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Stop Doing This If You’re Trying to Lose Weight

2025-12-13 Education
29.1k
2.5k
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Dr. Eric Berg DC
Dr. Eric Berg DC
14.7m subscribers

Eleven Reasons to Stop Weighing Yourself and Focus on Health Metrics

Stop letting daily weight fluctuations derail your motivation; learn the eleven physiological reasons why the scale lies, and instead focus on accurate fat loss measurements.

Short Summary

  • Discover how water retention, muscle gain, and stress hormones mask true fat loss efforts.
  • Recognize that critical internal fat loss (liver, heart) often goes unrecorded by the scale.
  • Understand that insulin resistance, not mere calories, is the root cause of stubborn weight plateaus.

This guide outlines eleven common variables that cause significant scale fluctuations, often leading to unnecessary frustration and abandonment of healthy routines. It pivots the focus from temporary weight loss to sustainable health improvements, offering superior metrics like waist-to-height ratio and appetite control to track genuine physiological progress.

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Description

Don’t let scale obsession prevent you from getting healthy and losing weight. Non-scale victories often occur before fat loss. Stop weighing yourself constantly and avoid other common weight-loss mistakes that could be hindering your success. Find out why you might want to ditch the scale in this video! For more on weight loss and Hashimoto's, watch these next: https://youtu.be/zy-jEXIxpSo https://youtu.be/4DdvOVv0JMA Don't let sleep interfere with your progress. Find out how to sleep better in these videos: https://youtu.be/F4WjuVbR4Tk https://youtu.be/iseMJEZvC1E 0:00 Introduction: 11 reasons to stop weighing yourself 1:07 Why you shouldn’t weigh yourself 2:58 Hormones and weight loss 8:12 Sleep and weight loss 11:22 Healthy weight-loss tips 16:36 The best weight-loss advice Scale obsession is not helpful for weight loss. The rise in cortisol from scale anxiety alone is enough to stifle your progress! Here are 11 reasons why you shouldn’t weigh yourself: 1. Water weight Some people can lose up to 11 pounds of water weight in just 2 days! Initial water weight loss can cause unrealistic expectations. Most people only lose 1 to 2 pounds per week. 2. Salt Salty foods can cause you to retain fluid, especially if you’re consuming them with sugar. 3. Hormones A woman’s menstrual cycle can often cause weight-loss fluctuations of around 3 to 7 pounds. A rise in cortisol can also prevent weight loss. 4. Location of fat The worst type of fat is visceral fat, which accumulates around the organs. If you don’t see weight loss right away, you could be losing some of the more dangerous types of fat first. 5. Muscle loss or gain Losing muscle isn’t healthy! Your weight may be decreasing, but it could also be accompanied by serious side effects. Similarly, muscle weighs more than fat, so you won’t see weight loss if you’re building muscle. 6. Myxedema This type of fat is often found in people with hypothyroidism and is difficult to eliminate with diet and exercise alone. 7. Poor sleep One week of poor sleep can increase insulin resistance! Poor sleep leads to snacking, increased visceral fat, lower testosterone levels, and higher cortisol and stress levels. 8. Ozempic People lose weight with Ozempic, but typically regain it when they discontinue use. Around 20% to 40% of this weight loss is attributed to muscle loss. 9. Microdamage from exercise Overtraining breaks down your muscles. Edema and swelling can cause your weight to increase after exercise. 10. Medication Medications such as calcium channel blockers can cause weight gain. 11. Constipation Fiber intake and constipation can affect the number on the scale. Stop weighing yourself and focus on these healthy weight-loss tips instead: 1. Waist-to-height ratio 2. Fasting insulin 3. Appetite decreases 4. Tiny amounts of carbs can block fat burning 5. Fix insulin resistance Insulin resistance is the root cause of many chronic diseases. Fixing it is the key to getting healthy and losing weight. Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio: Dr. Berg, age 60, is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the Director of Dr. Berg Nutritionals and author of the best-selling book The Healthy Keto Plan. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media. Follow Me On Social Media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Drberg/ YouTube Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/@UCpWhiwlOPxOmwQu5xyjtLDw Keto Recipes: https://www.youtube.com/@drbergketorecipes Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drericberg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drericberg/ Spotify Podcast: 🎧 https://drbrg.co/DrBerg-Spotify TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drbergofficial X: https://x.com/dr_ericberg Disclaimer: Dr. Eric Berg received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1988. His use of “doctor” or “Dr.” in relation to himself solely refers to that degree. Dr. Berg is a licensed chiropractor in Virginia, California, and Louisiana, but he no longer practices chiropractic in any state and does not see patients, so he can focus on educating people as a full-time activity, yet he maintains an active license. This video is for general informational purposes only. It should not be used to self-diagnose, and it is not a substitute for a medical exam, cure, treatment, diagnosis, prescription, or recommendation. It does not create a doctor-patient relationship between Dr. Berg and you. You should not make any change in your health regimen or diet before first consulting a physician and obtaining a medical exam, diagnosis, and recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Thanks for watching! I hope this explains why you should ditch the scale and focus on getting healthy first. I’ll see you in the next video.

Top Comments (10)

@marycarman1730 2025-12-13

Giving up sugar was the best decision I ever made 2018 within weeks my health was better my brain fog , my skin color and pain was better

375 37 replies
@sarahm3614 2025-12-13

I don't own a scale for those reasons! How my clothes feel is my gauge.

247 3 replies
@DonJohnson-t2b 2025-12-13

Dr Berg's videos helped me understand the keto diet and take control of my health. I was 410lbs and now I'm 204lbs, all thanks to his advice! Keep spreading awareness about keto and its benefits! 💪 So many people's lives are better because of Dr Berg videos.

214 14 replies
@Truesdale22 2025-12-13

I went from 190lbs to 136lbs in 11 months so far on Carnivore and I weigh myself daily to be sure the dial is tilting towards to the left 🤫😎

91 11 replies
@thecoolrich 2025-12-13

i check my weight everyday. the reason is if i’m gaining 2-3 pounds i’ll know asap and fix it instead of waiting

81 6 replies
@lymanmayhew935 2025-12-13

I only weight myself maybe once a year! I don't worry about what the scale says. I go by how my pants fit! 😊 and I've lost 65 lbs in a year!

81 1 replies
@CookChef-oz4bc 2025-12-13

Who else just randomly found Dr Eric Berg videos from doing a Google search and wish more people would do the same?

63 5 replies
@CassieRags 2025-12-15

11:00 “You’re full of…I didn’t tell her what she was full of” 😂😂😂! This was top tier Dr. Berg 😅!

34 2 replies
@Drberg 2026-01-15

Just so you know, my full line of high-quality supplements is available on Amazon — search Dr. Berg Supplements.

11 1 replies
@TumwesigyeJoshua-c6c 2025-12-14

The concept is to "get Healthy then lose weight, not to lose weight to get Healthy", Thanks Dr.Berg for that enlightenment.

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