ajlee33 "1/4 - 225.4. When will I see a loss"
That sorta question comes up very frequently. The answer is not simple nor easy to answer nor the same for everyone. I am gonna take a shot at it though.
But the simplistic answer is, it will show up when it shows up. And that is only
IF...
you are taking in less calories than is required to maintain your current weight (and this also takes into acccount the amount of energy/calories expended for any exercise plus what the individuals body requires just to be, to live.
This is different per person and and changes as the individual puts on more muscle mass and/or loses body fat.
And... will not show on the scales until the body is ready to let it show.
There are multiple variables which change the time of when it shows in the scales. For one, the body does not like to change size, much more so on some than others. For many, the fat cells which have had fat removed to supply the muscles with energy will place water in them to maintain the current size. An increase in weight can show up although there is a loss of fat.
Exercise does several things, all which are very beneficial to weight loss but can also help mask fat loss at the same time. For one, muscle weighs more than fat. When you perform exercise in excess of your normal amount you will both burn more calories/fat plus cause the body to build/add more muscle to help it with future exercise of the same. Your body will decrease in size but may gain in weight due to the muscle increase and "tone" the body.
Exercising different muscle groups will build muscle in different areas accelerating this growth/addition of muscle. This will result in more weight but less mass and causes things to happen like clothing getting baggy and trips to the clothing stores.
Also, but much less noticeable, the bone structure will get denser in those areas to provide the strength needed to prevent bone fracture. And of course this is more weight, but less mass.
Plus, when first exercising muscles which have not been exercised they will get sore and surround themselves with liquid adding temporary weight. This does not last long, but shows a short term gain on the scales. So you have liquids collecting in the fat cells and more muscle weight and liquid around any sore muscle groups.
Taking in sodium causes the body to retain more water, thus scale weight. Cutting back on salt/sodium helps fix that, plus drinking more water to help flush it out. Adding lime or lemon to the water also helps flush it out.
For the liquid in the fat cells, the best way to get the liquid out of the cells is by doing extended (time wise) exercise of a rate in which one breathes heavy and perspires a lot, or in other words strenuous exercise. The body will be in a stressed type of condition and take immediate measures to relieve that stress. Giving up the excess liquid being the first thing the body will do in order to reduce the weight the body has to carry, making further exercise easier for the body.
I speak of the body as if it makes conscience decisions like our minds do, but that of course is not the case. The body RE-ACTS to stimuli, it does not take initiative action. It is up to us to provide the stimuli to produce the effects one wants. There is another way of getting the body to give up some of that liquid, which is diuretic action (taking in ascorbic acids such as in lime or lemon juice, or taking vitamin c or OTC diuretics), taking in less salt, or flushing out the salt. (drinking more water) Both of these can be dangerous to ones health if overdone. And the body will quit reacting to the stimuli of diuretics to quite a degree in short time. These are not recommended actions. The best way of ridding the excess liquids with no harm is strenuous exercise. The next best way is time. In time it will leave the body.
But, as first stated, if one does not have that shortfall of calories there will be no weight loss.
For a successful weight loss one must have some sort of a plan and stick with it to the extent required for weight loss.
In the news today, there is a story of a high school teacher who did a weight loss project with some of his students. For 90 days the students picked out the teachers meals for the day. The catchy part was it was all bought from McDonald's. The meals included (overall) the entire menu of Mc, including Big
Macs, shakes, fries and soft drinks. But they kept the diet limited to 2000 calories per day. Plus the teacher (a science teacher) exercised daily. His loss over the 90 days was 37 lbs, that is over 12 lbs a month on McDonald's food. Obviously, the exercise played a huge part of his weight loss. My own calories are far below that 2000, but I am not doing enough exercise to make a big a fast weight reduction.
And there are plans like Oprah, who has gone from obese to skinny and back several times. She cannot make it stick.
And there is the plan like those women in the news in New York yesterday have. Their plan was to take a sledge hammer to their scales and say to **** with it, I am gonna be what I am, smashed the scales and that is it.
(wonder how many of them change their minds this year, buy new scales and start again 50 lbs heavier than they are now)
We are what and where we are now due to the choices we have made. We will be what we are next week or month or year due to the choices we make now and tomorrow and the tomorrows that come.
It is much more the amount of exercise and how much we eat than what we eat that determines our body size, and the what we eat determines a large amount of how our health is.
Ut oh, I see someone else wants to use this soapbox, I will climb down and let them have it
And I will try to not get back on it for a few weeks
B F R
check in
Wow, that's a big goal! 
And since I'm a retired school teacher, I will substitute for Ms. Boley here and say 
the reason you lowered your goal number was to make it a feasible goal to reach. You defeat that purpose by veering off plan, so back to plan, Mister! I'm watching you! 
:
I've heard IP is a good plan and I think sticking to plan is a great goal! 
That's a big goal for 1 month, but I hope you do it! 
Way to go on making it to your NYE weight! Keep it going!
in Oregon?
