Don't Just Focus On the Scale!!!
 

A big issue with weight loss journeys is too much time and focus can be placed on the amount of lbs lost. Not that shedding lbs is a bad thing. It becomes an issue if you start see a less than desired amount of weight loss... That can cause you to be discouraged, builds doubt, and can potentially cause a rise in stress levels, making it even harder to lose weight and eventually, give up.

With that, I say this. Don't only have lbs lost as your goals! Every mini gain counts! If you're energy levels increase, you can walk and run further than you could without feeling like collapsing a week ago, your libido increases, you have more stamina in the bedroom, your mood improves, your sleep improves etc....those are GREAT gains! Write goals like that down, so even if you're not "seeing" the results, you're feeling them. Let that be the reason you stay motivated, not just the scale. Your body needs time to become more efficient. It needs time to undo all the bad that has been done to it over the years, months. It may not be for over a month until you start actually seeing the results. You will likely feel them before you see them.

If you look at my attachment, it shows a picture of two hearts, one with visceral fat, the other without. The visceral fat is the first to get burned! And it's not just around the heart, it's around all your organs. So that's why it's even more important not to only focus on appearance and how you look, because all the fat you don't see will need to be burned first.

Another thing to keep in mind is, it's up to your body what fat is lost first. There's all these claims that there are exercises that will burn stomach fat quickly. The truth is, wherever fat was formed LAST, will be FIRST to go. So example, the attachment, fat stored around organs likely formed last, so they will be first to go. If fat formed in your stomach first, it will be last go. It's not up to you, nor your trainer.


I know this is long but it's important because a big excuse for giving up is because people "don't see the results" so they feel it's not working. Think about the little stuff, they will lead to big results. Don't only aspire to have abs or an *** like Serena. Aspire to be the best version of yourself, you'll be much happier and healthier.

I always tell myself, muscle weighs more than fat! Unless you have a BMI scale haha

Losing it over time
 

Thank you for repeating an important message! In the long run, health is measured in many more ways than numbers on a scale. I have always advocated clothing comfort and how easily you run out of breath. I have lost 30 pounds over two years. I'm ultimately happy with this as the alternative is going the other way!! 35 pounds to go...hoping to reach my goal in 18 months. Just never give up everyone!

so true

Even though the original post is old and the poster might not be around anymore, I also want to jump in and affirm this important message. The scale is certainly not everything. I recently switched from low carb (20 grams of carbs per day) to low calorie (50-60 grams of carbs per day). And even though that's relatively still low carb, it's been a journey. As soon as I started eating steel cut oats in the morning, weight sky rocketed. Even though lunch/supper has only carbs from vegetables. I'm trying not to step on the scale for 2-3 weeks, just so I don't get upset. And today I went for my usual walk at lunch break and enjoyed feeling my spring pants really loose and roomy. Those NSV non-scale victories are crucial on our journey. Thanks for the post.

absolutely true!

I most definitely agree with everything that you have said! During my first month I didn't notice much weight loss on the scale as matter of fact I think I may have loss about 5 to 6 lbs if that! But what I did notice was my physical activity level progression! My endurance, stamina and energy level had increased soooooooo much prior to my first day starting! I remember when I first started, I couldn't do 2 mins of playing a rhythm boxing game let alone a total of 15 mins and now, 8 1/2 weeks later, I can do a little over 25 mins continuously without stopping for water etc. and I can do a total of 35 to 45 mins before tiring out. I rarely check the scale now but when I got on this morning I was down from 225.6 to 209.8 within 8 1/2 weeks! My weight is just now starting to fall off and it's 8 1/2 weeks later.. So just imagine if I would have been stepping on the scale every morning, I probably would have been threw the towel in, not seeing the numbers move!