Scale number will move only when good & ready

Kim55555

Got a huge shock this morning when I weighed myself. I'm into the 50's range, weighing 59.2 kgs now. I cant believe it. The lastest kilo that I lost took 6 months to lose.

In the past 6 months I've lost a lot in centimetres and have had to keep buying smaller clothes sizes. People can see how thin I have been getting and assuming i've lost heaps of weight. I have been fluctuating between 60 - 62 kgs for the past 6 months. Scale just would not budge.

The moral to this story is... If you exercise intensely, do weights and have a small defecit its going to take the scale a while to catch up to the hard work you have put in. For the past year I have been eating between 1800 - 2200 (as a 5 foot 2 female) My body has changed so much yet the scale was stuck. You need to have patience and not worry about what the scale says. Its how you look in your clothes, and more importantly how you naked!

So keep focused, work hard and you will be successful. It takes time for your body to change. I hope this encourages others. You might not even lose any more scale weight or even put on weight and look better than before when you weighed less. Dont let the scale rule your life. What I have been doing to keep motivating myself is to buy clothes and work hard so I can fit into them 6 - 8 weeks later. Its been working nicely.

I have now lost 32 kg and I started April 2010. So its been over 2 years now.

Swopkin

That's very inspirational. Congrats on reaching your goal weight. My goal weight is about the same and you are absolutely right; I have been losing inches consistently, but weight only once in a while.

Kim55555

That's very inspirational. Congrats on reaching your goal weight. My goal weight is about the same and you are absolutely right; I have been losing inches consistently, but weight only once in a while.

thanks. Good luck with your goal. Keep up the good work!

I like to eat at a slight defecit so that I have enough fuel to help me to get fitter and stronger, and to have the energy to play sport to the best of my ability. The reason why I decided to lose the weight was so that I would be able move better on the footy field. It was so hard before., I really struggled. This season I have improved out of sight. I am having an absolute ball out there. I'm in my late 30's and feel born again. I feel like I'm 20 something again. Also there is less pressure on my joints.

skinny4me2be

Bumping this as I have this happening right now. No weight loss but inches lost...trying very hard to be kind to myself! :-)

Kim55555

Keep at it mate! you are having success.

I put back on some weight this past year. I've lost 4 kg's so far & the last few kg's are taking forever to come off. My transformation monthly photos starting 3 months ago are look fantastic!

The thing is, if the scale is not moving I find its kind of hard for me to tell if im on track as you haven't got that weekly scale clue so at times it feels like you are flying blind. I will try my grey skirt on again in 3 weeks time & see how it's fitting. From past experience I know that my fat loss sweet spot is between 1700-1900 calories for the intense exercise I do. So I'll keep the faith & patience!

In the meantime I concentrate on my running performance. It's amazing what I can do now! I run so much faster at age 41 than I ever did in my 20's. I'm the fittest I've ever been & I can't wait to challenge myself against the teenagers & twent something year olds at pre season in January. Actually Im most likely retaining water as my hammys have been really sore lately with the punishment I dish out to myself.

Kim55555

The last time (when I originally lost the 33 kg) it took me 1 whole year to lose the last 3 kg. I just have to remind myself of that.

skinny4me2be

Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm doing T25 and like I said, losing a lot of inches (FAT), but would love to see the scale go down as well. There are days it goes up vs down. Frustrating. I am soar each day, a part of me wonders if I'm eating too much or not enough, but I must be eating the right amount for the work I'm doing if I'm losing inches. :-)

TeeMac64

Thanks for your great post!
I'm still at same weight, but look totally different now since I've been heavy-lifting and walking daily.
I try to just eyeball how I'm doing. The scale's a liar!

Kim55555

Your welcome! Yep! It's definately working as your losing inches.

