[LadyAnna]

Hello! My name is De Anna and I am 19 years old. In January 2005 I weighed 260 pounds. Since then I have lost 80 pounds, I now weigh, or did? 179, which I am so proud of. My goal weight is to weigh 150. I am so depressed right now. About a month ago I had a doctors visit where I was weighed and the scale said that I weighed 179. I was weighed in 3 different doctors offices and all of the scales said the same thing. Well, my old scale broke and I got a new one. This scale says that I weigh 190. I am almost positive that this scale is wrong because some friends keep getting on the scale as well and their weigh comes up inaccurate. However, seeing that number has depressed me so much. As a result I am more motivated than ever to drop the weight. I am in college so the past few months I have been slacking on my exercise. Well, now I am taking waltzing/ salsa classes every Tuesday and Thursday for 60 minutes. I am also walking for 30 minutes on Monday's and Wednesdays. I am also focusing on eating three meals and two snacks a day. Drinking a lot of water and either having two cups of powerade or tea a day. What do you all think of my plan?

[fatburner77]

Hey De Anna - is your new scale digital? If so, have you checked to make sure it's calibrated or "zeroed out"? There's usually a little dial on the rear of the scale that you must rotate to ensure the starting reading is zero pounds, as opposed to "-2" (2 pounds fewer than actuality), "1" (one pound greater than actuality), etc. When you move the scale to wash the floor or whatnot, you might inadvertently rotate this dial, so always ensure you're at zero by applying a slight pressure to the scale prior to stepping on. The digits will light up and should read "000." Then, proceed to weigh. Perhaps this is the issue, especially if your pals' weights are reading exactly the same erroneous amount above their suspected weight (e.g., Friend A weighs 160 but it's reading 171, and Friend B weighs 155 and it's reading 166 -- explaining the 11 pound discrepancy between your doctor's office reading and the new scale reading).

[LadyAnna]

hi fatburner77- i do not have a digital scale and yes it is reading my friends weights wrong. this scale is new and i did set it to 0. the only reason i can think of for this sudden weight gain is that it is water weight, because i have been drinking so much water lately, muscle, i have been weight training, or i'm bloated. i just hate seeing the scale go up even if it is not accurate.

[fatburner77]

Oh, blech -- I'm sorry you're seeing that gain. It can be so very disappointing to see that stupid number on the scale. I started my weight loss journey by incorporating cardio (running) and weight training into my life 6 or 7 days per week, and limiting my caloric intake to about 1400. Well, I had gone from an essentially sedentary lifestyle to one on which I was getting a decent amount of caloric burn, and not eating fast food, etc., but it took me -- no joke -- 5 MONTHS to lose 5 pounds!! It was maddening, although it turned out I was putting on muscle mass.
How outstanding that you've dropped 80 pounds thus far!! That is simply wonderful. What you might find is that you have to work harder now to lose weight; your body is becoming efficient and acclimated to exercise, as mine has, and you may have to play with your caloric intake as well. I like that you're doing different/interesting activities for your exercise! That's the best way to keep things fresh and burn calories sneakily. Plus, you'll be one of the few young people who can actually dance.
Jessica

[tomandkara]

Hi De Anna! Sounds like you have a good plan going. Watch that you don't drink too much of the powerade because it does have calories, right? Water is best for hydration. Your salsa class sounds like so much fun! I'm jealous, my husband would never take a dance class...

Welcome to the forum!

Kara