One of the most common complaints I hear from women as they age is they feel like no matter what they do, they just gain weight. This creates feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. It doesn’t feel good! So today let’s address weight gain so you can get clarity around how it REALLY happens. The first thing you need to understand is that there is a BIG difference between weight gain and fat gain. I recommend you track your weight consistently for a good three months so you can start to see the normal fluctuations of your weight.

Before we jump in too deep, if you’re new around here, I’m Marla! A women’s health coach in St. George and serving women all over. I help women lose weight and keep it off.

Your weight can go up 1-5 pounds simply by eating more carbs or foods with more salt. Or maybe you ate a big dinner the night before. You wake up the next morning, step on the scale and you’re up 2 pounds. UGH!! This is where I hear most women complain they can’t eat anything without gaining weight. Just because the scale is up doesn’t mean you’ve gained weight. Chances are, if you continue to weigh yourself on a regular basis, you will see that number go back down a few days later. That higher number on the scale is simply more water in your body or food in your gut. When I hear women say they don’t want to gain weight, what I really hear is they don’t want to gain fat. 

Here is the simple fact about fat gain. To gain one pound of fat, you need to eat 3500 calories over maintenance. Going back to our prior example of eating a large meal and then stepping on the scale and it’s up 2 pounds, did you really eat 7000 extra calories the night before? I highly doubt it!

Once you understand this simple concept around fat gain, you can quit stressing about the number on the scale going up. Instead of stressing, get curious. Have you been overeating for several days in a row? Can you trust the process and watch for the number to go back down, even if it takes a week or so? Trying to hold on to one particular number on the scale is insanely difficult and emotionally unhealthy. The human body is fluid. Don’t forget that.

A few weeks ago, my weight jumped up two pounds and stayed there for over a week. I noticed old thought patterns popping up saying, “Oh man! I’ve worked so hard and now I’ve blown it and gained some weight.” But I’ve become a smarter and wiser woman and I reminded myself of the truths I really know now. I continued to weigh myself and a week later my weight jumped back down two pounds and there it stayed. So did I gain some fat or was my weight simply fluctuating because of the fluid nature of the body? I hope you can answer that question now with clarity. 

Did this resonate with you? Maybe answer a few questions? I hope so. If you’d like to learn more about my program I’d love to connect. You can learn more about m