How to get past pounds vs. inches

coffeekat02

So I have lost a total of 7lbs since starting this journey before MFP. I have signifigantly reduced what I eat and have made a tremendous difference in my food choices. I have been working out doing a program called Crossfit. The problem is, I am at my hgihest weight EVER, even after having 3 kids. Normally, if I just eat right I drop weight fairly quick, this time it seems it is not really budging at all. I keep hearing everyone say I "look" smaller(and I feel it), but the scale isn't really showing it. It is heartbreaking that it isn't. I have tried hiding the scale and of course I find it to weigh myself. I feel after all this hard work, I should be further a long, I have never made such great sacrifices before with little results. I am at the point where I want to give up. I just want to know how anyone else has coped with losing inches as opposed to lbs. I have over 60 lbs to lose and normally it just falls off.

I know about the whole muscle/fat story, I just need to know how do I make myself mentally accept this?

kimmerroze

Quit getting on the scale.... simple as that. if you have 70 lbs to lose, it will come off. you arent' going to weigh this much for the rest of your life, its just coming off slowly... slow and steady wins the race....


But the way to get over the weight is to GET OFF THE SCALE!

Switch to a measuring tape to track your progress for a while.

coffeekat02

I am somewhat OCD when it comes to weighing myself, I guess if I am the best thing to do is throw out the scale. As I had my husband hide it and I found it : )

Thanks for the support, you are right, sometimes easier hearing it from strangers.

Bulgingbride

Coffeekat, I can't really offer you any advice because I am in exactly the same situation as you. Despite doing lots of exercise and eating healthily I am really struggling to lose weight. I have been measuring myself and I am losing inches but I can not let go of the scales to the extent that I was in tears on Saturday because I hadn't lost anything on the scales again. I am under extra pressure as I am getting married in 13 weeks and have my first dress fitting in 4 weeks. I know I should just stop getting on the scales but it is such a difficult thing to let go off. Sorry for hijaking your thread Coffeekat, just wanted to let you know that you are not alone!

mrsyatesy

I think if I am honest, dont think, that the muscle / fat thing is as far as it goes. If you genuinely need to lose 60lbs, then I dont think that you should be at a plateau.
Have you eaten within the MFP suggested cals, and recorded everything, as well as tracked your water and your sodium?
I got stuck half way to my goal because I was doing way too much high intensity cardio and muscle based exercise, and eating the wrong balance, whilst not drinking enough. Once I used the info on MFP to really honestly assess my intake and got some input from people on here I realised I was working at too high an intensity in my cardio for what I was trying to achieve, and also that I was not watching my sodium or my water. Since then it has been pretty much as expected (if only I didnt like wine and chocolate so much!!!).
Hope that is useful, rather than patronising!
Good luck

nlucero

I feel your pain! I use to drop weight fairly quickly too but there are a lot of factors that play into how you lose weight now (age, salt intake, muscle mass, etc.) You mentioned that you've never been at your current weight, and nor have I. It took a while for you to get up to where you are now and it will take some time to drop off. Remember if you loose it fast, you have a good chance of gaining it fast as well.

I just started MFP Jan 24. So far, 9 lbs. It doesn't nearly feel like I'm making a major impact but I've lost a couple of inches so that says something. I was told 1-2 lbs. a week is best and you have better chance of keeping it off. Also, as you've heard, time and time...muscle weighs more than fat. Once you convert this you will start seeing results in due time. I personally can't wait but will be so thrilled when it happens. Patience and persistence, you will start to see results! Make sure to drink plenty of water, watch your salt and sugar intake. I just found out that I was consuming too much sugar. I'm meeting with a nutritionist to find out how and where I could make some adjustments.

Take care, best of luck and hang in there!

Nadine

anubis609

You can't "make" yourself accept something...you just have to. It's there whether you like it or not. You can either accept it and change the way you think from this moment on and cut out the negative feelings, or you can deny it, give into the pessimism and eventually accept that you didn't try your absolute best by any means necessary. It's your choice and I'm not one to dictate other people how to live.

Just know that if you say you feel smaller, then it's a feeling that doesn't need to reflect as a tangible number. Acceptance has to be an act you do for yourself. Life will always give you the opportunities to do so, along with testing your patience.

ceebs9

How long have you been Crossfitting? I found that after a few months my focus suddenly became performance driven, not inches or numbers or anything else. I just wanted to improve my workouts, whether it was time or amount of weight lifted. That made me really start thinking of food as fuel. What could I eat to help my workouts. From there, it all fell in to place and became so much easier. Stick with it and focus on performance not numbers. Good luck!

kimmerroze

Bulgingbride... I am too a bride... I started working out back in october... I haven't lost any weight. In fact i have gained a pound in a half... but since my first dress fitting in november to trying on my dress two weeks ago, she is having to take my dress in an inch on each side. (and putting in padding where my boobs used to be lol )


So Honestly,,, if an alcoholic wants to get rid of his drinking habit, he throws out his alcohol, if a smoker wants to kick cigarettes he goes on the patch or the gum and quits with the cigarettes.

