Cap..You positive attitude is always so inspiring. I applaud you being such a great role model for your children. I am trying to be one even though all of my children are adults. I am so glad you feel like you are confident and in control. The happiness, self confidence, does affect all areas of your life. I think this is the happiest I have been for a few years!
I used to dread social functions also..and did not like shopping because I was like you trying to be invisible or hide in dark clothes. It is so nice to feel normal and enjoy colors.
We can do this!!!!!!!!!!! 5 Percent here we come!

I order Health Smart Cinnamin Cereal.

3. Never Weigh Yourself: The Scale Lies
JEREMY LIKENESS
Do not fear the scale. The truth is, many people use the scale to measure their progress and are successful with using it as a fat loss tool.

A good scale does not lie — it tells you exactly how much you weigh. (For a different view on this, read Why the Scale Lies).

The danger comes from interpreting that number the wrong way, or placing too much emphasis on it. Understand that fluctuations in the scale do not represent pure fat or muscle — it is a combination of both. The scale reflects the amount of water you are retaining along with any food that has not yet been processed by your system.

The key to using the scale is to understand this:

If you have a large amount of fat to lose, the scale will go down. If you are 300 pounds and unless you have access to some cache of steroids like none other on the planet, you will be hard-pressed to drop 100 pounds of fat and gain 100 pounds of muscle at the same time.

Your scale weight will fluctuate from day to day based on many factors, including the amount of carbohydrate you ingest and the ratio of sodium to potassium in your food (both which pull water into your system – carbohydrate through glycogen in your muscles and sodium through water retention via the ion pump).

You might gain 7 to 10 pounds after a cheat day and even 4 to 7 pounds after a cheat meal. It really depends on your nutrition plan and how drastic the cheat meal is. This rapid gain is not all fat. To gain 10 pounds of fat would require overeating 35,000 calories, a tremendous feat to achieve and one that would be worthy of the record books. Instead, it is more than likely some fat and a lot of water weight.

Don’t weigh every day unless you are mentally ready to handle the fluctuations. I weigh each day but I know my body fluctuates, so I do not freak out when I register a 3-pound rise from the day before. I enjoy watching the trend, but it is the average weight change over several weeks that I am more concerned with than day to day.
In short, do not use the scale as your only guide. You might gain 2 pounds of muscle and drop 2 pounds of fat in a given week, and the scale will not move. But taken as an average over time, those with a lot of fat to lose should expect the scale to go down.

Very few people actually reduce body fat while the scale remains the same or moves up, and those people are usually lean to begin with. Used in conjunction with tape measurements, skin-fold measurements (body fat), strength, and other parameters, the scale is a great tool for those with a lot of weight to lose.

Finally, there is one last reason why the scale could be an ally for someone standing to lose a tremendous amount of fat.

Research shows that when you are extremely overweight, you are more likely to drop fat than muscle when reducing your size.

The converse is also true: a lean person is more likely to lose muscle when they are cutting than fat, which is why preparing for a bodybuilding competition is infinitely more difficult than dropping the first 100 pounds of weight; because more care must be taken to preserve or even increase lean muscle mass.

See also: Measure Your Success

If you are over 30% body fat, focusing on the scale is probably your most accurate way to measure success. Tape measurements will help, but skin-folds and other body fat assessments are probably not going to be accurate. You can be assured, however, that even an aggressive 1% drop in body weight per week (for a 300-pound person, this is 3 pounds per week) is more than likely going to be fat loss and water weight if you are engaged in resistance training and obtaining proper amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats from your nutrition plan.

******This was helpful for me to read!

[QUOTE=capricious;4256132]Lee- thank you for your encouragement and positive post. It is so reassuring to know that you chewed off those four weeks of Phase 1 extended reboot. I whole heartedly agree with Pxlkitty that when we are doing well we need to share because nothing makes the whole group feel better than knowing even one of us is doing well it shines a light and gives hope hearing success. As we build our self efficacy (check out spark people maintenance for where I learned that new word ) that knowledge within us that sauys " I can do this, I've got this even though I fall down, I pick myself up, dust myself off and try again". This is versus throwing our hands up in the air and saying "I fell just like I always do and always will and there's no use in standing back up". It's always worth standing up again. Maintenance can feel like walking a tight rope. Always having to be on guard afraid of falling because it's nerve racking. But even when we fall off the rope it doesn't mean that we aren't meant to be tight rope walkers we just need more practice. For some it will be more innate than others but we are all capable. It's practice, practice, practice and getting right back on. And each time one of us makes it across the rope it is inspiring to the rest because it proves it can be done. It doesn't mean they won't ever fall again but each time they do it they gain more confidence for it and the hope is that after enough practice it won't be so nerve racking and will become more innate. Still will require attention but you'll know "I've got this". Sorry, if this was a slightly cheesy metaphor but it is how I feel. I'm still definitely learning maintenance and trying to configure how to fit all my pieces together. I am at the same weight that I started maintenance at but have gained a couple that I lost after I started maintenance. I am still to my dismay a sugar junkie. This is my most problematic area of maintenance. I only let myself have it on free day but it usually gets ugly and I really don't want to spend the rest of my life letting my sugar monster out of the closet once a week. Then I tell myself that is so much better than the 7 days a week it used to be. Ahhhh balance. Stupid cookies. So small. So delicious. So easy to eat a dozen. So I'm thinking of making a little deal with myself. Have whatever else- but no sugar!!- not even on a free day. At least for awhile until I can get the rest figured...
QUOTE]

