Reversing the Variables

zamphir66
zamphir66 Posts: 582 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Here's something I see just about every day in the several years I've been a member here:

"I know I'm eating X calories and burning X throughout the day, but the scale [isn't moving / is going up!] What's happening?!?"

You believe you're doing everything 100% right, yet the scale for some reason isn't holding up its end of the bargain. And now you're looking for some kind of "hack" to get that darned scale to behave. This is what I call reversing the variables.

At the end of the day, the scale is the end-all, be-all metric for whether you are or aren't on the right track. In other words:

* If your weight has stayed the same for more than 3 weeks, you're in perfect energy balance. What you think is irrelevant. The scale doesn't lie.
* If you're losing 1/lb a week over a several week period, you know you are in a deficit that averages to 500 cals/day.

So, instead of framing a question like, "Why isn't the scale moving...?" Begin with the acknowledgement of what the scale is, in fact, telling you.

Replies

  • zamphir66
    zamphir66 Posts: 582 Member
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    But this is really wrong in its context. The scale is not the end-all-be-all metric. The scale is only a tool. There are many many variables that will shift the scale up or down on any given day. And for females this where there are even more variables to add to the mix.

    If in a calorie deficit and 100% on point with CICO, in 3 weeks this does not mean a person is 100% maintaining.

    Weight loss is NOT linear. Not on any given day or week or month. Again many many variables to that one tool the scale.

    The scale in fact is telling you a lot, and if a person really wants to use the data they get from scale, they can see exactly what the scale is telling them over a period of time.. But you do not have to weigh everyday to know what is going on.. There are many ways to track what is happening through other methods besides the scale.

    I thought I emphasized -- but maybe I didn't -- that it's long-term trends I'm talking about. Naturally there are daily fluctuations, but if you put a best-fit line on 4, 6 or 8 weeks worth of data, then you have a very good idea of how your intake is matching up to your output.

    And @rainbowbow: I think I'm speaking more to the newcomer whose first and only concern, at the moment, is losing weight. Once you reach the level of success you've reached, you already know everything I've said and probably more.
  • monicaw44
    monicaw44 Posts: 71 Member
    zamphir66 wrote: »
    Here's something I see just about every day in the several years I've been a member here:

    "I know I'm eating X calories and burning X throughout the day, but the scale [isn't moving / is going up!] What's happening?!?"

    You believe you're doing everything 100% right, yet the scale for some reason isn't holding up its end of the bargain. And now you're looking for some kind of "hack" to get that darned scale to behave. This is what I call reversing the variables.

    At the end of the day, the scale is the end-all, be-all metric for whether you are or aren't on the right track. In other words:

    * If your weight has stayed the same for more than 3 weeks, you're in perfect energy balance. What you think is irrelevant. The scale doesn't lie.
    * If you're losing 1/lb a week over a several week period, you know you are in a deficit that averages to 500 cals/day.

    So, instead of framing a question like, "Why isn't the scale moving...?" Begin with the acknowledgement of what the scale is, in fact, telling you.

    that's true
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited September 2016
    zamphir66 wrote: »
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    But this is really wrong in its context. The scale is not the end-all-be-all metric. The scale is only a tool. There are many many variables that will shift the scale up or down on any given day. And for females this where there are even more variables to add to the mix.

    If in a calorie deficit and 100% on point with CICO, in 3 weeks this does not mean a person is 100% maintaining.

    Weight loss is NOT linear. Not on any given day or week or month. Again many many variables to that one tool the scale.

    The scale in fact is telling you a lot, and if a person really wants to use the data they get from scale, they can see exactly what the scale is telling them over a period of time.. But you do not have to weigh everyday to know what is going on.. There are many ways to track what is happening through other methods besides the scale.

    I thought I emphasized -- but maybe I didn't -- that it's long-term trends I'm talking about. Naturally there are daily fluctuations, but if you put a best-fit line on 4, 6 or 8 weeks worth of data, then you have a very good idea of how your intake is matching up to your output.

    And @rainbowbow: I think I'm speaking more to the newcomer whose first and only concern, at the moment, is losing weight. Once you reach the level of success you've reached, you already know everything I've said and probably more.

    No you did not emphasize long term trends.. And it was assumed that newcomers were what you were talking about.. Perhaps clarity in your writing..

    But moreover, newcomer or not, the advise is given on this exact issue, that the scale is a tool, and does not even tell the person the entire story.. rather dieting 1 week, 1 month or longer..

    We educate those newbies, etc.. how to use the scale to work for them and not against them.

    And probably 90% of those here to lose weight has not even thought about anything but losing weight and its quick, fast, better, jump starting, and the list goes on..
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    But this is really wrong in its context. The scale is not the end-all-be-all metric. The scale is only a tool. There are many many variables that will shift the scale up or down on any given day. And for females this where there are even more variables to add to the mix.

    If in a calorie deficit and 100% on point with CICO, in 3 weeks this does not mean a person is 100% maintaining.

    Weight loss is NOT linear. Not on any given day or week or month. Again many many variables to that one tool the scale.

    The scale in fact is telling you a lot, and if a person really wants to use the data they get from scale, they can see exactly what the scale is telling them over a period of time.. But you do not have to weigh everyday to know what is going on.. There are many ways to track what is happening through other methods besides the scale.

    This ^^

    I have gained as much as 5 lbs overnight and lost as much as 7.5 lbs.

    I have also lost and gained inches without any change in weight.

    Weight loss is a part of my goal, but my main goals are to be fit and thin.
  • zamphir66
    zamphir66 Posts: 582 Member
    RoxieDawn wrote: »

    No you did not emphasize long term trends.. And it was assumed that newcomers were what you were talking about.. Perhaps clarity in your writing..

    But moreover, newcomer or not, the advise is given on this exact issue, that the scale is a tool, and does not even tell the person the entire story.. rather dieting 1 week, 1 month or longer..

    We educate those newbies, etc.. how to use the scale to work for them and not against them.

    And probably 90% of those here to lose weight has not even thought about anything but losing weight and its quick, fast, better, jump starting, and the list goes on..

    I feel like we're saying the same thing with different words. Let me take another hack at this.

    I 100% agree this scale is only a tool and it doesn't tell the entire story of someone's health/wellness/weight loss/etc. journey.

    But what it does tell you, over the proper time frame, is how your input is matching up to your output. And it's the single best tool for doing that specific task in that context.

    Going back to my original point, many people who are new to this journey but not seeing progress after a month or more will get incredibly discouraged. Then they come in here, adamant that they're doing everything "right" -- and yet the scale doesn't budge.

    I think they want to hear about some confounding variable that explains why they're eating at a deficit yet not losing weight, when in reality they're not at a deficit. That's what the scale is literally telling them. Half the time, they don't want to hear that, and they're never heard from again.




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