Apparently, weight loss doesn't give a hang about logical numbers
I apologize in advance if some of my fretting is common knowledge to others.
That being said....do you ever feel like the scale should be reporting 3 pound losses every week just by how big of a change you've made??
I'm only 9 weeks into my third (and so help me god, my final) attempt at Weight Watchers. I've spent 12 years getting fatter by the year and so now all my little victories can get clouded sometimes by extreme fear of failure, and frustration.
I started another thread in this section today called Then vs Now. One of the big things I've cut wayyyyy back on is the number of calories I consume a week in coffee (bc I hate it black). But there's other major changes I've made, so many! IF I were to really calculate and add them up (which I kinda have, I've got a teeny obsession with logic and numbers) my lordy I should be dropping 3 pounds a week at least! No more chips, ice cream soup is a rare treat, I've cut way back on the dairy fats in my cooking, I don't eat fast food anymore much and when I do it's grilled soft tacos, or roast beef sandwiches; no more grilled cream cheese sandwiches and I've cut way back on my cheese in general. In other words, man have I changed.
So why do I have to fight to keep the scale going down? How is it that all those calories and bad things gone can sometimes only give me a 1 pound loss? Isn't it Diet 101 that 3500 calories = 1 pound, and you need to cut out 3500 calories to lose 1 pound a week?
I used to think it was simple basic math but I guess it's not.
So please, for those who are more knowledgeable and educated about how the body works....can you tell me why my logic, at least, has failed me?
(and yes, I know that 1 pound a week is healthy and 4 pounds a week is not healthy but for the sake of my math and numbers thats where my head is at)
I'm proud of the changes I've made thus far. I am. But this post is where my head goes on those weeks when the scale is acting like a snotty teenager.
I'm not as knowledgeable about weight loss as some of the masters on this site, but I'll tell you that I used to think the same thing more than a year ago.
When I gave up overeating pasta, fast food and a lot of sweets, my thinking was that I would lose weight judging simply by what I gave up. "How is it," I thought, "that I can give up all that food and not lose weight? I'm not eating half of what I used to eat." And when the scale did not move, I was just so aggravated at the whole weight loss thing.
What I now realize is that I had probably moved into maintenance mode but not into weight loss mode. My weight was staying stubbornly set at my starting point (anywhere from 172 to 180, depending on the starting date).
After reading up on weight loss, nutrition and exercise, I finally realized that I had to do MUCH MORE than just half my food intake. I had to eat good, nutritious low-calorie food and yes, I had to exercise and pump up the movement of my body. I was not doing enough to lose weight consistently.
At first, it seemed downright insulting and just plain too darn high a price to pay to lose weight. But I persevered, learning a lot on 3FC, and little by little, the scales dropped. Then I hit a plateau, and I had to once more fine tune my eating and move more. It is working for me, but since I am down to the final 10 or so pounds, it is a very slow process. But it is so worth it. I love and appreciate every pound that gets me closer to goal.
I think if you honestly reevaluate your eating and moving and learn as much as you can about the whole proces, you will begin to see the results you want.
Yeah I have learned a lot since the beginning about how fats and proteins and carbs work.
But I'm constantly amazed now at how much I ate, and how badly I ate. I still crave some of those really bad things, though, and it kinda pains me now and then to read the nutritional content and calculate the points and know that even if I were to plan for it and make room for it, it might bite me in the butt.
Oh well and tough noogies, right? Can't stay this fat.
It's very helpful to me and whenever I get down about how much I "should" be losing, this article makes me think that I AM losing as much as I "should" be, it's just my efforts have been temperarily masked.
I track calories in and calories out - and lemme tell ya - my scale doesn't give a FIG about the "simple math" of 3500kcal = one pound.
Near as I can figure out, the estimate of what I burn is off on the websites. Body fat percentage plays a huge roll in how many calories I burn. Fat does not burn fat like muscle does.
Hang in there! Keep exercising - and consider some squats and lunges to build those big 'ol calorie burning quad and glute muscles in your legs!
Just because you cut out one naughty, for example sake, let's say a meal at McDonalds at 600 calories, doesn't mean you aren't LACKING those 600 calories... because you ate something else. Let's say a turkey sandwich and a side of fruit, for a total of 350 calories.
You've only "netted" a loss of 250 calories.
A calorie is a calorie. Some are accompanied by nutrients and vitamins, others are empty. Eventually, if not used (exercise, motion), they will turn into fat storage.
I'd worry more about calories OUT (exercise) vs. calories IN. Worry more about the QUALITY of your caloric intake, not the fact that it was a 500 calorie binge. A 500 calorie "binge" of a homemade fruit smoothie with veggies blended-in-hiding (tons of vitamins and nutrients) is a different 500 calorie BINGE of a deep fried twinkie which has 0% nutritional value (no vitamins, nutrients).
You need calories to exercise, but only eat the calories necessary to get you through the day with your workouts. Be content/full by the end of the day, but not stuffed and lethargic.
I'm also factoring in the food i've dropped and not replaced, but you know my point.
I'm not able to really workout much yet. I mean, I'm doing short moderate-intensity walks but it's not like I'm going to a gym and doing cardio or weights yet. Even when I will be though it's still going to be hard for me to "eat enough" as I still am batting the battle between eating enough, keeping myself satisfied, and the fear of overeating to the point of not losing.
I'm also factoring in the food i've dropped and not replaced, but you know my point.
I'm not able to really workout much yet. I mean, I'm doing short moderate-intensity walks but it's not like I'm going to a gym and doing cardio or weights yet. Even when I will be though it's still going to be hard for me to "eat enough" as I still am batting the battle between eating enough, keeping myself satisfied, and the fear of overeating to the point of not losing.
Just listen to your body. Really listen. Feel the grumbles in your tummy and that's when you eat. But, even if you don't "feel" hungry early in the morning, eat SOMETHING within an hour of waking up.
Apparently, weight loss doesn't give a hang about logical numbers
