[wanna b thin]

Okay I have this real bad habit of getting on the scales every morning as I wait for the water to get hot in the shower. Every morning this week it has continued to go up. This morning I was actually 1 lb heavier than I was when I started SB. I can't figure out what is going on. I am on day 3 of Phase II. The first week I lost 3 lbs, the second week I was back up 1 lb, but I had a off day on Saturday (not horrble, but off) Since starting Ph II I've added one piece of fruit each day and oatmeal a couple of monings this week. I really want SB to work, I think I am eating healthier than I did while losing on Weight Watchers, but I know if the scales keep going up I'm going to get even more fustrated and quit. So this morning I left the scales on the bed with a note asking DH to hide them. I'm going to stay off them untill the end of my fourth week, I'm also going to get measured at Curves at the same time, I'm wondering (hoping) that I am losing inches if I'm not losing weight. I have steped up my exercising at Curves and at home since I started SB. Maybe that will explain what is happening, I really am staying on plan with my eating. Sorry I'm getting so long winded here, I think I just needed to vent a little.
Thanks

[GONNABE165]

I'll tell you just like alot of the other ladies around here will say - DO NOT let the scale be your means of measurement for success - it will make you a crazy mad woman I hope it works for you

[missinmysoldier78]

I was also transitioning into PH2 and found I wasnt losing. I realized it was because i added too much too quickly. I decided to watch my carbs and sugars and only add one new thing a week.. I have starting losing again

[Schmoodle]

Ph2 transition can be a little tricky. What fruit are you eating? You may want to try eating it at a different time of day, or with yogurt, or...

The scale will drive you crazier than anything else can. If you are sure you are doing everything right, there are lots of possible explanations about the weight. Are you pre TOM (sorry, Tom)? Do what I do and give it the cold shoulder. Just ignore it until it decides to get with the program. I am on strike right now. I haven't weighed since last Saturday and refuse to weigh until 2/14. It was getting a little attitude with me, and I decided it needed a lesson. So it is shoved back up under the clawfoot tub in the dark with the dust bunnies, and there it will stay until it decides to behave.

[tomandkara]

Check out the thread that ennay stickied in the Weight Loss Support part of the forum. It has some great explanations about why our body weights fluctuate. Keep in mind that you're in this for the long haul. You're clearly not going to cut out fruit and grains from your diet completely for the rest of your life so it's not like one serving a day of fruit and three a week of oatmeal has really made you gain that much. Remember that to gain a pound of fat, you have to eat 3,500 calories above and beyond what your body needs to funtion in a day (usually a little less than 2,000 calories a day). Did you eat 5,500 calories yesterday? Then you can't have gained a pound of fat. It's just not possible.

I was an everyday weigher until the middle of this month. I *thought* it was keeping me on track because I was accountable to the scale every morning for what I ate the day before, and knowing that would keep me honest in my diet plan. HOWEVER, I got so frustrated with seeing the fluctuations that I often thought, "Why am I doing all of this exercise and putting all of this effort into planning and eating quality meals when it's not showing on the scale?!" It made me want to go OFF plan. But then I realized that no matter what the scale read, if I was eating properly and exercising, I knew that was what was good for my body. I had to be doing what was right, regardless of what number dialed up on the scale in the morning. It's a shame but scales are used as an end-all-be-all number when they reflect so much more than just how our diets and exercise regimens are.

I've actually pledged to weigh once a month now. It should show enough of a difference in that amount of time that I'll see SOME loss, despite daily fluctuations. I'm still curious what I weigh, so I had to come up with some kind of plan that would work for me. I have definitely been in a better mood about my diet and exercise since I stopped weighing daily.

Hope that helps!

Kara

[THINBYJUNE]

Sharon, Hang in there There are many of us who were daily weighers that have just recently kicked the habit. I actually put mine under the car I don't drive often in the garage. It's alot of work to get it out and I'm just too lazy. It should work out fine unless I forget it's there and back over it Have you noticed a difference in the way you feel? What about the way your clothes feel?

