Another "the scale is just a number" post

Leaping_Lemur

I know several posts have recently addressed this topic, but I thought I'd chime in with my 2 cents.

When I joined MFP four months ago, I had the (seemingly very distant, perhaps unattainable) goal of reaching my "pre-baby" weight of 190. (Although I'm a guy, I'd packed on over 30 pounds since my son was born 9 years ago.) 18 days ago I reached 190.2, having lost 22 pounds since joining MFP. I bought myself a heart rate monitor as a reward, and ordered a big box of mysteries. I was dismayed, however, to see my weight creep back up after that. Not a huge amount, but it's been consistently between 191 and 192 since then, and seemingly nothing will budget it lower. I had a great weekend, and figured my weight might have dipped down a bit, but it was 191.6 this morning. So I got out the measuring tape, because I hadn't measured myself in 18 days (since the scale hit that all-time low). This is what I found (sorry about the formatting -- nothing I try will make it look table-like):

Date 9/26/13 10/14/13
Weight 190.2 191.6
Waist 39.6 38.5
Navel 41 40.5
Upper mid-thigh 22.63 21.75
Armpits 45.6 42.5
Bicep 13 12.88
Neck 16 16
Upper mid-calf 14.6 14.25
BMI 28.92 29.13
% body fat 28.6% 27.9%
fat (lbs) 54.5 53.4
lean body mass 135.7 138.2

(All measurements are in inches, all weight in pounds, by the way. The %bf and lbm figures come from http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/mbf/, which gives me numbers very close to what I get with calipers.)

Despite gaining a pound and a half, I've lost inches off of most of my measurements. My belly is slimmer. My chest is thinner. (That last one was so surprisingly large -- three inches! -- that I repeated it four different times.) My percent body fat has gone down, while my lean body mass -- in absolute terms -- has actually increased. (I've been lifting twice a week and biking three times a week lately.) Quite a big change in just three weeks -- despite gaining weight!

That box of mysteries that came in the mail is still unopened, and I won't get to read any of them until I pass below 190. But I'm going to put the scale away for two weeks. No need to focus on that number so obsessively. I'm making great progress in other areas, and I'm quite happy with that!

Event_Horizon975

This is amazing progress!!!!!! The scale is one of many tools we can use to judge our progress but it absolutely doesn't tell the whole story as you've proven! WAY TO GO!!!!

nickalow11

Thanks for this. The scale is tormenting me too, and I suck at doing measurements on myself...have to rely on hubby or trainer to help and God only knows if they're measuring correctly consistently. Ugg.

madtownjeremy

Glad you're able to put this together. My measurements are changing significantly even when my weight stalls, so that keeps me confident that I'm doing the right thing. It's sad when people use that scale as their one and only data point and then get discouraged when it doesn't budge.

You try and try and try and can only tell people to 'check your measurements!' so much.

artsycella

You're awesome and your progress shows it. Great attitude to have, and it's very true. I started weight lifting right as I approached 200 lb and plateaued for a month before finally dropping into the 190s. In that month, though, I lost a ton of inches. You're smart to put the scale away for a little while and enjoy all the great progress that you're making!

cafeaulait7

I needed this post today, lol I swear it looks like I've been so stuck for too long, but my inches are coming off each week! I've been at it long enough to have gained muscle, but I keep reading how that's impossible because I am at a small deficit. Impossible or not, I see more muscles, I'm stronger, I still get DOMS and increase my weights, and my inches are going down. My weight is the same or a tad higher.

Dunno. Don't know that I care, lol. It's the tighter, smaller me I was looking for, so I guess the scale matters very little in that. When I get discouraged, I literally feel my new inner thigh muscles, lol! Hey, works for me! Changes ARE going on; I just don't quite understand how the physiology works.

I did the same sort of plan I'm doing now several years ago, and I do remember that there was a point where I didn't change anything new yet I really started dropping pounds faster. I really do think I put on a certain amount of muscle first, and then later I see the scale go down significantly, probably after I've put on the base of muscle that I tend to get.