Over the past week and a half I have really tried to eat healthier and workout and lift more frequently. I have a trainer and we went over my eating habits and new workouts. Well it turns out that I was consuming to much fat with my high protein diet. I was eating 2 1/2 Tbs of peanut butter a day and 1/8 cup of almonds which were contributing to almost 30-40 fat grams a day. I talked to her last night and we are cutting down on the number of days I eat almonds and to 1 1/2 tbs of peanut butter a day.
I've had such a problem with weighing myself all the time that Saturday was the last day I have weighed myself, b/c I am now going to weigh myself with my trainer once a month.
So I guess I’m just frustrated that the past week I’ve done so well but yet I really haven't. I am now on the right track today with what I should be eating and feeling better about it. I'm nervous though to get weighed this Friday and be heavier, I don't know whether I should just not weigh myself this week and wait another week to see if I can make some changes.
I don't know how many of you have this problem but I go by the scale way to much. Since last June I’ve lost 20 pounds I was at my lightest at 172 but that was right after my wedding which I think made that happen. Now I’m 182 and I’m actually the same inches all over except I have gained a 1/2 inch in my biceps which is great but a 1/2 inch in my thighs which is not where I want to.
Ok well now I just keep going on and on. I guess I’m trying to find someone with the same situation. I'm really determined to get down to 176 and put on some good muscle and I just need a little motivation after my disappointing week.

Howdy Tallgirl,

Sounds like you are on the right track. You are evaluating your habits and tweeking when necessary. If you continue on this path you will succeed.

Try not to be too impatient as weightloss takes time...lots of time. If you don't see losses on the scale it could be that you need to do something different and it could be something else (water retention, TOM etc). If you know you are eating well and getting enough excercise then rest assured... you will lose.

Take measurements too. They really help show progress when the scale stalls.

The scale is not the only way to measure progress. In fact, it might not even be the best.

You want to lose fat, right? Well, the scale measures ALL of you: skin, muscle, fat, bone, hair, and water. So if it goes up, did you gain fat or are you retaining water or have you gained muscle from weightlifting? You won't know just from the scale. Gaining muscle from weightlifting would be a good outcome -- and you agree -- you said you wanted to get muscle. Muscle adds mass and the scale might go up. But remember, losing fat and gaining muscle is GOOD! I went through a period of 3 months when I didn't "lose weight" but I lost a size. How? I lost fat but added muscle!

AND, to boot, weight loss isn't linear. You can do the same things every week, and some weeks you will lose, some stay the same, and some even gain! (See above para too!)

So, my advice is to find other ways to measure your progress. Take your measurements, check out how your clothes fit. What about your fitness? Can you DO more than you did before? Lift more? Or what about tracking how many days you exercised? Or ate "on plan"?

I'm basically repeating what hikerchick said, but she's right about this too: This is a process that requires patience! And you know what? You won't be perfect everyday. That's okay. You don't have to be.

You're doing great and will see progress if you keep at it!!!! In fact, you might be amazed!

I've been feeling EXACTLY the same way! I've been eating well, working out, and ...nada! I've been exactly 154 since mid-last week. I felt so gyped this morning, but what the hey. It didn't come on in a week and it won't go off in that time either. I'm trying to concentrate on how good it feels to be active instead. Good luck. You're not alone!

Oh my, I've written so many similar posts recently about using the scale, and also kicking it to the curb. I'm back to using it, after reading some research over the weekend about successful life changers using the scale as a daily tool to evaluate their efforts. (Evaluate, not rule, their efforts that is!) We weight lifting girls just can't compete with the scale losses of our sisters who diet & do cardio only - it will just frustrate you to no end. BUT, you will soon fit into smaller sizes despite weighing more, and you will surprise yourself. You are on the right track with your trainer, so just be patient and you will see progress, I promise.

Acckk, I'm in the same boat. The stupid, idiotic scale hasn't budged for me in two weeks. I think I'm eating just a little too many calories cause mostly I'm am doing really well food wise. But sometimes I just get so hungry!!

Anyway, I'm trying to just stick it through and hope that the fat will go away. My measurements are exactly the same so there's no nsv going on there.

I'm lifting (full UB+LBWO) 3x/week plus treadmill 2-3 times/week. How much cardio do you guys do in a week?

I'm having a bad, fugly (that's fat and ugly but mostly just FAT) day. Just wishing something would happen w/this stupid fat NOW!

Ok, I'm done.

Jo

I agree with you totally on the first part, but not on the second. If I follow my workout and nutrition plans for the week, I feel I have done extremely well regardless of what the results are.

All I ask of myself is to make my workout routine and nutrition plans to the best of my knowledge and then do my absolute best to follow them. If I do that, I will get valuable feedback. Ideally, the feedback I receive will be fat loss or lean mass gain (depending on my goal for the period measured). Sometimes, however, the feedback I receive is that a particular workout routine or food plan is not suited for my goals. Yes, it does flash through my mind briefly, that I have just wasted time and did not make (immediate) progress toward my goal, but then I remind myself, that armed with the new knowledge I have gained by religiously following my agenda, I am better prepared to plan towards my goals in the future and this new knowledge will lead to better fat loss and lean mass gain in the future. This is a marathon, not a sprint! If a slightly suboptimal result in one week helps me tweak my routine to increase my future results for the next week, two, three...52 weeks, then I am far better off in the long run.

I agree almost wholeheartedly with Depalma's post- BUT if you are a pre-menopausal women, I think you need to give it 3 weeks before you draw conclusions about whether something is working optimally or not. Sometimes it's obvious- a 3 pound GAIN in the week after your period would indicate that all is not well, but given the normal hormonal curve, you could very easily be following a plan and progressing well yet see not scale changes or measurement changes for up to three weeks depending on where in your cycle you started all this measuring. For women, the event horizon is just a little longer. But it does work!

Mel

Thanks girls its just nice to hear from other people to get me a little more motivated. I have continued to eat well and exercise and am going to try and concentrate more on my inches than the scale. Like i said i'm the same weight i was last September but i'm 9 inches smaller so that must mean something
I think the reason i get so hard on myself is, i'm a tall girl 6'1'' and so the scale always seems to have such a high number eventhough i feel pretty skinny. It's hard to see such a high number. But that is just something i have to fix with time.

Thanks so much!!

This morning I was frustrated and grumbly. Instead of giving in to the lure of sleeping in and hitting McDonalds, I went to the gym and had a really good workout.

How'd I do it?

I felt terribly fat. So, I went with it. I imagined myself HUGE! I mean really, ridiculously huge: crashing through the door into the weight room, each sneaker sinking into the floor as I walked, blocking out the sun, etc. By the end, I was laughing pretty hard.

So the scale isn't moving. What the hey, it will in time and I'm enjoying myself. That's all that matters. Take it easy, all. (grin)