Does there come a point where weight is not the issue

dawnmcneil10

I had a really hard time visualizing myself for the longest time and then happened to see a picture of the me I used to be and thought OMG who is that?! I really couldn't see myself as the "thin" or "skinny" person all the others were seeing. Now I can't say I see myself as others do but I know who I am on the inside now, I'm healthy not thin, not skinny but healthy with room to grown stronger and healthier each and every day.

I'd suggest taking a hard look at an old photo of yourself, look into your eyes in the picture, do you see yourself looking back or a stranger. It takes time to reconnect to yourself, cut yourself some slack and enjoy how far you've come. Many times the numbers we think we want to see on the scale are no where near where healthy is for our bodies.

Also set yourself a "range" not a specific number to meet or stay at, there are many things that will cause fluctuations and those fluctuations are temporary. For example a glass of wine can cause me a 3lb gain for 3 days........yes really it can that's how closely I monitored myself. Now I don't concern myself with the scale, I enjoy my new energetic life and use the scale to check in a few times a month and so far my range has been completely attainable.

ahoy_m8

Yes. How you feel is the issue, but the scale can be a helpful indicator if you use it right. Agree with all who urge weighting consistently and frequently to get a sense of your weight pattern. Just hopping on at random times won't tell you if the scale number is at the top or bottom of your natural water weight variation. It would be like weighing once in your skivvies and the next time in a 3-piece suite with shoes.... too many variables obscure the reading.

Example: DH works out of town M-F. He weighed himself Sat morning, and promptly went on a backpack trip. Freeze dried food. Trail mix. Pumping/filtering water out of a lake (ick)and possibly not drinking enough. Came home and weighed himself Sun night. Scale read 5 lb heavier. "Could I really have gained 5 lbs in one day?" he asks.

Point is some (most?) of your "10 lb gain" could be water. It could be recomp (same size+less fat+ more muscle=more weight). Many advocate taking measurements consistently, and that is surely a better indicator if you are good at it and can do it consistently. I doubt I use a consistent tension for all measurements, and I take a couple so it takes several minutes to do. Hopping on the scale is fast and easy, but you have to keep scale weight in perspective and not let it mislead you. Congrats on your awesome progress!

elisa123gal

My thought: I am not weighing myself righ now for this exact reason. If you are exercising and eating right and your clotehs are smaller and you are looking smaller. Who the hell cares what you weigh? I find weighing just feeds that little monster that wants to push you off your fitness plan.

Just keep plugging along..when your waist size is what you want..and you look good in your clothes.. then maybe weigh yourself to make sure you don't regain.. but why let that number on the scale play tricks on you.

jacklis

To answer the question "does there come a point when weight is not the issue". That point did come for me- but it was after about 4 years. I had been working very hard, and seeing many changes (body shape, clothes fitting differently, weight going down) that it has finally become a non-issue for me.
Don't get me wrong- I still look in the mirror and see areas that could use improvement, but it's with a much healthier, realistic voice in my head. It's one that knows I can make the changes I want to because I was able to make the changes I have and have come to accept the new me.

gothchiq

Okay, first of all you have to know that you are getting an accurate weight. So... place the scale on a hard floor in a place that is flat. Sometimes this takes a bit of fiddling around if you live in an old apartment like me. Once you have it flat on the hard floor, make sure it is zeroed. Now, most importantly, always weigh first thing in the morning, before consuming anything, after going to the bathroom, before showering, and be nude. You only want to weigh your body, not food, water, and clothing.

Gamer_2k4

I do not want to be skinny, but 230 just seems like a lot when I am in a 34 waist jean and a large shirt. It is just confusing the heck out of me.

The common thought is that women are the ones with all sorts of body types, but men are nearly just as diverse. I have broad shoulders and a big neck, so I wear XL shirts. However, my body stores fat pretty evenly, so I wore size 40 pants at 260 and only just got down to size 34s at 195. (I'm 6'1".) In fact, despite wearing an XL shirt, I wear M tank tops, because I don't need to worry about the shoulders in those.