[missinmysoldier78]

Kara,
you make a good point. I am a daily weigher and it can be quite frustrating.I use the same rationale that you stated.. *thought* it was keeping me on track because I was accountable to the scale every morning for what I ate the day before..but there is a downside! I work my butt off for every lb and somedays it feels like what was all that sweat for? if only i could break this habit lol

[tomandkara]

Try it with me!!! I'm giving mine up for the rest of the month. I am not kidding you when I say I feel SO much better! I felt like I *deserved* a loss after a particularly hard workout or day of staying on plan despite other people around me indulging. Take this for example...Christmastime I made a couple dozen cookies WHILE I WAS ON PHASE 1. Crazy, I know. But I didn't even lick any batter off my finger. Nothing. Didn't take a bite even when Tom was going ON AND ON about how good they were. Next day I get on the scale expecting to see like a ten pound loss or something to reward me for being so very good and I HAD GAINED TWO POUNDS! It was clearly just a normal fluctuation, but I was so depressed about it because I thought I'd definitely see a difference.

Think about it...losing one pound a week is 1/7 of a pound a day. Seeing the same number day after day was getting discouraging for me. I felt like it wasn't moving fast enough. But if I weigh once a month and see a two pound loss, I'll be really happy!

I feel super dumb about it because all of the ladies here kept telling me to quit weighing every day. I think they were sick of hearing me whine. But, seriously, I should've taken their advice sooner. I mean, if it really isn't working for you, you can always GO BACK to weighing every day. It's not like you're throwing the scale in the mulcher or something!

Kara

[wanna b thin]

Thanks for all the encouragement. I got home last night and the scales were no where in sight. It was wierd this morning with nothing to do as I waited for the water to get hot in the shower. But I do feel better about staying on program. I plan on weighing on 2/3, that will be at the end of my second week of phase II. Yeterday I actually ate like I was on phase I, no fruit or oatmeal, so I'll just keep plugging along. Again thanks for the encourging words.

[tomandkara]

Sharon, do you know in your signature line it says, "Belive" in yourself? Just checking...

Glad the scales were hidden! Yay for supportive significant others!!!

Kara

[beachgal]

Sharon, I'm so glad you posted! When you're having a tough time, it's always a good idea to vent here so we can at least commiserate and help you feel less alone! Plus, there's usually at least one super-wise Chickie who can give you good advice.

Regarding the move into Phase 2, please read my account of how I moved into it (and gained, then lost, some weight in the process) and get lots of ideas about how to find the right amount of starches and fruits in the What's Your P2 Combo? thread, okay? It's in the FAQ (or you can click on the link).

Kara, I was fascinated by what you said about the change in weighing! Like you, I feel that weighing everyday keeps me on track, but also like you, I find that I do feel more strongly about those numbers than I'd like to. So my nutritionist has convinced me for the past week or so to stop weighing and let my weigh-ins with him be the only time I hit the scale. I don't see what comes up (it's on a computer facing away from me), and when he asked me last week if he should tell me what I weighed, I said, "No." He agreed. So I have no idea what I weigh!!! A small part of me is concerned that I might be gaining a lot, but another part of me feels relieved. I'm hoping I'll be more conscious of my body and how my clothes fit. On the other hand, I found myself falling into VERY old habits from my WW days the night before my weigh-in...feeling like I had to starve myself for a good weigh-in and that I could then eat like crazy once the weigh-in was over because I'd work it off by the next weigh-in. Oy!!! How do we avoid that kind of thinking? If there's only one weigh-in, it gets so much more importance than the daily ones...

[little chick]

Heres a little scale humour.....

[milkduds38]

Thanks, I agree. I started phrase 2 this week and I use to weigh myself every day as well, and the freaking thing didn't even move. I told myself, "Self", start weighing yourself once a month and do your best to stay committed to the plan,exercise and drink lots of water. I have to keep reminding myself that I didn't gain this weight all at one time & I can't loose it all at one time. Be patient with yourself. Think yourself slimmer & healthier.

[KO]

I'm going to take time off fromo the scale. I have swelling in my legs due to some meds and it's been killing my esteem and desire to stay OP. SO I'm not going to ask what my # is as WI for WW

[tomandkara]

Laurie, I've found myself more committed to staying on plan than when I was weighing daily. Before, when I would "gain" (fluctuation) even though I'd stayed perfectly on plan, I'd get really upset and figure, "What's the point?!" Like in the Christmas cookie episode. At least if I'd had the cookies, I could've explained away the two pounds (even if I really hadn't gained them from cookies!). Now, I'm more even tempered and committed to staying on plan every day. However, it IS really important for me to HAVE a plan. If I was just blindly eating, I don't think I'd trust myself to stay within a necessary calorie range for losing.

Good luck with your scale challenge!

Kara