are you’re retaining water weight. Speaking of, have you been traveling lately? Or are you increasing the amount of fiber you’re eating without drinking enough water (we recommend at least 3L per day on F-Factor)? These situations can interfere with healthy and regular digestion, which may also make your body hold onto water. Another reason for weight fluctuations can be that you’ve increased your muscle mass. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat, so if you’ve been working out more often then it could be that your building muscle. There are also other explanations, such as hormonal imbalances or side effects of certain medications, which are conversations you should have with your doctor. With that said, if you are going to weigh yourself, we typically recommend once a week to allow any fluctuation to balance out for a more accurate measurement.

Now for the fun part – let’s get into the non-scale victories that you should be celebrating throughout your F-Factor Journey. F-Factor RD, Maria Stavropoulos, MS, RD, CDN, provided an entire list for us to pat ourselves on the back about, which you may even find yourself adding to since these are subjective and can be personalized to you. We could bullet point these out for you, or we can present them in an interactive way to really get you thinking about specific, special moments – and that’s exactly what we did!

Inspired by the latest trend of virtual games during the quarantine, we’ve put together a bingo board made of the many non-scale victories on F-Factor. Whether you check off 1 box, all 24 boxes, or decide to replace these with your own personal accomplishments, use this opportunity to go through and think about the times that you have experienced wins without the scale.

Have you ever experienced any of these victories and didn’t realize it was an actual victory? Did you just brush it under the rug because the scale said otherwise? Being aware of these victories and celebrating all of the positive moments throughout your journey will help you feel so good and motivated to keep going, which can lead to further progress. If you don’t plan on printing out this article at home (who has an at-home printer these days?!), then we recommend writing down any of these and more that apply to you. A great place to do this is in the F-Factor Journal, which has dedicated spaces throughout to list your “proud moments of the week”. If you don’t have one, feel free to use any personal notebook or you can even write these on post-it notes and stick to your mirror/wall/fridge. However way you do it, be sure to give yourself that daily, visual reminder.

So, the next time you feel let down by the number on the scale, our hope is that you’ll remember at least (and hopefully more than) 24 other things that matter on your journey; instead of fixating on one part, being the scale, direct your attention to all of the other liberating aspects of the F-Factor lifestyle. When we feel our best, we do our best, so focus on the good and celebrate all of the wins along the way – this is what leads to sustainable weight management.

To learn more about weight fluctuations and to be inspired by F-Factor client success stories that don’t involve the scale, check out Maria’s full live video here.