Thank you for this!

Congratulations!!! You rock!!

Another "glorious" Monday here....I wish I had off for spring break!

Lee- I think I lost more off the bottom than the top- underwire is still okay but sitting on a hard surface? Ouch!
Maile- thank you for posting the scale quote. I'm weaning myself off of the scale- to once a week with the hopes of making it bi weekly as I don't like that I will be snarly if I increase by a pound. Even though it's normal flux it plays with my emotions and if my eating, tracking & exercise are on track I don't think the scale should be my measure of self worth each day. I do believe it is still important to self monitor through the scale but I don't think it needs to be daily. And I loved reading something that concurred with me so thank you again!

You know what the scale is reminding me of for all in maintenance...a 401(k) account. I use to manage them in my profession and would encourage plan participants not to look at their accounts every day because they may see changes they are not happy with and make irrational decisions to move their funds. It's like the scale...it's the average that matters and not the day to day #s!

Perfect analogy! Thanks New Englander. It's once a week for me!

Phew. I'm glad at least one person got it...I was afraid it wouldn't make sense.

Thanks New Englander..I got it also. It was a good analogy.
Kudos to all of you who are weighing once or twice a week. I may get there yet.

Cajun Lady..that was a great post. I like that term self efficacy also..but also like what you said..some day it will not be nerve wracking and more innate..as you said ..we just need more practice. Great job on keeping your weight off!

Have a great day everyone!

I'm not weighing myself everyday anymore. I do weigh the morning of a planned cheat day and I weigh myself the day after the phase 1 day that follows. I probably weigh one other time during the week when I think about it. It really wasn't a conscious decision to cut back, it just happened. I used to wake up and my first thought every morning was, "How much do I weigh? Am I up? Am I down?" Somewhere along the way these last few months, I've lost that compulsion to jump on the scale every morning. I must have gained some confidence somewhere. I didn't even realize what I was doing and what it meant until I read your posts this morning. I am feeling really good about myself today, so thanks ladies!

Sounds like you guys are doing great with the scale. I think I'm getting better. I do still like to weight the morning after a good food day, just in case the news is good! not every day though, that's for sure.

The exercise is getting addicting and as the working mother, I'm not finding enough time to do it. I found myself sneaking a 4 mile run on Sunday. I told my husband I was going grocery shopping (which I did) and sneaked a run in before I went and didn't tell him. Not sure why I did it... I think it might be my own guilt for taking the time for myself. At least I'm not sneaking candy bars like before!

Running is wayy better then that candy bar...

Oh, I hate running! I just have no motivation for it. If I'm playing ball, I can run. I have to get to first base, I have to catch that ball, etc. But, I can't just get out there and run, especially with nothing chasing me, lol. I envy those of you that enjoy it. Blah! Pauley, I would be the opposite: Nope, can't run today, have to go grocery shopping, no time, sorry!

Jelly, you are looking awesome!

NewEnglanderI like the analogy as well! It is a good reminder to try and see the bigger picture...
Pauley- I can identify with feeling guilty taking time from the family
for myself. My husband especially lately has been 'acting out'. Gets upset that I'm posting on here instead of watching tv with him. Or that I won't eat pizza if that's what is for supper. To ensure exercise happens I utilize the child care at my gym. When better weather finally comes I look forward to jogging with them in the stroller. They really enjoy the large play area at the gym and I know they're quite a bit more active for being there but I still feel sometimes like I'm neglecting my duties as a mother by going to a class and leaving them there. But, happy healthy mama who leaves for an hour or secretly miserable, overweight unhealthy mama who is there all the time?
I gotta agree with Jelly running is waaayyyy better than a candy bar. If you gotta feel guilty about something let it be running