HELP! Do i stay away from a scale?

shunkawakon

Hey guys, a few months ago I exercised (mainly cardio, hardly any strength training). I lost 10 pounds in about a month. Then I fell off for a few months....and started back up again.

I started my usual routine...lots of cardio, hardly any weight training. I lost 3 pounds in the first week and few days (which was expected, because thats what happened the first time around) Then read a few books that told me, hey, you need more than just cardio. I started integrating strength training into my workouts everyday. About 60 minutes of strength training (free weights and my body mostly) and about 45 minutes of cardio.

Since I started strength training two weeks ago, i was at 168.5. Two weeks later, excited to step on the scale because i have been working my *kitten* off and eating really well, i saw today that i was 168.4. SOO DISCOURAGING!!!! have I already plateaued in the beginning fo my weight journey? Or is my body already building up muscle in these last 2 and a half weeks?

I feel better and i feell like I LOOK better, but man. Its very discouraging. I don't want to stop strength training as hard as I am now, because I love the feeling so much.

My question is, is it dangerous to avoid the scale on my weight-loss fit journey? I'm considering not weighing myself anymore, because I jsut feel so down after looking at the number after all my very hard work and dedication.

kgesq

You may be putting on muscle weight, which could counteract the weight loss temporarily strictly from a scale standpoint. Have you made any changes to your diet as a result of the increased activity? Do you log calories for exercise? Your body could have adjusted to the lowered calorie amount or interpreted an increase in activity coupled with lower calories as a signal that it needs to slow the metabolism. Sometimes, the losses we are told to expect are the average of several weeks of losing more and losing less. So the fact that you lost 3 lbs in the first week and 10 lbs in a month may be balancing itself with your overall healthy weight loss. I don't know, really, but I don't think you should be discouraged. Give it a few more days and then decide if you need to make changes.

CraftyGirl4

The scale is important...to a certain degree. We all want to get to a place where we are maintaining a healthy body weight with a proper amount of fat and lean muscle tissue. But, at the same time, the scale is not the be all and end all of the healthy human being. If you put a body builder on the scale and used only that number to determine their health, you would be way off because most of that is lean muscle mass.

I think that in addition to using the scale to show that you are losing weight, you should also integrate taking your measurements because those measurements are a great indication of the changes your body is going through, even when the scale isn't necessarily showing you what you want to see. Also, only weigh in once a week. If you weigh in every day, you'll see changes every day. A good example that happened to me is one night I went out and had a big fancy dinner with my coworkers and weighed in 2.5 pounds heavier than the day prior. And, the day after the 2.5 pound increase, I was back to the weight before that. Weight can be very fickle.

Also, as kgesq said, you want to make sure you're eating enough to keep up with the increased calorie expenditure and the increased need for recovery. Cardio is fantastic, and so is strength training but you have to give your body everything it needs to recover and rebuild after those work outs. Make sure you get enough sleep on a daily basis and make sure that you have a day off at least once a week as well.

thebunnies

my approach: i weigh myself every few days, and take a mental note, but i only record it when i lose. i try not to weigh myself every single day, because so many things go into your daily weight. (what you ate, what week of the month it is, etc.) weighing myself every day makes me go insane!

TourThePast

You're probably not putting on muscle, but you may find that the muscle you have is temporarily swollen in response to the exercise and therefore heavier.

I'd keep weighing yourself, but I'd also measure waist and hips too - often when I don't lose weight, I can see a loss with the tape measure.

THCamel

Well.... Your going to weigh what you weigh, wether you check the scales or not. I like to know how my hardwork is paying off and think it keeps me focused on the goal

shunkawakon

Thanks guys....I make it a point not to weigh myself everyday, but rather every two weeks. Perhaps my muscles are swollen. although in highschool I was a fulltime hockey and rugby player, so I'm a dense short girl. My lowest weight was 135, but i'm sure i was skinny fat because of hte lack of exercise. I was 145 in highschool when i played sports, always looked fit, but never super skinny.

Maybe my history as a hockey player and rugby player have defined the fact that I could POSSIBLY already gaining muslce weight??

I wont let the scale bring me down though!!

shele75

I agree- measuring waist, hips, etc and how clothes are fitting is another measure of progress. You are doing great!!!