I know I look smaller but I can't get past the scale...

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jillk93
jillk93 Posts: 45 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey!

I started my journey about three months ago. I am 5'4 and started at 153 lbs. I am currently down to 142 lbs.
I feel smaller, I've had a couple loved ones say I'm making great progress but I can't get over the scale. I've been strength training more than cardio so I know a lot of this could be muscle but how many of you have ditched the scale for good? how has it made you feel? I found looking at it was discouraging. Maybe I'm being a little too aggressive but I was hoping for a 20 lb loss by now.

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  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
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    An 11 lb loss in 3 months is great. That's about 1 lb per week, which is a great rate of loss. I would stick with what you're doing if you still want to lose more fat, it's obviously working just fine.
    Losing 20 lbs in 3 months with your stats is a pretty aggressive goal.
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
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    I stopped weighing myself (for the most part). I'm 10lbs heavier now than I was a year ago...but the same clothing size. Your pants will let you know how you are doing if your are lifting.
  • chocolate_owl
    chocolate_owl Posts: 1,695 Member
    edited December 2016
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    jillk93 wrote: »
    Hey!

    I started my journey about three months ago. I am 5'4 and started at 153 lbs. I am currently down to 142 lbs.
    I feel smaller, I've had a couple loved ones say I'm making great progress but I can't get over the scale. I've been strength training more than cardio so I know a lot of this could be muscle but how many of you have ditched the scale for good? how has it made you feel? I found looking at it was discouraging. Maybe I'm being a little too aggressive but I was hoping for a 20 lb loss by now.

    You don't have very much to lose - a lot of the people who would get a 20 lb loss in that time frame are starting from a much higher weight. You've lost 11 lbs in about 12 weeks, which is a good pace for where you started. A 20 lb loss would be too aggressive and is more than you should be hoping for. While it's not good to get too emotionally invested in the number on the scale, I do think it's useful in this process if you can adjust your expectations.
  • jillk93
    jillk93 Posts: 45 Member
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    Thanks everyone! I realized I posted this in the wrong forum but oh well! I think sometimes I get extremely caught up in the scale. I have gained 25 lbs over the last couple years. Yesterday I tried to put a pair of pants on that I wore at my smallest. The pants got up my legs but could not button. Then I decided in my misery spiral I would weigh myself. Sometime's it's hard to keep really positive through the journey.
  • ConnieT1030
    ConnieT1030 Posts: 894 Member
    edited December 2016
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    jillk93 wrote: »
    Then I decided in my misery spiral I would weigh myself. Sometime's it's hard to keep really positive through the journey.

    I hear you. I found that I could wear a tshirt yesterday that Im sure is a size smaller than i think I am now, that I hadnt been able to fit for two years, but am still bummed because I can't get the scale to move down 1 pound. I usually am down 1 more by now, and instead, the scale crept down one pound for one day only and then back up to where i was, and is staying there. Hard not to be distracted by that, and no, it wont work for me to weigh only once a week- Im the type of person that cannot handle suspense, i got to know!! :open_mouth:

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    The scale is just one number. Invest in a tape measure and record inches lost also. Two types of measurements are better than one because the scale can sometimes lie (time of month, sodium, waste...fluctuations). But smaller IS smaller.

    It's very unlikely you gained lean muscle while eating at a deficit. But sore muscles can hang onto water for repair.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    It has taken me an entire year to lose 13 lbs...you have lost 11 lbs in 3 months...it's all about perspective...don't give up, keep going, you can do this!!!
  • socalkay
    socalkay Posts: 746 Member
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    I am 5'2'' tall and started logging and exercising almost 3 years ago when I hit 165 lbs. It took me two and a half years to get to 120 lbs. But that's OK, because I was trying to change my eating habits along the way so the weight loss would be sustainable. My goal is to maintain between 120 and 125 lbs. Right now, I'm trying it without logging. If I go over 125 lb, I will start logging again. The only way I can keep that deal with myself is to weigh myself regularly. It keeps me honest!

    I know it's hard to watch that scale creep down and it's amazing how fast it will jump in the wrong direction! It's also hard not to get caught up in the numbers and fret no change or, worse, small gains. I learned from regularly weighing myself that my body weight is in flux all day and can jump up or down by 2 - 3 lbs from day to day. When I realized this, I wasn't as intimidated by the numbers but I do pay attention to the range. It is my safety net.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Do your write the number from the scale on your forehead every day?

    I not, then why does it matter so much. No one sees it but you.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    jillk93 wrote: »
    Hey!

    I started my journey about three months ago. I am 5'4 and started at 153 lbs. I am currently down to 142 lbs.
    I feel smaller, I've had a couple loved ones say I'm making great progress but I can't get over the scale. I've been strength training more than cardio so I know a lot of this could be muscle but how many of you have ditched the scale for good? how has it made you feel? I found looking at it was discouraging. Maybe I'm being a little too aggressive but I was hoping for a 20 lb loss by now.
    See parts in bold. This is what you need to tell yourself, not that you should have lost more! The scale is ONE of many ways to measure progress. It is not the be all and end all of your self worth and progress. Monitor your progress in several different ways, so that some of them are always doing well. Everything won't be perfect all the time, especially when we set unrealistic expectations. I hope I don't sound harsh, because that is not my intent, just encouraging you to make some mental shifts. Also, don't weigh yourself in the middle of the day. Weigh consistently, only first thing in the morning after going to the bathroom and before eating or drinking anything. My weight changes as much as 5 pounds during a single day!
  • Lynzdee18
    Lynzdee18 Posts: 500 Member
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    It takes a while to realize this isn't a race....it's a new lifestyle. Unless you want to just lose and resume old habits and be plump again.....

    The scale is a nasty nasty thing. You've lost about one size already. Pretty amazing progress.....
  • jvs125
    jvs125 Posts: 223 Member
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    I ditched the scale. It doesn't make me happy. It doesn't deserve all the focus I was putting on it. The number it shows doesn't define me.
    Now that I'm doing Body Beast, I'm going through a bulking phase so I weighed at the beginning so I can measure my progress at each phase.

    3 weeks in, I weighed myself again to discover I am the same weight as day 1, even though I increased my calories from 1200 to 2200!

    I still will only weigh in when prescribed by the program. I prefer to measure progress by clothes fitting, pictures, mirror, general well being.

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