Have you had one of those weeks when you feel as though you did everything right, but the numbers on your scale seem to tell you otherwise? Did you see the pounds increase or stay the same? Water percentage and fat percentages rising and falling with no apparent rhyme or reason?

If you are charting your progress, you'll tend to see some strange fluctuations with your weight loss from week to week. What might be happening, and why?

Pictured Above: What you might see if you weigh yourself every day, and it can even happen on a weekly basis. Many factors and biological processes can affect the number on the scale, so that's why it's important to only weigh once per week. Pick the same day, and the same time of day, to see results that won't cause you to become frustrated.

The reality of weight loss is... it doesn't happen in a straight line. There are a lot of metabolic processes going in inside you every day that determine whether you're losing, maintaining, or gaining weight. What you're eating, drinking, and if you're getting in physical activity or planned exercise also contributes. That's why you'll see your weight, as well as your body water and fat percentages rising and falling here and there. However, if you're following the guidelines of your plan, you're most likely doing everything right. Don't let that snapshot in time deter you from staying consistent with your daily meal plan.

1. Water weight - Eating or drinking sugar causes you to retain more water than you really need. So does too much salt in the diet, or the sodium in processed foods. Unhealthy water weight is the puffy and bloated feeling you get after a big restaurant meal or after eating something like pizza and chips. Your body will retain water which will make you weigh more on your scale. By staying consistent with your meal plan, you'll be able to avoid these water spikes and begin to see more consistent results. If you drink a lot of water before you weigh, your body won't have a lot of time to absorb it and that will show up as pounds on the scale rather than hydration. ITG recommends weighing yourself in the morning before eating or drinking for the best results, but if your weekly appointment with your Coach is in the afternoon, stay consistent with your meals and water drinking that day to get a more consistent snapshot.

2. Eating a heavier/fatty meal - Let's say you eat a big steak - which is totally fine, by the way - it contains a lot more fat than something like chicken, fish or turkey. It takes a lot longer to break down the chains of fat that this type of whole protein contains, so it tends to stay in your digestive system and your body for longer. If you eat a steak dinner the night before you plan to weigh on the scale, that could artificially bump up the number on your scale. Some heavier and more sugary vegetables can cause the same effect. Don't get discouraged! If you consistently eat a steak before you weigh yourself, then you will begin to see consistency in the numbers. However, to get a good sense of your weight, avoid eating fatty meats and heavy, starchy vegetables the day before weighing yourself. Ask your Coach for the guidelines.

3. Hormones, activity levels, and body processes can cause you to retain weight one week and then lose it the next week. Getting the proper amount of sleep can help with hormone regulation, which includes those that help us with our feelings of hunger and fullness. Exercising too much or being sedentary can have opposing effects, depending on how we're fueling our bodies. Sometimes you might see a small weight loss one week, and then a large loss the next, depending on what's going on inside the body.

4. Using the restroom. Constipation can be a common issue with a ketogenic diet. It's important to get in all your vegetables each day, and avoid counting too many leafy greens as your vegetable intake. You need the variety of vitamins and minerals they provide, and a lot of fiber to be able to go to the bathroom consistently. If you are experiencing constipation, pain, or bloating, let your Coach know - they can give you suggestions on a cleanse or a supplement such as ITG Colon Lax to help alleviate the symptoms. Body composition numbers can swing up and down depending on if you have used the restroom or not.

5. Exercising too soon before using a body composition scale - this tends to increase the amount of water and nutrients that your muscles are retaining which can cause the number on the scale to go up or remain the same. Try to weigh before you conduct any physical activity for the day, if possible.

It's important to stay consistent with your routine. Many of us tend to focus on the number we see on the scale, but we must learn to highlight the positives, even when we see an unexpected number. These fluctuations are completely normal. Weight loss doesn't happen in a straight line. If you chart your progress over time, draw a line down through the points to see the real trend. You will see how far you've come with the pounds you've lost, the rise in your H2O%, and your Fat% dropping over time. 

When you see a number on the scale that doesn't seem to make sense, keep calm and ask yourself these questions:

Did I stay within the guidelines this week?

How am I feeling and what are my energy levels compared to last week? How am I sleeping?

What were my hunger levels this past week and was I able to make healthy substitutions when I felt a craving?

How many inches did I lose this week, overall?

Sometimes the scale might not budge, but you'll feel your clothes fitting looser. If you measure inches, you'll find that you lost several all over your body. Those are fantastic results that you can actually see for yourself!

Stay consistent with your eating routine and behaviors, even when that scale tells you otherwise. It's not all about the number on that scale, so take your "snapshot in time" for what it is and focus on all the other healthy changes you are creating on a regular basis. Stick to it and stay consistent!