It's getting late here and just about to head off to sleep. I'll come back and chat some more later! Seeya

aniqa109

This is great to read only if id read something like this few months ago.
i was eating at a deficit and exercising yet the scale was not showing much loss i got so disheartened..as though my efforts were going to waste!!
So what did i do.....i gave up!! I felt like im doing something wrong and couldnt understand it..i stopped exercising and starting eating normally..i gained the few kg i had lost plus a few kg more!!
So im back on here..with a lot more knowledge and understanding and now im not obsessed with the scale anymore!

ksnegirl

This is exactly what I am going through!! Thank you for the inspiration!

Kim55555

Skinny4 thanks so much for bringing this thread back to life as I too lately have started to become a bit too obsessed with the scale. I needed this reminder!

A lot of people will say if you don't see a scale drop then you need to drop your calories because you are not in defecit. This is not always true though! This basically applies to people who have more to lose or who are sedentary.

For those of us who are close to goal weight and/or exercise intensely we need to use other tools to track our progress. We have to contend with fluid retention from soreness and from recomping which adds scale weight.

If you haven't yet read Tim Venutos Burn the fat feed the muscle I highly recommend you do so !

With the scale you get weekly feedback and if you are off track you will know about it a lot faster compared to if you tracking your progress by taking measurements, the way your clothes fit & by taking monthly photographs which is a 3 to 4 week feedback. So we ave to be patient and wait a month to see if our efforts are working.

Back in 2012 I got down to 57 kg. The last few kg's took around 12 months to lose. In 2013 I did a 9 month bulk went up to 66 kg then did a cut and got to 62 kg. I looked thinner after my bulk weighing 62 kg than I did when I weighed 57 kg back in 2012. I'm not sure what scale number I could have got to after my bulk as I decided that after 5 months of cutting I was happy with how I looked so I went onto maintenance. I'll have to share my photos sometime.

This time around I have decided to give myself a full 12 months at defecit and I'd be curious to see what scale weight I end up at but this time around I might not even get to 57 kg as I put on muscle during my 2013 bulk!

I'm seriously thinking about ditching those scales and just let the scale number end up where it wants to. It's too discouraging.


A109 it's never to late to learn from this. I recommend you weigh in once monthly. Good on you for having another go. I feel a lot of women have done the same as you and given up for the same reason. If only they would have kept going they would have seen amazing results. The fat loss is masked by the water retention, you are also building stronger bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles need repairing and sucks in a lot of water to do so which makes you heavier on the scale.

Teemac that is f&@$) awesome!!! Woohooo good on ya, and enjoy!!

Dst your very welcome

If your keen, check out my other mfp posts from the last few years. I used to post a lot in 2011 - 2013. You'll be able to read my story and the problems/frustrations I went through.

Just out of curiosity how many calories are you girls averaging per week ?? I've been averaging approx 1850 weekly calories and have done very well on that amount! Now that I'm a bit lighter weight I'm trying to stick to closer to 1750 but find half the time I'm eating 1800 and something.

Oh and ps I don't have/don't want to have friends on mfp so please don't be offended if I don't add you! I just don't have the time. I can sometimes post here on mfp or we can keep this thread alive and chat about one another's progress if your keen.

Kim55555

Kim55555 wrote: »

Back in 2012 I got down to 57 kg. The last few kg's took around 12 months to lose. In 2013 I did a 9 month bulk went up to 66 kg then did a cut and got to 62 kg. I looked thinner after my bulk weighing 62 kg than I did when I weighed 57 kg back in 2012. I'm not sure what scale number I could have got to after my bulk as I decided that after 5 months of cutting I was happy with how I looked so I went onto maintenance. I'll have to share my photos sometime.

This time around I have decided to give myself a full 12 months at defecit and I'd be curious to see what scale weight I end up at but this time around I might not even get to 57 kg as I put on muscle during my 2013 bulk!

I'm seriously thinking about ditching those scales and just let the scale number end up where it wants to. It's too discouraging.

Actually this time rather than focussing on getting to 57 kg I'm going to focus on getting underneath 20% body fat. 15 - 20 % body fat % is what I'm striving for! That is the women's athlete range. I got to 21 % back in 2012. I think I'll get my body fat % tested every 2 months to see how I'm progressing.

skinny4me2be

Right now, I'm averaging 1850 cals. per day. Weekends are tough for me with social gatherings but I try the best I can. Some times I go over but I just try to get back on track the next day.