Addictions are addictions and the only way to get rid of them is to quit using what you are addicted to. Get your mind off of it.

Bulgingbride and Coffeekat you guys can do it..... again I say don't focus on what isn't happening, focus on what IS happening.... Coffeekat you said you are losing inches. that is GREAT news! Celebrate it! the weight will come off. Give it time..
In the mean time. Send that Scale to Hades... its where they belong anyways. More eating disorders are started because of scales. people think "oh my weight isn't moving, well I guess I am eating too much" and thus they become anorexic. They are NOOOO good.

coffeekat02

The super duper great part is, when you do the fitting it is based on measurements not by lbs lost : ) I am certain if you keep it up you will be pleasantly surprised when you have your fitting. Congratulations on your wedding, I got married a year ago on the 19th and put so much stress on myself to lose weight before the big day, that it took away from all that I should have enjoyed prior to. Don't let that happen to you. I would love to hear about your fitting when it comes. We can keep plugging along. I asked my husband to take the scale for me to work and maybe bring it home every two weeks for me to weigh in and then take it back. I know it sounds silly, but at this point I have no self control when it comes to the scale as I just want to lose weight so bad and have just worked my heart out.

Good luck, maybe we should become friends, I need all the help I can get.

coffeekat02

Thank you for this! I have been doing Crossfit going on 5 weeks, I absolutely love it. I have done things I never felt I would be capable of. I was abel to drag and flip huge tires this past Saturday, I was so proud of myself. It is the greatest feeling as prior to, my hips were riddenw tih Rheumatoid arthritis and walking was tough, but I feel so amazing now and see i am getting stronger. My endurance is not even in comparison to where I was. You are so right focus on the positive. I appreciate it

kirstinlee

I'd recommend taking a progress picture every week. Then even if you get discouraged because you only "lost" a pound, you can see that you look 10 pounds lighter, regardless of what the scale says.

coffeekat02

Did you say wine and chocolate? : ) Gosh you and I could be great friends! May I ask how you altered your workout to help with results? I have been doing amazing on MFP, maintaining all the goals set in every category, that is why I do not understand how this could happen.

elloradannon

I guess it depends on how you look at it- for me I was COMPLETELY obsessed with the scale for a year and a half.... but I felt as though I needed that to lose the weight (I lost 65 before joining MFP). I needed it to keep myself in check. If I hit a low number in the morning, it would keep me on track for the rest of the day because I got excited and wanted it to be lower the next day. If I had a high number, I would be extra careful for the rest of the day. Now, maybe this isn't emotionally very healthy but it worked for me. It got the weight off which was the goal.

The problem I'm facing now is that I'm having a hard time letting go of that mentality now that I am at a healthy weight. It's a struggle for me to "hide" the scale because I lived for so long being obsessed with it. I've gotten better though- and Im trying to focus more on my workouts and how my clothes fit! If you feel that it is a problem for you, then you should probably just throw it away as others have said... but if it helps to motivate you, I wouldn't feel too guilty about it!

jemmie00

Get a body fat reader or have one of the employees at CrossFit measure your body fat percentage. I used to obsess over pounds, but when I started paying attention to my body fat percentage in addition, it really put things in perspective for me.

Bulgingbride

That's all really useful advice, I am going to try to stay focused on inches lost as opposed to lbs. Fingers crossed my dress fitting goes well in a few weeks time, although i still have 12 weeks until the wedding so a good amount of time to make a substantial difference.

mrsyatesy

Did you say wine and chocolate? : ) Gosh you and I could be great friends! May I ask how you altered your workout to help with results? I have been doing amazing on MFP, maintaining all the goals set in every category, that is why I do not understand how this could happen.

Yes they too are my friends :laugh:

I amended my workouts to incorproate some variation. I started doing kettle bell workouts, HIIT workouts and some weigths, helping my body to work off the excess more efficiently. I would really recommend trying a variation of workouts during the week - there are some amazing people on here who would help you, so much inspiration, and finding new things rather than just always doinga similar routine seemed to shake up my weight loss.

You'll get there - and your shape will be changing, sometimes you are just the last person to see it :ohwell:

Good luck :flowerforyou: