I know the scale is a liar but...

DorkothyParker

I need to feel better about this.

I've been circling the drain for the past 3 weeks or so on weight. My Libra program has pushed out my "meet my goal" date to August (was looking like it might be early and be May for a while). I know it's not a race. I know I shouldn't care. And yet, here we are.

I have a Fitbit Aria and while my weight has been circling the same few lbs, my body fat has been going down steadily. Could I just be retaining water? I weigh every morning after using the restroom and before drinking any water or anything.
I wish, but I don't know if Aria is to be trusted, that I might be building muscle.

How can I feel better about this? Should I start measuring? Should I cut something out? I am doing Ad Lib this month so not sure if related.

Basic charts for reference:





I'm 5'4" and 119.1 lbs this morning. Thanks!

Sunny_Bunny_

I just had my very best 2 weeks since my very first 2 weeks, 11 months ago and now even my trend weight is showing up 0.2 lbs. it happens to me every single month. Except the past 6 months, I had very little total losses over the entire period.
It took me 6 months to lose about 5 or 6 pounds and I've lost over half that amount in the past 2 weeks and even with that, I'm now trending up a bit.
It doesn't mean you're gaining fat.

aylajane

I dont have an answer, but just a heads up... The Aria is not all that accurate (no body fat scales are), but if you google a bit they tell you that the body fat will be more accurate at the end of the day instead of the beginning because it is affected by water, and you are typically more dehydrated in the morning than the evening. Kind of dumb, but weight is more accurate in the morning and body fat in the evening!

So the trend seems good, and might really be, but just be aware water impacts it quite a bit (i.e. drinking more than usual one day will make it change a few percent all at once... )

sammyliftsandeats

I wouldn't sweat it.

I don't know about the accuracy of the Aria scale for Bodyfat %, but I have seen you logging your exercise so you could very well be losing body fat but not body weight. It's a very real thing.

If you'd like, maybe start measuring. However, if these are your starting measurements then it may not seem like a big difference one month or so from now because you are already smaller than you were when you first starting. Please let me know if this makes any sense, my brain is all over the place today.

wabmester

DorkothyParker wrote: »

How can I feel better about this?

It stopped being about weight loss for me a LONG time ago. How do you feel? How are your hunger and cravings compared to your previous diet?

Not everybody will lose weight on low-carb, especially those who already have decent insulin sensitivity.

anglyn1

I sometimes feel I lose weight slower than anyone on this diet but I keep at it. I should say my main motivation is a reduction in RA symptoms so there is that to help me over the slow weeks. However I have now lost 25 lbs. since the end of Sept which is more than I've lost in the past 3 years of everything in moderation/CICO so there is that. My advice is just be patient. Take measurements. Know that hormones can cause WILD fluctuations. A new or intense workout can cause water weight fluctuations. Sometimes you can't even pin a cause it just happens.

Sunny_Bunny_

I wanted to say more but I had an interruption before.
I like a visual aid, so to prove how the ups are just part of the process, here's my weight trend for the past 11 months.
It looks pretty dang good right?
You wouldn't think I spent 6 months where the scale hardly showed a thing and when it did, it just snatched it right back a few days later!


If you look at my last 90 days you will see what is a very typical up-trend for me. These happen to some degree every single month. Sometimes it lasted for several weeks.


But eventually it will come back down. It may not be a dramatic amount or maybe it will be. Your body will decide what's best for you as long as you are giving it what it needs and not giving it things that you know don't work well for you.


But, I can tell you that I know how frustrating that scale can be. Even the trend weight goes up. It doesn't mean a set back. If you're doing the things you know work, then you will get where you want to be. In time.

Foamroller

At 5"4 and 119 lbs you're already at the lower end of healthy bmi. Which means that it get's increasingly harder to shed more real fat loss.

In your situation it is often recommended to focus more on fitness goals and/or recomposition. At your level of slim, overfocusing on losing scale weight also increases the chance of losing muscle fiber as well.

Good luck

DorkothyParker

wabmester wrote: »

DorkothyParker wrote: »

How can I feel better about this?

It stopped being about weight loss for me a LONG time ago. How do you feel? How are your hunger and cravings compared to your previous diet?

Not everybody will lose weight on low-carb, especially those who already have decent insulin sensitivity.

That's a really good point. Immediately prior to this I was just eating whatever and drinking more beer (like 1/night weekdays and a bomber or 2-3 Fri-Sun) so that has been cut. I have the hectic full timer/grad student/mom of a pre-schooler schedule so I have done better with missed meals and eating more when I have time.

I feel great. Blood pressure has remained the same (97/69). I haven't had cholesterol checked but my cholesterol has always been insanely good. When I was checked in August, my trigs were below the threshold of the testing device (45).

I am coming from a healthy weight, but was worried because of the rather quick weight gain since starting school this fall (5-10 lbs in 5 months). I wanted to nip it because I figured that was how all folks started when they find themselves overweight at 40.

I guess the main benefit is that I lost weight without starving myself and I have (up to this week) been really optimistic about my weight and appearance. I am a recovered anorexic and feelings strike at weird times. I'm a wee bit shallow and I want to look a certain way and dress in a way that I think is interesting. Although, I am also super duper in favor of women of all shapes and sizes dressing however the hell they want.

I might stop Ad-lib and do more "macro management" to make sure my protein and fat are on point for personal wellness.

Sunny_Bunny_

Foamroller wrote: »

At 5"4 and 119 lbs you're already at the lower end of healthy bmi. Which means that it get's increasingly harder to shed more real fat loss.

In your situation it is often recommended to focus more on fitness goals and/or recomposition. At your level of slim, overfocusing on losing scale weight also increases the chance of losing muscle fiber as well.

Good luck

Wow! I overlooked the stats! I'm also 5'4" and my goal weight is 126... If I could get into exercise I would probably not even be worrying about the last few pounds at this point. But I'm crazy lazy!
I do not look like I would like to, but I doubt I ever will. I'm pretty sure I will always have the belly of a 40 something year old woman with 3 children and 2 C-sections. So, my goal is reasonable for me.
It's certainly good to be aware to catch sudden weight increases before they go too far. But be careful about pushing too hard with too low calories or too much exercise. It doesn't serve your long term desire for how you want your body to look if you sacrifice muscle.

mandycat223

If it's any consolation, I spent a week in the hospital last month and for six days of the seven I was "nourished" on whatever they could pump into me via a drip line in my arm. (And on day seven I feasted on beef broth and Jello.)

The morning after I got home I hopped on the scale only to find that I had GAINED a pound. It turned out to be the sodium from the 5,000 gallons of saline they gave me, but still it was something of a surprise.

It also turns out that morphine is an excellent appetite depressant. All those weight loss clinics I see around town must be simply livid they aren't allowed to use it on their customers.