who or what to believe

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Ive been sticking to my 1200 calorie diet for last 3 weeks. My gym and house scales showed i lost 3kg but today i went to see my health trainer and her scale showed at 0.5kg loss!! I was so disheartened and i dont know wgich scale to believe!

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  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    which scale did you weigh yourself on 3 weeks ago?

    it's the progression that you're looking for not the absolute weight

    the number on the scale means nothing - every scale will weigh you slightly differently and they are all roughly inaccurate ...

    if you weighed yourself 3 weeks on your home scale first thing in the morning, naked, after the bathroom then again today and lost 3kg .. you lost 3kg .. congrats

    if you're weighing yourself in different clothes, at different times of the day then there could be variances
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    Different scales will give different readings as they are calibrated differently. Choose one set of scales to use for your 'official' weigh in.
  • aniqa109
    aniqa109 Posts: 364 Member
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    I weighed on both home scale and the health trainers office 3 weeks ago! Besides my clothes being different...there was no other change! Im just questioning myself as to whether im doing the right thing? Do i continue doing as im doing because 0.5kg in 3 weeks isnt much really? I just dont know which number to go with? Do i use the health trainers office as my actual weight and follow the number it gives me? Its just disheartening after that many weeks to get such a small loss!
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    when do you weigh at home?
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited November 2014
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    if you went to the health office after you'd eaten wearing heavier clothes then that could make a difference

    if you've eaten loads of sodium, exercised hard, are due on ...

    you don't throw in the towel because of numbers on a scale, you don't throw in the towel at all ..

    if you're weighing food, logging it accurately and maintaining a defecit you will lose weight
    over time

    if you give up you won't

    Losing weight is hard. Being overweight is hard. Pick your hard.
  • Reddirtblacktopqueen
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    if you went to the health office after you'd eaten wearing heavier clothes then that could make a difference

    if you've eaten loads of sodium, exercised hard, are due on ...

    you don't throw in the towel because of numbers on a scale, you don't throw in the towel at all ..

    if you're weighing food, logging it accurately and maintaining a defecit you will lose weight
    over time

    if you give up you won't

    Losing weight is hard. Being overweight is hard. Pick your hard.

    This. ^^^^^^
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    Don't sweat it. You are moving in the right direction! Congrats and keep at it.
  • F1tnessCh1ck
    F1tnessCh1ck Posts: 39 Member
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    The only thing that matters are the inches coming off, not the weight. Don't sweat it and keep your focus :) good luck!
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
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    aniqa109 wrote: »
    I weighed on both home scale and the health trainers office 3 weeks ago! Besides my clothes being different...there was no other change! Im just questioning myself as to whether im doing the right thing? Do i continue doing as im doing because 0.5kg in 3 weeks isnt much really? I just dont know which number to go with? Do i use the health trainers office as my actual weight and follow the number it gives me? Its just disheartening after that many weeks to get such a small loss!

    Don't go with either number. They're both wrong. Weigh in every day and plot a 5-day moving average. That will show you a better indicator of your actual weight.

    Your weight can fluctuate by 5 lbs a day, easily. Do you drink 8 cups of water every day? That's 4 lbs of water you move through yourself on a daily basis. What the scale says at any given moment is an indicator of hydration state more than anything. Dehydrated you can easily weigh 4-5 lbs less than hydrated you.
  • reddcat
    reddcat Posts: 314 Member
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    When I complained about the same thing, a lady in my Zumba class told me she had only lost 2 pounds in 10 weeks, but was down two dress sizes. Was eye opening to me.
  • aniqa109
    aniqa109 Posts: 364 Member
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    Thanks
    im not going to give up!
    Yes i do drink 8 glasses of water
  • court_alacarte
    court_alacarte Posts: 219 Member
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    i always weigh in more at the doc's than at home. i used to have this old primitive scale with the turning dial that i found out was clocking me at at least 5 lbs less than i was. i only found that out when i bought a new digital scale :( different scales show different things, depending on their quality AND depending on when you weigh yourself.

    and yes, what should mostly matter is how your clothes are fitting rather than the number on the scale. i once worked out with a personal trainer a few years ago back in college who wanted me to lose 10 lbs but i ended up gaining 10 lbs, however my clothes weren't tight or anything and when i went back to school, people kept commenting on how much smaller i looked. sometimes we get blindsided by the wrong numbers. ;)
  • aniqa109
    aniqa109 Posts: 364 Member
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    I wanted to ask if i weigh at my health trainers in 2 weeks time and there is no loss and ive lost no inches and clothes are the same what should i do in that situation? Do i have to accept my weight loss will be really slow? Im counting calories and logging i really dont know what else to do!

  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    aniqa109 wrote: »
    I wanted to ask if i weigh at my health trainers in 2 weeks time and there is no loss and ive lost no inches and clothes are the same what should i do in that situation? Do i have to accept my weight loss will be really slow? Im counting calories and logging i really dont know what else to do!

    How much do you have to lose? On just 1200 calories it's unlikely that you wouldn't lose, but if you don't need to lose much and have just started working out, it's possible. But if it does happen, yeah, I'd just keep plugging away and know that sooner or later it has to come off.
  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    Weigh on the same scale at the same time on the same day of the week. That will be the most accurate showing of loss and gain.

    Weight loss generally is a slow process. The heavier you are/the more you have to lose the quicker it can go. Make sure you are accurately weighing and logging all calories (food and drinks) and in a few weeks you should see some loss if you figured out your total calories to eat per day correctly.

    Good Luck!
  • aniqa109
    aniqa109 Posts: 364 Member
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    I have about 60 pounds to lose although 50 pounds would put me into a healthy category as
    Im considered obese now!
    I recently started gym and have been a few times
    i know im eating less because i feel hunger!! In the evenings i feel really hungry but i dont eat after 5pm as ive normally used up my calories. I dont know about carbs and clean eating and all that! If it fits in my daily allowance i eat it! My health trainers given me a 2 week food diary to do to help me see where im going wrong
    Strange thing is..last year in december i lost about 5kg by eating how im eating now and exercising at home doing Hiit. But i didnt stick to it and lost motivation and regained it! I just feel frustrated i want 2 find the right method and follow it and see results!
  • meags007
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    If you haven't lost inches (like everyone else says, forget about the scales) after 5 weeks on 1200 cals then you should look at rejigging your plan. There are a few things to consider:
    Exercise: are you mostly doing weights? mostly doing cardio? Try mix it up. Doing weights you are less likely to see changes on the scale as your muscles retain water when they work hard, but you will see changes in your measurements. Including 1 - 2 high intensity cardio sessions is awesome for fat loss.
    Food: what's your nutritional breakdown look like? Are you eating protein with every meal? My nutrionist has got me to cut way down on carbs and it's helped me trim down to my target. You only need a half a cup of carbs/meal and the rest should be veges with a palm size serve of protein. A vegetarian friend of mine was living on carbs and having changed her diet to include more protein, she's finally been able to lose the fat.