Weight loss is an emotional journey, and when it comes to my clients, movement on the scale in either direction – or none at all – inspires an entire spectrum of emotion.

For example, when the scale number drops, there’s everything from excitement and validation to disbelief and tears of joy.

When the scale number stalls or goes up, I see frustration, panic, fear, anger, self-deprecation, and disappointment.

There’s a myriad of reasons my clients’ weight goes up, and my coaches and I help our custom program and accountability clients troubleshoot when that happens.

Here are a three of the most common reasons for stalls and weight gains.

1) Falling short on the basics. Sleep is the number one rule in weight loss – not my rule, THE rule. I see people post comments like, “I don’t understand why I’m stalling! I’m doing everything right! I mean, my sleep hasn’t been that great…”

They just answered their own question! You can be doing everything else right, but without sleep, your weight loss suffers.

Your body interprets a lack of quality sleep as stress, which means it both hangs on to fat to protect you, and causes sugar cravings.

Another key element of the basics is water, the #2 rule in weight loss. “Almost” getting your water in doesn’t count.

“How’s your sleep” and “how’s your water” are the first two things my coaches and I ask clients who complain about weight loss stalls.

2) Overeating. Most people don’t need anywhere near the amount of calories they consume in a day, and this is true even when you’re eating the foods we eat on the Code Red Lifestyle. Anyone can get fat by eating too much, even of healthy foods.

The quality of your calories absolutely matters, but so does the quantity.

To be clear, we NEVER want to go dangerously low. That causes your body to feed off its own muscle tissue, and it will stop dropping weight.

3) Eating when you’re not hungry. Our society revolves around food, so instead of just eating when we’re hungry, we eat for a million reasons that have nothing to do with hunger.

We eat as a reward. We eat to cope, or because we’re bored. We eat because it’s meal time. We eat to celebrate special occasions. We eat on vacation, or because we’re at the movies, or simply because because eating brings us pleasure.

We’re also told to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day – again, whether or not we’re actually hungry.

The problem with all that is, it gets and keeps you fat!

Stop letting society dictate when you eat. Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full. (Not “stuffed,” just full.)

Before you panic about weight loss stalls or gains, remember that our bodies don’t get fat and sick overnight. As quickly as most people lose weight on the Code Red Lifestyle, there ARE gonna be days when weight doesn’t drop.

Another thing to remember is that wrapping your emotions up in the scale number is a slippery slope.

Yes, the scale number is important, and I expect my Rebels to take it seriously. But I also want them (and you) to remember that the scale number is a tool, like a hammer or a spatula or a thermometer.

If the temperature drops outside, do you get mad at the thermometer and feel like a failure? That’s what I mean when I say the scale is a tool. Use it to guide you, so you can look at what you did the day before, and see whether you need to change things up, or repeat everything you did that day.

Your body is a complicated, beautiful organism, and sometimes you actually can be doing everything right, and still experience weight fluctuations and stalls.

It’s completely normal, and it doesn’t mean you won’t reach your weight loss goals…that is, unless you let it get to you and give up.

Don’t do that. Don’t give up on yourself. Stay on course, like my successful Rebels do, and you’ll get there.

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