Scales not showing progress

AllanMisner

I hate how the scale is used as the end all be all for so many people. It is one of the worst measures. Gaining muscle mass is a great thing! Losing fat is a great thing! If you're doing a bit of each, your clothes get smaller on you and you feel better, and yes, you may gain weight. So what? You're better off.

If all you want is to lose weight, cut off a body part (a human head weighs about 11lbs). Great results, fast! If you push for weight loss, you're doing just that, except it is valuable muscle you're cutting off instead of a visible body part.

You're on the right track. Don't let a scale deter you from being the best you, you can be.

trelisiab

The scale sometimes lie or take a long time to reveal the truth. Instead of worrying about numbers on the scale pay closer attention to your non-scale victories, such as: how your clothes fit, meeting your eating and workout goals, etc.

bwogilvie

If you're measuring accurately and logging honestly, you'll eventually have progress. As others have said, the problem with perceiving your progress is that it's not linear. Scale weight is a useful metric, since it's so easy to measure, but it isn't perfect.

It's unlikely that you put on much muscle mass unless you're doing heavy lifting (which body revolution doesn't involve). You're probably retaining some water, though. Plus daily fluctuations are inevitable, depending on sodium and fiber intake, biological rhythms, etc.

To see the trend behind the fluctuations, I actually recommend daily weigh-ins, with a huge caveat: you need to do some math to find the difference between your actual weight loss and the daily fluctuations, which are much larger. Using an exponentially weighted average can help you filter out the noise and focus on the trend, as John Walker explains in "The Hacker's Diet" (http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/e4/). The chapter on "The Rubber Bag" explains, briefly, the source of these fluctuations. The chapter on "Signal and Noise" explains how some simple math can filter them out. Walker explains how to do the math, but you can also set up a free account on his server to do it for you, or use a service like Beeminder or TrendWeight.com.

For example, here's my graph from last August:


You can see that on the 20th, my scale weight had gone down 4 days in a row, but it went up the next 4 days. Since 3 of those 4 were below the trend line, though, the trend continued downward. As long as most of my daily weights were below the trend, the graph showed me that I was losing weight. In December, on the other hand, my goal was to maintain weight, and about half of my measurements were above the trend line.

[Edited to fix image link.]

morty1966

Bwogilvie - that is a work of art. I'm very impressed. I think I would go slightly potty if I did that. My aim is to move away from my obsession with scales. I think daily weigh ins with recording and mapping and making graphs would feed that monster instead!

However, that said, you are right, which is why I think monthly might work better for me, rather than daily.

LuvonLuv

Hi, I've read alot of previous posts on this subject. I started Focus T25 this Monday and gained 3lbs up to this morning but believe me...I'm not feeling demotivated.

Basically what has happened to me since I started T25...and I swear I haven't noticed this happened before cause I've never done anything that intense in such a short space of time before....is that I began to feel extremely hungry at times that I do not normally. With my previous mindset (prior to joining MFP), I would have never given my body food when I feel hungry at odd times. But because I am learning more and more through MFP posts, how the body functions change together with lifestyle changes such as change in exercise, I decided that I am not going to withhold eating. So I ate just a little to cover the hunger, nothing much at all.

I've also noticed an obvious change with regards to how my body treats the water I intake. I try to drink no less than 8 glasses of water daily. Prior to starting T25, I would go to urinate very often during the day and night. And after I started T25, my trips to the bathroom reduced drastically. Just today I spoke to myself that I shall have to increase my water intake, since it seems that my body is now retaining water due to the exercise.

What I'm trying to say is...what our friend are saying on this topic is so true. You exercise and change your eating habits, your body will take some time to adapt to its new lifestyle. I know it's scary when you know you're working hard, and the scales don't show it...but please start doing measurements. I've made sure to measure prior to T25 (edited...I said weighed but i meant measured). Please log in your measurements today.

I'm no longer looking for success on the scale. As I continue with T25, I'm looking for success with my measurements. I look forward to reading about your progress later on.

Smashley1947

There is a huge difference between losing weight and getting a healthier body.

I am adding another voice saying check your measurements, you may be losing fat but gaining muscle.

and muscle weighs more than fat.

Keep eating and keep exercising with a mix of cardio and weights, you will feel and look so much better

The OP will not have gained that much muscle in 2 weeks of that sort of routine. At best with proper diet and lifting a few times a week you could gain a pound or so of muscle in 12 weeks. The OPs weight gain after 2 weeks will be water due to the change in exercise routine

I was talking more long time results in regards to checking measurements and gaining muscle and watching the scale. Being patient. Focus on how you look and feel.

My body didn't get overweight overnight. It is going to take awhile to get a fitter body. The recommended weight loss goal is 1-2 lbs a week, any more then that then it is unhealthy. Also a women's body weight can fluctuate from +/- 10 lbs during a month. (I read that in a science magazine)

LuvonLuv

For example, here's my graph from last August:



[Edited to fix image link.]

I returned to WOW at this...impressive.

LuvonLuv

Also a women's body weight can fluctuate from +/- 10 lbs during a month. (I read that in a science magazine)

That happens to me all the time...I do +/- 5 lbs or so...I have gotten used to it now, and I'm no longer panicky about it. :happy:

RGv2

There is a huge difference between losing weight and getting a healthier body.

I am adding another voice saying check your measurements, you may be losing fat but gaining muscle.

and muscle weighs more than fat.

Keep eating and keep exercising with a mix of cardio and weights, you will feel and look so much better

Nope.

You don't lose fat and gain muscle at the same time (outside of minimal noob gains).

RGv2

Measure yourself with a tape measure. Log the results here on MFP. If you are exercising you may be increasing muscle mass, which makes you leaner (=thinner), but weigh more. I have the same thing. Especially when I started lifting. Hang in there.

No....

If you're in a caloric deficit, which OP says she is, you're not going to gain mass.