The #1 Mistake People Make When Trying to Lose Weight, According to Dietitians

Eating well-balanced meals, moving more and increasing your fiber intake are healthy habits that are well-known to support healthy weight loss. And if you’re looking to transform into your healthiest self, your best bet is also to keep a watch on the habits that may hinder your progress. Read on to learn about one surprising—and common—mistake people make during weight loss. If it resonates with you, we’re also here to give you some ideas about how to fix it. 

The #1 Mistake People Make When Trying to Lose Weight

The No. 1 mistake people make is … drumroll … focusing too much on the number on the scale. Weighing yourself may be a daily ritual, but it’s easy to fixate on what the scale says, allowing the digits to hold you captive or control your emotions.

No matter what the scale reflects, the truth is, it doesn’t give you much information at all about your health. “Weight is only one very tiny part of health as a whole. Health really is your whole physical and mental state of well-being,” says Melanie Betz, M.S., RD, founder and CEO of The Kidney Dietitian. “In our weight-centric culture, it is easy to fall into the trap of doing anything to get the number on the scale lower and ignore what it is doing to your mental or physical health,” she says. If your bathroom scale has power, consider why it may not be serving you.

Why the Scale Number Doesn’t Really Matter

It’s Not a Reliable Measurement

The average scale may not be helpful in measuring weight change. Several components make up your body weight, including fat, lean tissue (muscles and organs), bones and water, according to the National Library of Medicine. 

The number on a scale, however, provides unclear information as your weight changes. “The scale doesn't differentiate between fat loss, water-weight loss or muscle loss,” says Bess Berger, a registered dietitian specializing in PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and menopause at Nutrition by Bess. 

Your Weight Changes Daily

If you step on the scale and are 2 pounds higher than yesterday, you didn’t gain 2 pounds of fat in 24 hours. “Weight can fluctuate on a daily basis, anywhere from 1 to 4 pounds. This can be related to the food you eat, fluid shifts, stress levels and menstrual cycles for women,” says Patricia Kolesa, M.S., RDN. Even how often you poop affects your weight.

These fluctuations can cause anxiety, especially if you weigh yourself daily. In one 2023 study published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, college students who weighed in daily reported having more weight-related stress and lower body satisfaction compared to a control group that took their temperatures daily. If the scale is a source of stress for you, avoid weighing yourself daily due to these natural changes, says Sarah Alsing, M.S., RD, owner of Delightfully Fueled. “At most, weigh yourself weekly at the same time of day,” she recommends.

It Doesn’t Indicate Health

Weight loss happens for plenty of reasons, both helpful and harmful. Someone may lose weight when they start eating high-fiber meals or prioritizing protein at breakfast. Another person may be restricting their intake through dangerous dieting methods. “Just because the number on the scale is changing doesn’t mean it’s a health-promoting behavior,” says Kolesa.

Exercise May Affect Results

Physical activity matters in this equation, too. For example, strength training can help you build muscle. That’s a great thing—more muscle helps improve blood sugar levels, strengthens bones and encourages fat loss. But there can be disappointment during a weigh-in. “People may not see the number on the scale move if they are working to build muscle,” says Alyssa Smolen, M.S., RDN, a nutrition content creator. Pound for pound, muscle and fat weigh the same, but they can look different on the body, she says. 

Broader Benefits of Weight Loss

Using the scale number as the sole indicator of weight-loss success robs you of celebrating many other benefits of weight loss. For example, you may be better able to manage a chronic disease, which may allow you to take less medication or eliminate it altogether, says Amy Beney, M.S., RD, a certified diabetes care and education specialist and owner of Nutrition Insights. “There is a great sense of satisfaction when less medication is needed, and a huge sense of accomplishment when blood pressure or blood sugar is better controlled through diet and lifestyle,” she says.

When you let your mind step outside of the scale, you’ll notice more of these non-scale weight-loss wins that deserve to be celebrated. “One of my patients was upset that the scale wasn’t moving but claimed she had more vitality, energy and better sleep since changing her habits,” says Kierra Brown, M.S., RD, owner of Nutrition with Kie. “I asked her if she would exchange all those benefits for the scale to be down 10 pounds. Her answer? No. Non-scale victories are important, if not more important than the number on the scale,” she says. 

How to Beat Scale Obsession

1. Start a Health Journal

Another way to fight scale obsession is to make goals that don’t have anything to do with the scale—and write them down. For example, that might be taking a walk after dinner five nights a week or adding fruit to breakfast. ”Journaling is a powerful tool for tracking your progress. After defining your goal, take a moment to identify potential challenges and outline your plan to overcome them,” says nutrition and food communications expert Jasmin Ilkay, M.P.H., RDN.

2. Keep Track of Non-Scale Wins

While you track your non-weight-related goals in your journal, consider adding some of the weight-loss benefits you’re experiencing along the way. “Rather than chasing a number on the scale, I encourage clients to focus on these wins,” says Katie Schimmelpfenning, RD, a sports nutrition expert and owner of Eat Swim Win. For example:

• Developed new ways to manage emotions without using food
• Improved energy, focus and mood
• Increased body respect and appreciation 
• Eating meals with no distractions, such as screens
• Incorporating more new foods to add variety to meals and snacks 
• Improved strength, fitness, endurance or flexibility 
• Less stress and anxiety around food and body image
• More comfortable bowel movements 
• Increased confidence and mood
• Improved blood sugar, blood pressure or cholesterol

3. Ditch Your Scale or Weigh Less Often

You can find freedom from obsessing over scale numerals whether you choose to toss your scale or keep it. You can also talk to your medical provider about not disclosing your weight to you and avoid looking at the scale during weight checks, or you may ask not to be weighed altogether.

“I tell people to throw away their scale all the time. It can be incredibly freeing to completely remove weight from the equation. If you don't even know how much you weigh, it can be easier to focus on more important ways to measure health, such as how your body feels or your lab results,” says Betz.

If you weigh yourself daily, it may not be easy to stop cold turkey, so a gradual decrease may help. “I have clients that get on the scale one or two times a day. I recommend they start weighing themselves less often by getting on the scale only every other day. After that, we can reassess from there. It’s more important for one to feel good in their skin, have a good mental state and have energy than what the number on the scale says,” says Berger.

The Bottom Line

Should everyone toss their home scales into a fiery pit? Not necessarily. The number can be helpful information. However, it’s important not to hyperfocus on it and instead to concentrate on the outcome you want. Remember that the number on the scale is not an evaluation of your self-worth; it’s simply data.