Please explain to me (vent)

N

navywifey

Cathlete
I'm very motivated to lose the weight, eat right, and work out. I cut out a lot of sugar and junk from my diet and focusing on all the good stuff...whole grains, fruits, veggies, lean proteins, high fiber. I really just started my committment a few weeks ago and I had 2 good weeks in a row loosing 3-4 lbs. I've been feeling a whole lot better also.

I've always been a believer that one "bad" meal does not break one's efforts. However, I've been noticing that after one bad meal, of which I've maybe had 2 in the past 3 weeks, the scale registers a 2 lb. weight gain. If I eat "bad" it's usually just because I had an extra long day and didn't have time to plan or I'm getting home late and I need something quick to eat. But hardly the 3500 calories needed to gain a pound. Ok, so maybe it's just water weight. Then why does it take the whole next week to come off. If this is the way it's going to be I'll be losing and gaining the same 2 or 3 pounds over and over again, over one meal. And I do keep a journal and keep track of what I'm eating, so I know I'm not going over that much. If anything, I should just not lose, but to gain! It just doesn't make sense.
 
I'll probably get flamed for suggesting this, but what the hell:

Continue to eat healthfully, continue to workout with an eye toward consistency AND gradual manageable increases in intensity of both your cardio and your strength workouts . . . and screw the scale.

The scale does not tell you what you have lost or gained; it doesn't distinguish between fat mass, lean mass, internal organs, skin, bone, blood, fluids, waste matter, or anything. And as long as it does not make those distinctions, the numbers are IMHO are of very little value.

Please refer back to paragraph #2.

A-Jock
 
I agree completey with A-jock. I am 5'3" and I weigh too much for my height. But I will put my fitness level up against anybody who is supposedly at the "ideal" weight for their height. There are so many people who are at the "correct" weight who can hardly walk up a flight of stairs or two without gasping for breath, can't touch their toes, or carry a couple jugs of milk to the front of the grocery store.

Keep doing what you're doing, and over the long haul, I think you will see the results you want.

I'm sorry that I'm not very helpful, but A-jock said everything perfectly, and I can only add my absolute agreement!

Susan L.G.
 
No flaming from here. I totally agree. Free yourself from the scales. Give it up. All it causes you is stress and frustration.

If you are doing everything right, then you are improving your health and THAT is to be celebrated. Keep the focus on your priority: IMPROVED HEALTH, increased fitness. In a real, true sense of what matters in this life, whether you weigh a pound more or pound less is a worthless preoccupation. Does it alter who you are? Does it alter how others see you? Does it alter your worth to thpose who love and admire you? Does it alter your social position and contribution to the community in which you live? Will others respect and love you less? Not a bit of it.

You are wonderful you, whatever the ridiculous scales say. They are so arbitrary, so abstract as Annette says: throw them out.

Free your mind to focus on who you really are and what you want out of life.

In friendship,

Clare :)
 
Must say it...

A-jock...as always, you are right on the money.

I always love your insightful posts, your mish-mosh suggestions (insane though some may be) and your consistently inspirational tone (matched only by the perpetually effervescent DebbieH)

Just wanted to say that I appreciate your contribution to the awesome-ness of The Forum.

Keep 'em coming!
 
Nothing anybody said is flame worthy! Yes, I am a little guilty of getting on the scale too much. While logically I understand about muscle mass vs. fat etc. it's hard not to see the scale move sometimes when you have a good 40 lbs of weight to lose and you know you aren't going to gain 40 lbs of muscle. Anyway, I'm going to have DH hide that scale from me. You all are right, it shouldn't matter as long as you are healthy.
 
Ditto.

Do NOT get on the scale- its the worst motivator out there. If you're feeling good about your body and get on the scale and its a few pounds heavier, should that diminish your feelings about your body?

I've actually gained 5 lbs since I've been working out more intensly with heavy weights and had to do a double take. I refuse to get on anymore and invite you and everyone else to do the same. A-Jock could not be more correct- the old fashioned numbers of the scale are no longer how we train our bodies, and the scale doesn't discriminate between muscle, fat, water, etc.

Go by how you feel and how clothes fit, not by a number you think you need to reach. HTH :) ...
 
Hi, Wayne!

