[Tomato]

I am not having the best day today.
When I joined 3FC on Feb 1, I said my weight was 200 lbs. I also said that that was my weight as per my 15 yr old Ikea scale, and that I knew I weighed more since my doctor always tells me I weigh more (but I never wanted to know exactly how much).

Last night, I finally got a new scale. One of those digital sleek things, about $55 (Canadian) so definitely not the cheapest model.
Since February, I have been exercising on my threadmill and I was pretty good at sticking to my every-other-day schedule. I know that I am not pulling any fast speed yet, but I try to cover 3 miles per session. I did not expect to see any significant weight loss yet ..... but I was not expecting the result I got either.
stepped on the scale this morning, and it said 208.8. Ok, I knew the old scale was incorrect, fine with me. But I stepped on the old scale to see if I made any progress, and it said 202 !!! I don't get it. How could I have gained 2 pounds with all the time on the treadmill and ALL THE SNOW SHOVELING that I did between February 1st and now?

I am really frustrated right now; I was beginning to feel a bit better (I was not stuffed into my jeans and I thought I looked "less pregnant" (I am the apple type). While I am not dieting, I have been trying to eat better and make healthier choices .... but instead, I have 2 pounds more. GRRRRRRRRRRR!

Thanks for letting me vent. I really had to today.

[bargoo]

Decide which scale you want to use and ONLY use that one. Weigh the same time every day, preferably first thing in the AM , before food or water and nude. I see that you are exercising but are you dieting, too ?

[PhotoChick]

First of all, quit weighing on 2 scales. That is only going to make you insane and/or depressed. Pick one scale and stick with it.

Secondly, if you read through the threads here you'll find a theme that repeats a whole lot: weight loss is not linear and the scale is not always your friend! You never know why you might have weighted 2 lbs more. Maybe you ate a lot of salty food and you're retaining water. Maybe it's close to your time of month. Maybe you've gained some muscle weight in the last 6 weeks (esp. shovelling snow!!!).

If your clothes are fitting better and you think you're looking better, then don't obsess over what the scale says. For all you know, you'll get on it tomorrow and it'll say 197. Just because the wind is blowing from the east - or something like that.

Seriously. I weigh every morning and over the last week my weight has fluctuated between 167 and 174. You can't let your daily weight fluctuations drive you to despair. You have to look at the overall big picture ... and track weight loss over time.

.

[audreymonroe]

I'm sorry, honey. =( I'm not sure what your final goal weight is, but if it's even 10-20 lbs, it's going to be a tough journey. I would stick with your new scale, it probably is more accurate. Maybe you can set a mini goal, to hit 199? It's only 9 lbs away - I'm sure in a few months you can hit that goal. Don't get too upset - you are still in the same body you had when you thought 200 was accurate. And with exercise and a healthy diet, there is nowhere to go but down. Good luck, and I hope you have a better day.

[Lovely]

First of all, I agree. Stick to just one scale. Your 15 year old one might even be a bit wonky. Not to mention if it is wonky, you may indeed have lost weight but it's just not showing.

You've done a lot of physical activity and that's so fantastic!!!! I bet you're feeling healthier

If I may make a suggestion. I find that exercise alone (even when I was trying to pick healthier things, or things that I thought were healthier anyways) did not do it for me. I had to take at least some control of the amount of food & types of food that I was consuming. You may want to think about writing down what healthier foods you're choosing, even if it's not their calories or anything. Just to take a look and see. Also, it might help you further along down the road if you're feeling stumped, because you can just post to us your daily foods and we all can point out what we see.

Either way, you're in this for the long-haul, so don't let this little stumble stop you from moving around like you are. It's good for your health!

[elisarae]

Originally Posted by bargoo

Decide which scale you want to use and ONLY use that one. Weigh the same time every day, preferably first thing in the AM , before food or water and nude. I see that you are exercising but are you dieting, too ?

Yeah, Im with Bargoo. I think that would be your best bet b/c not every scale is going to be the same. Good Luck hun!

[ashisback]

Muscle weighs more than fat, and it could very well be you are turning your fat into muscle. Trust me I know I went through the same thing. I have been working out for 6 months now, and the weight is finally starting to come off A LOT easier. It will get easier, but you just have to keep going and going, and rejoice when your jeans fit looser, and know that it is working even if the scale says otherwise. My motto is "First the jeans start to fall, then the scale!" I hope that helps ya at least a bit...

[angelfire1]

Yes.Definately stick with one scale & weigh yourself at the same time. I don't weigh myself everyday as it can fluctuate and I start to feel frustrated. I weigh myself once a week. Usually in the morning.

