Scale question...little frustrated?

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-09-2004
Scale question...little frustrated?
6
Sat, 01-27-2007 - 8:03pm

Ok... i joined this board

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-31-2006
Sat, 01-27-2007 - 11:05pm

Sounds like you've made some great progress and given it some real dedication and probably just need some tweaks to get things moving a little quicker, but keep in mind that 1 lb a week is a very healthy weight loss amount, it didn't go on there in a month, it's not coming off in a month.

I find that a food journal works great in order to see what you are really eating and measuring everything really helps as well ... was that really a 1/2 cup of rice or a whole cup? I also work very hard to make sure that I'm eating a balanced diet ... the right amount of fat, protein, carbos, fruits and vegetables and all of that ... partly because it helps with weight loss and mostly because it makes my body feel better even if I'm not loosing weight.

The water helps tremendously, so keep track of that too to make sure you are getting enough ... the 8 cups a day may not be enough. I took a little hydration quiz the other day that said I should get at least 101 oz ... I get on average 120 oz a day now that I keep track. The water war has been fun on this thread!

If you've been inactive up to this point, you could be shifting your body composition around and it won't show directly on the scale at first ... your clothes are fitting looser, maybe keep track of some measurements and use that as part of your measure for success ... honestly, I'm less concerned about the weight number and more concerned with looking better and fitting better in to some nice clothes. My scale does fat % as well as weight and I use that as a guide as well. I've had weeks when the weight has not moved at all, but fat percent is down by a 1/2 percent or better ... and I weigh myself every day so I know that the drop is not a fluke but a trend.

Hope this helps and I'm sure the others on here will have some ideas as well, I really like reading all the thoughts on this board.

Colleen

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-06-2006
Sun, 01-28-2007 - 7:58am

Buffy, you're doing a terrific job!! Cutting off junk food and committing to exercise like that shows some real dedication. Don't give up!!


I would say that you're just changing body composition. After a month, you're clothes are already starting to get looser, and that's a sign of great progress. You can use a belt to "see" how much you've accomplished. Sara posted a while ago about how water is trapped while forming muscles and that gives a false scale indication and it takes people 4 weeks (and sometimes more, depends on the person) to get rid of that effect.


Overall, I think you're doing a great job and the scale has to give you a drop anytime now :)

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2006
Sun, 01-28-2007 - 8:42am

It is frustrating how really easy it is to gain and how really really really hard it is to lose...

If you go on a serious deprivation diet, you can lose a lot faster, but I think unless you make huge lifestyle changes, the quickly lost weight finds you again.

For me, I've viewed this journey as 'changing my life'. Over many years, I got into a lot of bad habits - I thought a bag of chips and some chocolate was a perfectly acceptable dinner...In my head, I walked to work every day, but in reality, I took the subway or a taxi half the time...I 'never' ate breakfast-because the muffin I ate at 10:00 wasn't 'breakfast'...I never had a sandwich for lunch without a little bag of chips and usually a cookie...but I thought those were just little treats I gave myself 'sometimes'. The five-ten pounds I put on each year didn't seem like that much individually, but after a while, I didn't recognize the woman in the mirror-so I stopped looking at her.

I figured it would take me three years to get to my goal weight - and that was almost four years ago...but I made changes really slowly, making sure that I could sustain one thing before I took on something else. The loss has been slow - it was six months before anyone said 'You look like you've lost weight', but at this moment, I feel like I have found a way to live that I can sustain forever. Even when I have tough food days (and yesterday was a nightmarish one), I know that I can get back on plan because my habits are dfferent now. I know the difference between being on plan and off plan, and I work out at the same level of committment as I go to work, take a shower, brush my teeth...

What I am trying to say is - what you are doing will work...I urge everyone to set action based goals - I will exercise this many times this week, I will drink 8 glasses of water today, I will eat fruit for my snacks this week, I will have salad for lunch three days this week...whatever you need/want to change next...and to reward yourself and praise yourself for meeting goals that you can control. The scale is not our friend. Our bodies are unpredictable-holding on to water, buliding dense muscle tissue, whatever-and the number is just one guage of how things are going. I work with a fabulous trainer, and at a point when I was discouraged about 'the number' he said 'I don't care what you weigh-this is about doing the work'. Remembering that really helps me.

You are doing the work, and if you keep doing it, the scale will catch up - and if you stop doing it...magic does not happen, and the nasty lost pounds find their way back.

You can do this!

Best wishes on your journey!
SJ
225-170-135

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Sun, 01-28-2007 - 9:02am
working out as you are builds muscle which is GREAT, but it does mean the scales aren't going to move as much right now. As you build that muscle you are shifting those pounds from fat to muscle and that means that while the number don't go down, your body does change, clothes fit better, etc. That is what I am holding out hope for too but I haven't measured since that first week ini Jan. I am trying to hold off a month, but I have been on 3 different dr scales and they all 4 said I weighed 8 lbs more than my scales said that first week in Jan. SO my point is, not to let those numbers get to you. LIke PP's said, maybe go by how your clothes fit, or measure and track that way too for a while at least cuz it can tell you things a scale can't always. I wish you luck in continuing with your plan despite that darned scale!!

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Angela

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-25-2003
Sun, 01-28-2007 - 12:45pm

Three pounds is great! keep up the good work. your body is adjusting to the new routine. you need to take it one day at a time, keep up eating healthy and exercising. the weight will come off. you are working to achieve a healthy lifestyle change which is a very slow process and you need to be patient with yourself. The scale isn't the only factor, as you said your clothes are loser, that is part of the successful formula.

Most people assume big losses in the beginning, it isn't always the case. we are all individual and lose differently. are you monitoring very carefully what you are eating- how much sodium are you having? are you drinking enough water? are you getting enough fiber? are you watching your portions? so many things go into total loss.

Sue
302/136/160

Sue

 

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-28-2007
Sun, 01-28-2007 - 5:15pm

I feel your pain. I started working out (New Year's resolution) at the beginning of this month. Right now I'm doing Bikram's Yoga (90 min) 5-7x a week. I'm also hitting the gym for 90 min about 5x a week (45 min cardio, 45 min weights). I've been eating lots of grilled chicken breast, brown rice, veggies and trying hard to take in a healthy breakfast. So far the results? A whole whopping 5 pounds (all of which I lost during my first week). I'm feeling, as you are, so discouraged. I can't tell any difference in the way my clothing is fitting, but this work out routine has left me spending much more time in sweat pants and t-shirts. I have noticed other health benefits though. My skin is clearer (and softer). My menstrual cramping this month has gone WAY DOWN. I have lots of energy. I'm feeling over-all great. My weight lifting has improved, I can do standing-bow pose (finally) etc etc. But that darned scale... it refuses to move? Maybe we have broken scales? I know it's only the first month.. but I don't feel skinnier.. and I don't look skinnier. I have 130 pounds to lose, 5 pounds a month is just excruciatingly slow. But I don't know what else to do, other than throw out my scale. Eventually we have to lose weight, right? If we're doing everything right? Eventually...

Good luck! Keep it up! Don't get discouraged! THE SCALE HAS TO MOVE EVENTUALLY (or so I keep telling myself).

eMily