I'm "legally bald" due to a bout with alopecia (a hair loss condition caused by a glitch in the autoimmune system) that landed a little over a year ago, causing me to lose hair growth function over about 85-90% of my scalp.

Please don't ask me what it takes to be "IL-legally Bald". I'm not a lawyer.

A-Jock
 
Thank you!

Thanks for the compliment. Being compared to AJ??? Woo-Hooo! I looked up effervescent and wasn't too sure of the compliment: To emit small bubbles of gas! (such as a carbonated drink.) Then, I read on: To be lively or vivacious. I'll take the second description!!! Hee-Hee! Thank you! I love this forum too.
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
I would do an experiment & eat well for the entire week every week for one month to see if the weight will come off continuously. It depends on what your bad meal was & how much of a portion it was as well as how much sodium it contained. You'd be surprised just how much damage that ONE bad meal can do. HTH, Kathy
 
I definitely agree with everything everyone has said here. I weigh myself once a week on my scale. However, my scale also gives me a bodyfat percentage. So I take both numbers into consideration, the bodyfat and the weight. Even if the weight goes up slightly (.5 - 1lb) but my bodyfat has gone down 1%-2%, then I know I've done well and am still going in the right direction. I'm putting on muscle while decreasing bodyfat. As long as I can keep doing that, it's all good!

Sanchia
 
RE: Thank you!

Hi Debbie!

Sometimes depending on the 'bad' meal, I can be somewhat effervescent myself LOL

~kandy
sport-smiley-003.gif
 
RE: Thank you!

DebbieH is effervescent, emitting small bubbles of gas -

The A-Jock is effluviescent, emitting large bubbles of gas on a regular basis, much to her DH's chagrin.

Thanks for your kind words, LetsWork!

And while I'm on a roll here, NaveyWifey - "good" and "bad" foods mentality can also be counterproductive. There may be some foods that one should limit consumption of (usually the really, REALLY tasty ones), but don't put 'em in the context of being "bad". Food consumption should not be considered an occasion of sin.

A-Jock
 
The same thing happens to me. One bad day can wipe out the whole week! Don't know why, I just try to be extra good and drink alot the next day.
 
Now that we've trashed your scale (which I can't do), I do have a piece of equipment that is useful. A tape measure. A monthly measuring will provide you with feedback. If you just hide your scale instead of trashing it, a monthly weigh-in will give you a better picture of your progress than constant weigh-ins.

The home body fat scales are unreliable but I guess if you use it consistently, you'd see a trend.

How your clothes fit is another good measure of your fitness progress too.

Debra
 
hey everyone! I've gone the whole week without getting on the scale and what a relief! I've had great workouts, pretty good eating and good rest.

The emotional relief has been almost palatable!

What was that old song by En Vogue? Free your mind, the rest will follow.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Danna
 
My scale is so stupid - it's a Tanita and it also measures body fat percentage.

BUT, the directions say, if you follow a "healthy lifestyle", which they define as exercising more than 4 times per week at a moderate level, the body fat measurement will not be accurate, as this BF% feature is not meant for people who follow a healthy lifestyle. NOOOO, THAT feature is on the most expensive Tanita scale they make.

So in other words, the body fat % feature is only for those people who don't exercise.

Great!

Susan L.G.
 
YEP!! Agree with all!!! The scale is crap. Throw it away. Or at least hide it in the back of a closet somewhere. The "weight" it registers is affected by so many things, there's no way you can know what it's measuring at any given hour of any given day. Water weight, hormones, muscle, fat, the atmosphere. I'm not kidding. I was on Weight Watchers for six months last year and while I obviously was a slave to that darn little machine with the digital battery in my bathroom, I also learned a very valuable lesson. I learned I don't WANT to be a slave to a silly little machine with a digital battery in my bathroom, and as long as I eat healthy and am honest about what I'm putting in my mouth, I will achieve healthy results.

I can't really add anything here other than to reiterate what the rest of the good folks on here have suggested. Keep doing what you're doing, keep working out, and pay attention instead to how your clothes fit, how you FEEL, and how your body is reacting to your healthy habits! I lost six whole sizes in six months by eating healthy and working out. The actual weight meant nothing in the end. It was going from size 18 to size 6 that had the most impact on me. The scale couldn't have told me that. The clothes did.

Best of luck to you, and hang in there!! You ARE doing it!!

Carol
:)
 
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