[Hat Trick]

Ah Tomato, I so know how you feel. I was a beotching and a moaning not 2 weeks ago about the blasted scale not moving, nor the blasted tape measure, regardless of the exercise I was doing or the calorie I was counting. I stuck with it even though my mind was revolting and urging me to run for the Dorito bag. Something finally clicked and the scale dropped and the tape measure finally showed a reduction. I didn't do anything differently than I had been doing, my body just decided when it would drop the wt. (BTW, I didn't care for it's timeline! )

I bet there isn't one single person on here who hasn't experienced this. No, wt loss is not linear and sometimes it just defies logic if you ask me. You did say that you felt like you weren't stuffed into your jeans and that you felt better. Something is happening or you wouldn't feel this way. Don't quit -- you are on the right track!!

I'm w/Faerie -- exercise alone will not really do much for wt loss. Unfortunately, diet is the bigger factor in all this. Smalls changes every week add up to big changes over the course of time. My biggest challenge continues to be 'quality over quantity'. I LIKE quantity. I don't want 'a single serving size', I want the whole d@mn bag!! But I also don't want this body so . . . something had to change.

Try tracking your cals into Fitday for a week or two to get an idea of where you are right now. Here's a link to a calorie calculator sight that gives an idea of how many cals you need to lose wt based on current wt, ht, age, exercise amt. http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Stick with it and stick around!

[maryea]

Scales can drive you nuts if you let them. As I posted in another thread somewhere we recently had to buy another scale and I was so discouraged to see the larger number!! But had to admit it agrees more with my doctor's scale.
But I got so discouraged I just quit trying or a while.

[yoyonomoreinvegas]

ditto, ditto, and ditto. And you really need to take a look at what kind of food you are eating as well as making sure you are getting enough calories. I was killing myself on the treadmill and eating nothing but 1/2 a pork chop a day but was actually gaining weight (the doctor I had at the time didn't believe me either ) so I gave up; stopped using the treadmill, and went back to eating fast and processed convenience foods (and gallons of diet drinks) and kept right on gaining at exactly the same rate. Finally got a grip and switched both the type of exercise I was doing and the type of food I was eating. Now it seems like I'm eating a ton of food everyday but it's good healthy food and the pounds are actually ticking off like clockwork.

Don't despair, Once you take a little time to analyze what your doing that isn't working for you, you'll be able to make a few changes to something that does.

[2old2quit]

Tomato - been there - done that - felt the same way.

We are here to help you and everyone else. I always ask for help too.

1 scale - same time - every day if you want - less if you want.

Change things up a bit - treadmills are great - go longer, then shorter distances to keep your body questioning what it is you are doing. Don't get stuck in a rut!

You will succeed - Have faith and keep working at it!

[JayEll]

Hey Tomato,

Sorry you're not having a good day. It's often hard to face "reality," and there's nothing like a new scale sometimes to be a real downer.

That said, even with all the snow shoveling and walking, you probably have gained weight, and not the muscle kind. Women don't gain muscle mass as quickly as men do, and you'd have to be really working at body building to gain 2 pounds of muscle in a month.

My own experience is that trying to "eat healthy" doesn't translate into weight loss automatically, even with exercise. I tried just increasing my exercise, and I became quite physically fit--but I was still overweight, or should I say, obese. Yes, I was obese. It's likely that you were unconsciously eating more because you had been shoveling snow, walking on the treadmill, etc.

Food intake has to be restricted, in my opinion, for successful weight loss. Those of us who are overweight/obese have clearly been eating more than we burn for some time now. So to lose weight, at the very least we need some way of tracking food. People may use Weight Watchers points, or calorie counting, or portion control--SOME method of restricting food, especially the high calorie foods.

And then, exercise helps by increasing metabolism--but it doesn't necessarily burn a lot of calories. Shoveling snow for 30 minutes will burn maybe 150 calories, and that's about 1/3 a cup of some granola cereals without the milk.

I hate to sound like even more of a downer--so I want you to know that you can do this! You just need to figure out a way that fits with your daily life, as so many 3FC members have done! Look around--see what the winners are doing. Don't give up!

Jay

[meowee]

Never lose sight of the fact that you are definitely more than just a number on some old scale . . . that number is just one of many guidelines you can use while on this journey -- take some measurements and compare those from time to time as well; sit down and really think about how you feel (health-wise) since starting your journey.

Just keep doing the very best you can in the good old "eat less; move more" routines and eventually your hard work will pay off . . .

[Tomato]

Dear chicks,

Thank you all very much for your support.
I just want to clarify that I do not plan on using two scales; I only stepped on the old one to check if there was any weight reduction (as I only had the reading from that one to compare to). The old scale is going to the "Yard Sale" pile and never to be used again.

Hat Trick - I am not going anywhere! I love this forum and I am here stay even when I, three years from now, am back to my skinny jeans. (Actually, you would not believe it but some 13 yrs ago I wore a size 8 cigarette pants from Gap). LOL Thanks for the link.

Meowee - I so love the kitty, but you already know that.

Actually, my not-so-good day suddenly turned better when I found out at work that I am getting a 8% salary increase.
And I will be back on the treadmill tomorrow (tonight, I have a little friends' get-together to go to).
Hugs to you all, from still a very round-ish Tomato.