Women over 40, wanting to lose 20 lbs, support/motivation/success?

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  • designerdiscounts
    designerdiscounts Posts: 517 Member
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    Does anyone else let the number on the scale determine their mood for the day? A friend recommended this book (free for kindle), "friends with the scale". Haven't read it yet, am giving it a look tonight. Just thought I'd share.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
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    I used to but then I had this really bizarre 3 week stall (a perfect storm of new workout, then too much sodium, then that tom) last summer. I knew I hadn't gone over but I didn't lose anything for 3 weeks. I couldn't do anything other than just keep going and now I just figure it's probably never going to be that bad again.

    How often do you weigh?
  • designerdiscounts
    designerdiscounts Posts: 517 Member
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    I'm down to only once a week but I fight the urge every morning.
  • utahmomof10
    utahmomof10 Posts: 133 Member
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    I weigh at least once a day, usually twice a day. However, I have learned to not worry about what it says. For me, it is merely information or feedback. I know it's totally normal for weight to fluctuate, so I don't stress if it bounces around a little. I'm very familiar with the weight fluctuations my body goes through - I know before I go to bed I'm going to be about 3 or 4 pounds heavier than I will be the next morning. I know about how much higher to expect it to be around my monthly cycle. I watch for a trend and don't worry about individual numbers. Nor do I consider it the true measure of the success of my efforts - I consider the image in the mirror, the way my clothes fit, and the way I feel to be of much greater value in measuring my progress.
  • Kateisgonnalose
    Kateisgonnalose Posts: 12 Member
    edited January 2017
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    I weigh every morning. Before I even have my first cup of coffee. It helps me focus my day. Today I ate weird but not too bad. I had an all day meeting. I brought my steel cut oats for breakfast and a small container of almond milk so I wouldn't be tempted to cheat by eating a muffin or putting half-n-half in my coffee. I snacked on a fruit plate during the meeting and then had a really salty bowl of pho for lunch - no noodles; just meat, veggies and broth. I will probably regret all the sodium. I skipped the afternoon cookie break and instead cut my protein bar into little tiny pieces and ate it like candy. I like it that way - it makes it last longer. When I got home from work I was too tired to cook anything so I ate another bowl of oats. Sort of like cereal for breakfast. But healthier. No sugar. Whole grains. And very filling. Anyway, my macros were way off today -- way too high on carbs and way too much sodium. I'm curious how it will afffect the scale in the morning.

    Good night!
  • amymatthe
    amymatthe Posts: 8 Member
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    I weigh myself every morning. I think I need to stop that because I see such fluctuations of anywhere from 1 to 3 pounds. You're right though, it does set my morning off terribly if I see a high number. *sigh*
  • ScoobaChick
    ScoobaChick Posts: 184 Member
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    Good morning everyone,

    I have weighed myself every morning and written down the result in notebooks for the past 10 years. I do this whether I am trying to lose weight or not. I find that it helps me be mindful of where I stand. The only data missing are those during travel (I don't bring my scale along!).

    Over the years I have learned a lot of things about my weight and my body. If I lift heavy or workout strenuously, especially after a hiatus, I gain a bit. If I eat salty foods, I gain a bit. Obviously there are monthly hormonal fluctuations also (I will go up a pound the day right before so it is a good predictor for me).

    I have hit weight plateaux and there have been times where the weight has gone up for no reason. Sometimes that is just the way it works. I know that CICO works and that if I stick to it I will get the results that I want over the long term. I also use an app called Happy Scale to record my weight when I am dieting (in addition to my old paper notebook) because it will smooth out daily fluctuations and give me a trend which I like. I don't really worry if my weight goes up, it doesn't affect me negatively, I simply know I have to keep going forward.

    In the end though you need to do what is right for you. If weighing stresses you then don't do it or do it once a week. I even know some people who only weigh once a month. There really is no wrong or right way. Just find something that works for you.

    Hope everyone has a great day :smile:
  • carriesirico
    carriesirico Posts: 4 Member
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    I have been weighing myself once a week for the last 4 weeks. I know I like the number in the morning much better than the number at night. I am coming to the realization, like many, that it is just a number and that it is what you see long term that really counts. I think I should take some body measurements to give a different perspective. And keep with the healthier plan I have set out. I was slowly gaining WT before making a commitment to lose WT. It is gonna take time...
  • Kateisgonnalose
    Kateisgonnalose Posts: 12 Member
    edited January 2017
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    @carriesirico - body measurements: I need to do that this weekend. The scale can lie but body measurements tell the truth. I don't want to take mine. I'm in totally denial.

