You should say you’re making a lifestyle change, living healthier, being more conscious about what you put into your body and what your body does every day. Naturally, weight loss should come with these changes. For now, though, I want you to think about why saying “My goal is to lose weight.” can be damaging to the process of actually losing weight.

The main reason is that weight loss is unlike any other goal. It’s difficult to measure (and some measuring tools can be confusing), it takes time and you can’t (or at least shouldn’t) put a number on it. Let’s break these reasons down.

I said it’s difficult to measure and you’re thinking “Um, can’t I just use a scale?” You could, but it can be deceiving. First, when you make a lifestyle change and begin being healthier you may drop some pounds very quickly, but then you may plateau. This means that you don’t keep losing weight because your body is just at an impasse where it’s comfortable. This happens when your body adapts to the changes you’ve made in your lifestyle, and that’s good! It just means that you need to do a little more in order to get out of the plateau, and this could be as simple as exercising more or just exercising different. The problem here is that the scale stops moving. Some people react by giving up this healthy lifestyle because they don’t think it’s helping (this is a reason why counting on the scale can hinder your progress), and this is exactly the opposite of what you should be doing. Just because the scale stops moving doesn’t mean you aren’t getting healthier, you are!

The most deceiving fact about the scale is that you could be “getting skinnier” but the number on the scale goes up.

I’m not lying.

Don’t believe me? I have evidence. In the summer of 2016 I lost 5" on my stomach (and inches in other areas) and gained 4 lbs. Why? I was weight lifting! For the entire summer I didn’t touch a treadmill and didn’t look at the elliptical. I did absolutely no cardio and barely tracked how many calories I ate (and when I did I was eating at a maintenance level which means I was eating the same number of calories my body burns every day, around 2,000). I followed a four-day lifting plan consistently, that's it. If I had counted on the scale to tell me my progress I may have given up, but I knew from past experience not to trust the scale, and instead of living with the mindset “I’m going to workout today because I want to lose weight” I would tell myself that I was going to workout because I loved the way it made me feel stronger and more alive.

My tip for measuring weight loss would be to take into account all of the little things. The small everyday moments that you don’t write on a before and after picture: when your jeans close a little easier, when your favorite pair of shorts are a little looser around your thighs, and when you aren’t out of breath going up the stairs to your room. You could also try measuring with a tailor’s measuring tape areas like your abdomen, thighs, arms, etc. While the scale might be going up, those inches could be going down. This is because your body carries body fat and lean body mass. Body fat is what you lose when you begin a healthy lifestyle, and if you are gaining weight but losing inches, it’s most likely because you’re gaining lean body mass (which means muscle!).

So now that we’ve seen just how deceiving the scale can be, we can move to the next reason weight loss can be tricky: it takes time. You aren’t going to workout for a week and suddenly look toned. You can’t eat healthy for a few days and expect to see a different body shape in the mirror. A body transformation is the sum, but what makes up the sum are the days you eat healthy and exercise all added together. You won’t see a difference all the time and this might make you think it’s not working, but if you are consistent changes will happen. Before you know it, you’re going to be looking at pictures from a few months ago and notice changes in yourself and that’ll make you even more motivated to continue!

The key here is not to give yourself a deadline. Don’t think that you need to complete this goal in a few months by summer or before you have to go to that wedding. Instead of there being a deadline, just start. Start making changes, slowly at first if needed, and simply let time pass while you live life and continue with the lifestyle changes you’ve made. If you’re consistent you will succeed.

The last reason weight loss is hard is because you shouldn’t try to put a number on it, but so many people do. “I want to lose 15 pounds by June!” Not only is this giving it a deadline, but putting a number on it puts pressure on yourself. What if you only manage to lose eight pounds? Would you be disappointed? You shouldn’t be, you lost eight pounds! Instead of putting a number on it, put an adjective on it:

“I want to be stronger than I am now in June.”

“I want to feel healthier.”

The road to weight loss shouldn’t be a dead end. You aren’t going to lose weight and suddenly stop all the lifestyle changes you’ve made, because if you do you’ll lose your progress. Instead, it should be a journey, and it should be one of health.

As an end note, I am not a personal trainer or dietician, these tips come from my own experiences and knowledge I’ve gained through them.