Panicking when the scale doesn’t move in the direction you want (or at all) doesn’t solve anything, but I see that panic in many people new to the Code Red Lifestyle.

Even on a program as effective as Code Red, your weight fluctuates in weight loss mode. That’s just how it goes.

I also can’t tell you how many people insist they’re “following all the rules,” but they’re not.

The most broken rule by far is my rule about sleep. I require my Rebels to get a certain number of hours of sleep per night (it’s the bare minimum), yet I see posts all the time from new Rebels saying stuff like…

“Even though my sleep wasn’t great last night, it’s really discouraging to follow all the rules and not see the scale drop.”

If you aren’t sleeping, you’re not following all the rules.

Same deal with getting your water in. “Didn’t get all my water in, but I followed all the other rules. Disappointed not to see the scale drop.”

The rules I have in place for the Code Red Lifestyle are rules, not suggestions.

For best results you HAVE to follow them, not cherry pick the ones you want to follow, ignore or selectively follow the rest, and then insist you’re “following all the rules” while complaining about the scale not dropping.

Are there people who do follow all the rules and still stall?

Yes, that does happen, though the percentage of people who are skimping on the basics is much higher.

But it’s true, there are other things that can stall weight loss, even when you’re correctly following the program.

It’s one of many reasons I insist my clients weigh themselves every day. If your weight goes up, you look at everything did the day before.

Not just what you ate, but also when you ate, how much (or how little), whether you snacked between meals (a no-no on Code Red), and so on.

On the other hand, if you have a day where your weight loss is great, repeat that day as closely as you can – meal times, what you ate, how much sleep you got, when you finished your water, and so on.

Also remember to look at the overall trend. If your weight is 255 on Monday and 250 on Sunday, who cares if it stalled or went up a day or two between those days? You’re still down 5 pounds in one week!

Whatever you do, if your weight stalls or goes up, take a breath and remember: Your scale, and the number on it, are tools, just like a thermometer is a tool.

You don’t panic, hate on yourself, and think about quitting if the temperature says 45 degrees instead of 60 degrees outside.

So stop doing it if the scale doesn’t move in the direction you want.

Go back to the basics, look at everything you did the day before (including your life, not just your food choices, since stress and other factors can influence weight).

And always remember that your weight will fluctuate, even if you do everything perfectly.