    Today was a bad day for me. Yesterday was a weird eating day but I stayed within 100 calories of my daily goal. Today, however, I went way over. I was up at 430 into the city for an all day meeting. I had to rush to drop my son at school. I had no time to meal prep or pack. I did ok in the morning but by lunch time I was starving and ate one of those Box lunches that business order in - I chose the unhealthy chicken salad croissant option. I was just hungry and I did not want a salad so I chose the worst thing for me. And I even ate the cookie and potato chips that came with it. Then... In the afternoon... I had another cookie. My bad! I am like 1,500 over on my calories today. And I feel awful about it. I haven't even had dinner yet.

    How do you get back on track quickly when you blow it?
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
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    Kateisgonnalose wrote: »
    @carriesirico - body measurements: I need to do that this weekend. The scale can lie but body measurements tell the truth. I don't want to take mine. I'm in totally denial.

    Today was a bad day for me. Yesterday was a weird eating day but I stayed within 100 calories of my daily goal. Today, however, I went way over. I was up at 430 into the city for an all day meeting. I had to rush to drop my son at school. I had no time to meal prep or pack. I did ok in the morning but by lunch time I was starving and ate one of those Box lunches that business order in - I chose the unhealthy chicken salad croissant option. I was just hungry and I did not want a salad so I chose the worst thing for me. And I even ate the cookie and potato chips that came with it. Then... In the afternoon... I had another cookie. My bad! I am like 1,500 over on my calories today. And I feel awful about it. I haven't even had dinner yet.

    How do you get back on track quickly when you blow it?

    EEK! I think a day like that I'd have a reasonable dinner, write it off and move on. You're going to have bad days but in the long run all you can do is climb back up and keep going.
  • clbzmom
    clbzmom Posts: 3 Member
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    I've always had a love-hate relationship with the scale so I've only started weighing myself again once a week.
  • designerdiscounts
    designerdiscounts Posts: 517 Member
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    Kateisgonnalose wrote: »
    @carriesirico - body measurements: I need to do that this weekend. The scale can lie but body measurements tell the truth. I don't want to take mine. I'm in totally denial.

    Today was a bad day for me. Yesterday was a weird eating day but I stayed within 100 calories of my daily goal. Today, however, I went way over. I was up at 430 into the city for an all day meeting. I had to rush to drop my son at school. I had no time to meal prep or pack. I did ok in the morning but by lunch time I was starving and ate one of those Box lunches that business order in - I chose the unhealthy chicken salad croissant option. I was just hungry and I did not want a salad so I chose the worst thing for me. And I even ate the cookie and potato chips that came with it. Then... In the afternoon... I had another cookie. My bad! I am like 1,500 over on my calories today. And I feel awful about it. I haven't even had dinner yet.

    How do you get back on track quickly when you blow it?

    Every single person has had days where they just totally screw up. It's getting right back on track that is key. Let it go and tomorrow eat right. And just keep moving forward. Dont beat yourself up about it, we've all been there.

  • designerdiscounts
    designerdiscounts Posts: 517 Member
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    carriesirico wrote: »
    I think I should take some body measurements to give a different perspective. And keep with the healthier plan I have set out. I was slowly gaining WT before making a commitment to lose WT. It is gonna take time...

    I also really need to take measurements but have been putting it off. I don't want to see those numbers! However, I did put on a pair of jeans today that didn't fit a few weeks ago.
  • ScoobaChick
    ScoobaChick Posts: 184 Member
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    I just got in a one hour Zumba session while Hubby took the kids to their ski lesson. Hoping that will somewhat offset the steak and fries dinner I am planning to have tonight to celebrate my best friend' bday (and my oldest son's 12.5 bday lol).

    Weight has been going in the right direction but Oh so slowly :( I still haven't gotten back to lifting. Part of it is that I know that initial inflammation will cause a slight weight gain and despite rationally knowing that the extra weight won't be fat and will come off once my muscles have once again habituated to that routine, I just don't want to see that scale go up. Silly of me right?

    Do you guys find it is easier to workout during the week or the week-end?