On the other hand, I have a friend whose body stores fat more in his stomach, so while he's the same height as me, the part of his body most affected by his weight lies above his belt line. At about 250, he wears size 34 pants (the same I do now, with 50 pounds of difference between us).

If there's something I've found out over the past few years, it's that no matter how good (or bad) you think you look, there's always more fat to lose. I used to think I'd bottom out at around 200; now I have my sights set on 180 or even 175.

bwogilvie

FYI, for men who use their trouser size to judge how they're doing: vanity sizing has hit men's clothing. I have a 34-inch waist. I wear size 32 trousers from Perry Ellis and Greg Norman, size 32 Levi's, and size 30 from Old Navy.

Abram Sauer wrote an illuminating piece about this in Esquire, four years ago:
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fashion/pants-size-chart-090710

jlgobert

FYI, for men who use their trouser size to judge how they're doing: vanity sizing has hit men's clothing. I have a 34-inch waist. I wear size 32 trousers from Perry Ellis and Greg Norman, size 32 Levi's, and size 30 from Old Navy.

I do know this to be true, but I use the figures i do based on that knowledge and my history. While I know my jeans are definately vanity sized as you say i also have my slacks custome tailored and believe me there is no vanity sizing when they put the tape measure on. At my highest weight and my first pair of slacks from the shop i use I was a 51 waist, I am now a 38 based on the slacks I purchased 2 days ago. I will admit that made me fel really good and put my loss in a different perspective. But to the point when I was a 51 waist my levis were 46. But jeans have been sized different for several years so I still use that number as a measure.

RHachicho

Short answer is yes, Scale weight doesn't actually mean an awful lot as human beings are so unique. And there are many non fat related weight fluctuations involved. If you feel healthy and like the way you look I really wouldn't stress too much. It's beginning to become apparent that half the health problems blamed on "obesity" are actually more the result of a sedentary lifestyle. While being optimum weight is optimum. A bit of extra chub really isn't going to do much to hasten your departure or ruin your life.

in fact in a twist of irony assuming the same person one with low enough body fat to have 6 pack abs and the other a few points into the overweight BMI category the person on the overweight side is actually the healthier human being. Our body can make very good use of a small reserve tank.

nxd10

Scales are weird, although I do weigh EVERY day. However, I also use a tape measure. Both help me. I stayed the same weight for a year, but lost 2" on my waist.

How much are you exercising? My husband does tai chi several hours a day (he is an instructor and very serious about it). His legs and arms are really solid muscle. But he's overweight - all on his gut. It has been very frustrating for him that he hasn't lost much weight - he's been stuck at 20 pounds for two months. During that time, however, his shirt and pants size has gone way down. More muscle in his legs and shoulders, less fat in the gut.

But it pisses him off too.

nxd10

FYI, for men who use their trouser size to judge how they're doing: vanity sizing has hit men's clothing. I have a 34-inch waist. I wear size 32 trousers from Perry Ellis and Greg Norman, size 32 Levi's, and size 30 from Old Navy.

I do know this to be true, but I use the figures i do based on that knowledge and my history. While I know my jeans are definately vanity sized as you say i also have my slacks custome tailored and believe me there is no vanity sizing when they put the tape measure on. At my highest weight and my first pair of slacks from the shop i use I was a 51 waist, I am now a 38 based on the slacks I purchased 2 days ago. I will admit that made me fel really good and put my loss in a different perspective. But to the point when I was a 51 waist my levis were 46. But jeans have been sized different for several years so I still use that number as a measure.

Vanity sizing is part of how I got overweight: I stayed a size 14 for 20 years, but size 14 didn't stay the same. I am now somewhere between an 6 and 12 depending on the manufacturer.

For guys, I think the big problem for pants is WHERE it sits. If you have a beer belly, pants sling lower and lower as your belly gets bigger, and you don't see the change in waist size. At least that's what I see in the guys I know well.

VelveteenArabian

Muscle takes up less space than fat. So 5 pounds of muscle takes up a lot less room than 5 pounds of fat. Since you're heavier but smaller it sounds like you've gained muscle, which is going to explain why you're smaller but heavier.

Yes after a point, the scale and things like BMI will only serve to make you feel bad.