Penthesilea514

Thanks for posting- great advice. It is so easy to get discouraged looking at the scale not moving. Really should take a few other measurements to keep the motivation up. Great job and keep up the good work.

Local_Atlantis

Well done on your amazing achievement!!
Everyone should know this!! In all of my research about health, nutrition and exercise over the past 5 weeks of my new MFP lifestyle, I have learned that it is about FAT LOSS, not WEIGHT LOSS.
It is sooooo so important to measure yourselves as well as weigh yourselves! If the scales don't move, the tape measure never lies
Well done again xx

TossaBeanBag

Kim55555 wrote: »

For those of us who are close to goal weight and/or exercise intensely we need to use other tools to track our progress. We have to contend with fluid retention from soreness and from recomping which adds scale weight.

I'm seriously thinking about ditching those scales and just let the scale number end up where it wants to. It's too discouraging.

A109 it's never to late to learn from this. I recommend you weigh in once monthly. Good on you for having another go. I feel a lot of women have done the same as you and given up for the same reason. If only they would have kept going they would have seen amazing results. The fat loss is masked by the water retention, you are also building stronger bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles need repairing and sucks in a lot of water to do so which makes you heavier on the scale.

Yes, the scale sucks! My clothes are fitting better. I am losing fat. I look better. I am getting stronger, but that scale is barely going down. I like the idea of this approach, and I am buying that book.

skinny4me2be

I'm so glad I took measurements before starting T25!! Its been a huge motivator!

cahf

THANK YOU for posting this! Makes me feel better about my slow pace of weight loss - I see fitness gains all the time but everything else is slow slow slow.

Kim55555

rockstar53

Yup…so needed to hear this!! Thank you!

Kim55555

Kim55555 wrote: »

The thing is, if the scale is not moving I find its kind of hard for me to tell if im on track as you haven't got that weekly scale clue so at times it feels like you are flying blind. I will try my grey skirt on again in 3 weeks time & see how it's fitting. From past experience I know that my fat loss sweet spot is between 1700-1900 calories for the intense exercise I do. So I'll keep the faith & patience!

Well it's been a few weeks now since I tried the skirt on. I have great news! I tried on that grey skirt and the zipper goes all the way up now!!!! Before it only went half way! So I'm happy to know that I am making progress even though the scale has not moved still. Wooohoooo, the calorie amount I'm on is working so I'll continue eating the same amount in the safe knowledge I'm losing fat eating that amount. Yey so proof that I haven't plateaued phew!!

Kim55555

rockstar53 wrote: »

Yup…so needed to hear this!! Thank you!

Your welcome!

wildeyezz

I agree with you. I have lost 35 lbs and trying to lose my last 10, but the scale it taking it's sweet time...I am certainly seeing changes in my body as the fat turns to lean muscle.

Looking at the scale can be demotivating sometime, but I keep telling myself to 'trust the process'....that's my mantra!

skinny4me2be

@ wildeyezz......I too have been doing that self talk...'trust the process'...losing fat, clothes fitting better....all is good.

Kim55555

Scale eventually moved. I'm now 61.1

skinny4me2be

Yea!! Good job!!

Kim55555

Ta. What's the bet the next kilo takes another two months haha. I don't care if it does as my only goal is to fit nicely into my black skirt. I plan to be in that skirt in 6-8 weeks time.

nicola8989

Thank you - this makes me feel a lot better

leggup

Kim55555 wrote: »

Scale eventually moved. I'm now 61.1

I see. The inspirational post from 2012 is no longer true?

1800-2000 is very high if that's your net and you're 5'2 and female. I am 5'11 and set to lose .5 lbs/week (so, very small deficit), and my goal is to net 1700 calories a day.

Kim55555

No it's gross. I've been losing averaging 1850 gross weekly. I'll have to get around to posting my progress pics.