We’re about to flip into February.
And every year, like clockwork, this is when people start falling out with the scales.
January feels kind.
You’ve just come out of Christmas.
More food.
More carbs.
More salt.
Less movement.
Later nights.
Your body is holding water.
There’s more food sitting in the gut.
Glycogen is topped up.
You tidy things up.
You train a bit more.
You move more.
You stop eating like it’s still December.
The scales drop quickly.
That early drop gives people confidence.
It feels like proof that everything is working.
Then February arrives and the brakes go on.
The scales slow.
Or stop.
Or jump about for no obvious reason.
And suddenly people start doubting a plan they were buzzing about two weeks earlier.
I hear it every year.
“I’m doing everything right and nothing’s happening.”
“Maybe I need to change something.”
“Surely it shouldn’t stall this fast.”
Let’s be honest about what’s really going on.
A good chunk of that early January drop was never fat.
Some of it was, yes.
But a lot of it was water coming off once carbs, salt and stress dropped back down.
That phase is easy.
It always is.
The harder bit comes after.
Real fat loss doesn’t show up neatly on the scales every week.
It tends to move in steps.
You can be losing fat for two or three weeks while the scales barely budge.
Then one morning it drops out of nowhere.
Not because you suddenly cracked the code that week.
Because you stayed boring long enough.
This is where most people shoot themselves in the foot.
They see a flat scale for 10 to 14 days and assume something is broken.
So they cut food harder.
Add extra cardio.
Start fiddling.
Start researching fat jabs.
Or they just get fed up and drift because it feels like effort with no payoff.
That’s why the first couple of months matter so much.
Not because of how much weight you lose.
But because of what you prove to yourself when progress goes quiet.
Early on, the win is not excitement.
The win is showing up when nothing dramatic is happening.
You train even when the session feels bang average.
No buzz.
No pump.
You just get it done.
You eat roughly the same meals most days so you’re not making food decisions from scratch every time.
You stop having little debates with yourself at night about starting again tomorrow.
You get used to feeling a bit hungry without treating it like an emergency.
You stop using weekends as a chance to undo the week.
If your weight drops during this phase, great.
If it doesn’t, that’s fine too.
Because what you’re actually building here is trust.
Trust that you can stick to a plan when motivation dips.
Trust that you don’t need perfect conditions.
Trust that boredom won’t derail you.
Trust that progress doesn’t have to shout to be real.
That trust is what carries you through the later stages, when fat loss slows and discipline actually counts.
A quick word on the scales, because this trips people up.
If weighing once a week works for you, do that.
Same day.
Same time.
First thing.
Then move on with your week.
If weekly weigh ins stress you out, do what I do.
Weigh daily under the same conditions and look at the trend, not the number that flashes up that morning.
Better still, take a weekly average of those seven weigh ins and judge progress off that instead.
What doesn’t work is reacting to every spike like it means something about you.
Water moves.
Stress shows up on the scales.
Poor sleep can add weight overnight.
None of that means the plan has stopped working.
So as February rolls in, here’s the straight takeaway.
Judge your progress by your actions, not the scales.
Did you train on the days you said you would?
Did you keep meals simple and repeatable?
Did you hit your steps even when it was cold and dark?
Did you stick to the plan when it felt boring?
Do that properly and fat loss becomes dull but predictable.
Skip this part and you’ll spend the year restarting, telling yourself it should be easier than it is.
February isn’t the problem.
This is just the part where patience replaces excitement.
-Ryan
P.S
If you’re reading this thinking, that’s me!
You’re not broken and you’re not stupid.
You’re just fed up.
Fed up of the scales messing with your head.
Fed up of doing “all the right things” for a few weeks, seeing nothing, then binning it.
Fed up of Googling, second guessing, cutting harder, adding more cardio, then ending up back where you started.
Fed up of not knowing who to listen to anymore.
You don’t need more information.
You’ve probably got plenty of that already.
What you’ve never had is a clear plan, a calm voice when the scales stall, and someone stopping you from panicking and blowing it all up.
That’s what this is really about.
Not hacks.
Not quick fixes.
Not pretending fat loss is linear.
Just structure, support, and someone in your corner saying: keep doing this, ignore that, you’re actually on track.
If you’re done going round in circles and want a proper plan that works in real life, hit the link below and put your details in.
No pressure.
No hard sell.
Just a conversation that might finally stop this being the year you restart again.