    Wishing all of you a great day!

    Scooba
  • designerdiscounts
    designerdiscounts Posts: 517 Member
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    Scooba, I've always gained when starting to work out again also. I'm sort of glad to hear it's not just me, it's frustrating! But just keep drinking tons of water and eating well and the scale will eventually show all your hard work.

    I definitely find it easier to work out during the week - the family takes up all my time during the weekends. And during week nights.

    I ate a bunch of salty stuff yesterday and wish I hadn't. But overall, it wasn't too bad. Gotta keep moving forward!

    And yes, the weight loss seems so slowwwww. If we are patient, it will pay off soon enough. I'm going to take measurements Monday when I weigh in and start using those as another gauge of success.

    Have a great weekend everyone! Make good choices :).
  • utahmomof10
    utahmomof10 Posts: 133 Member
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    I refined my macros yesterday (I've really just guesstimated them before based on lots of reading). They aren't a whole lot different, but I'm hoping the slight change will be enough to make a difference in both my body composition and performance in CrossFit. Had a good workout this morning, too.
  • designerdiscounts
    designerdiscounts Posts: 517 Member
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    How are your new macros working out Utahmom? I set mine a while back but really don't stick to them. In theory, I try to stay high protein, low carb but I know I need carbs for workouts and energy so I have carbs early in the day.

    My new scale came today, yippee! Will weigh myself tomorrow morning, it's been over a week, gasp. I did take my measurements today. I found an old list of body measurements from 2012 and what's crazy is that I'm not a whole lot different. My waist is 2" bigger and my thighs are 2" bigger. That's about it. I don't change much from the waist up I guess :).
  • WandaVaughn
    WandaVaughn Posts: 420 Member
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    I'm 49, 5'6 and 202 pounds. Ran my first 5k in 2015, had a total hysterectomy in 2016, and need to lose 40 pounds (hopefully in 2017). I've been working out and eating much better since the first of the year. We'll see how it goes!
  • utahmomof10
    utahmomof10 Posts: 133 Member
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    designerdiscounts wrote: »
    How are your new macros working out Utahmom? I set mine a while back but really don't stick to them. In theory, I try to stay high protein, low carb but I know I need carbs for workouts and energy so I have carbs early in the day.

    My new scale came today, yippee! Will weigh myself tomorrow morning, it's been over a week, gasp. I did take my measurements today. I found an old list of body measurements from 2012 and what's crazy is that I'm not a whole lot different. My waist is 2" bigger and my thighs are 2" bigger. That's about it. I don't change much from the waist up I guess :).

    So far they're working just fine. I haven't lost any more weight really, but I also started having my meal replacement shake for only breakfast and only on workout days because I don't want a bigger breakfast than that before my workouts (I work out at 9:00 or a little later). Plus right after I started tracking again I got sick so I didn't work out for a week and a half, and I always tend to lose weight more slowly when I'm working out regularly.

    This morning, before my CrossFit workout (which was a "hero WOD" - so particularly tough), I spent a solid hour shoveling 6+ inches of snow off our very large driveway/parking area at our home. My Fitness Pal figured 407 calories for that, and since I knew I was still going to go to the gym and didn't want my net calories to be too low, I decided to eat back the shoveling calories. I typically don't log my exercise calories - because of the nature of CrossFit, it's difficult to accurately measure them without wearing a heart rate monitor (which I used to do), so I just figure that my workouts are a bonus for the deficit and just stick to my regular calorie goal.

    I took "before" pics yesterday and took measurements yesterday. I compared it to the last time I measured in November and have lost 2.5 inches around my waist and hips. So that was nice.

    Yay for the new scale! I hear you on not changing around the waist, etc. Whenever I drop any weight, I can totally see it in my face, neck, shoulders, arms, and even lower legs, but somehow the midsection just doesn't want to let it go! I imagine having given birth 10 times may have something to do with that, but I'm optimistic that eventually it will come off as I am consistent with my eating. I'm excited!
  • Kateisgonnalose
    Kateisgonnalose Posts: 12 Member
    edited January 2017
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    @WandaVaughn, I have the exact same stats and weight loss goal as you... Except I'm 48. Losing weight is really a challenge this time around! Send me a friend request if you want some extra support in your journey. I'd send one to you but I still can't figure out how it works!

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