SCALES WON'T BUDGE!

lydt5880

I just don't get it! I have been logging everything and i men everything, and weighing everything to ensure i am being accurate and i am not losing any pounds. This is something i have never experienced before. I am doing cardio and haven't started my strength training so I don't think it's muscle. I am drinking more water and I have cut down on carbs. I am losing cm/inches on my waist and hips plus my face looks slimmer already. So why am I not losisng pounds? I KNOW it is irrational of me to be worrying about the scales as eight is coming off with measurements but I still cant help feeling crap that not one single oz has shifted on the scales (and yes I have tried more than one scale to check they aren't broken).

Is there any moral support out there for me to motivate me?

(please do not comment if you are going to make me feel even worse about myself or just to feel self righteous).

earthsember

Bumping because I'm in a similar situation, I'm sorry I can't be of more help.

MaraDiaz

Starting an exercise program can make your body hold onto water weight (something to do with repairing muscles I think) so you might have lost a few pounds and just have traded it for some temporary water weight gain due to exercise.

noriri

Although I cannot explain why the scale isn't moving, just keep doing what your doing, obviously "something" is going on to see your measurements decreasing. Your body and soul deserves the best! Feel free to add me as your friend. I will always be there to "encourage". This is hard work!

Its_Nat

Scales are evil, nasty things that play with our minds! I'm quite sure in fact, that they're invention from another planet that intends to invade Earth and take over through mind control.

Having said that, great work on the inches lost.. the pounds will soon catch up! xx

pontprennau

So your body is changing shape, but your weight is staying the same? So even though you aren't doing weights you are using muscles which will grow. I'd suggest stop being preoccupied with "a number" and start enjoying the obvious progress you are making and ENJOY the new heightened fitness level you are at:)

I hit these roadblocks too and when I do i KNOW that around the corner is a sudden rush of weightloss when it all catches up again.

Muscle burns more calories than fat when you are "idle".

Now go grab some weights and start lifting!!:)

pkw58

Been there, done that. I lose weight weird, and that is why this time around I am diligent about my on going maintenance and huge change in lifestyle.

When I was in my 20's I went on a 6-week plateau. While on weight watchers. and being perfect. I even didn't chew gum for fear joe the extra calories. then I lost 5 pounds on the 7th week.

When I was in my 30's, I went on Jenny Craig. The first 25 fell off the first month .. the last 5 --- took 3 monhts.

When I was in my early 40's, I gained and lost and gained and lost.

Since December 2011, I have lost 41.5 pounds through September 7, 2012. the last 6 pounds has taken me almost 4 months. and through out the process I would stall for 2-3 weeks, then drop.

I just faked patience, stuck to my nutrition plan and tried to be more active throughout the day and take 10-20 minute walk breaks. Now I have added my barre 3 daily.

Just fake patience and keep going. It will come off, someone told me a "stall or staging" while loosing weight is measured in weeks. A plateau is measured in at least a month.

So the good side is it taught me to monitor my intake (food) and my outtake (activity/exercise) for the rest of my life. Wish I had realized it in my 20's…but at 53, glad I finally get it!

Hang in there, keep going, and when in doubt, fake patience.

DaNae9402

I know it's not what you want to hear, but the scales lie sometimes. My weight has gone up 2 pounds this week and I just say LIAR! If you're losing inches, clothes are getting looser, and your face is slimming you are losing weight. The scales will catch up! I've gone 2 weeks with no weight loss and then boom 5 pounds! Just keep doing what your doing and track those measurements and you will succeed! (((HUGS)))

phatty4dayz

Put the scale away!!! It seems like u are really doing great when it comes to inches. Inches (as u probably know) make you look thinner and make clothes fit better. I hate to see u beating yourself up or getting discouraged when you seem to be doing nothing wrong. So I say, put the scale away. Keep shedding those inches. And pull the scale out in a few weeks, or even a month from now just to check.

Keep up the good work!! (you are far more disciplined than I)

AABru

When you start a a new program...any program that is using muscle you haven't used in a while, your muscles grow. When they begin to grow, they hold water. It take about 4-6 weeks for the water to be released. Everytime you challenge yourself with something new and different, this can happen. You are doing fine....

Lyssa62

Yep me and my scale had to part ways. I do get on it but I don't believe what it says. I have dropped a size in jeans and scale hasn't moved for the better for almost 2 weeks now. LIAR!!!! Now I basically get on just to taunt it.

go by the way your clothes are fitting and I promise you eventually the scale will catch up

lydt5880

Thanks guys!! Every single one of you has motivated me. I think I will fake patience and hide those damn scales. Do any of you take regular photos so you can see your progress?

Thanks you

silentnemesis

I personally think if your measurements are changing and you feel healthier, that's something to be proud of in it self.

keep in mind that excessive sodium intake causes water retention (water weight) but it's hard to not get too much sodium in today's world

lydt5880

Thank you

muamontreal

I am in the same situation as you are :sad: but it's even worse I gained 1 lbs :brokenheart: I thought about throwing the scale through the window but resisted :bigsmile:

I try to convince myself that it is water retention but if next week I don't lose that "/$$%/?%&?&% lbs, the scale will have to learn to fly :explode:

You can add me as friend and we'll support each other !

stephaniec78

The only thing I could recommend would be to check your diary for your sodium intake. Just make sure that its in a good range because that can affect the scales. Other than that I agree with everyone else, it sounds like you are making good progress. Keep up the good work!

georgie181

Have you checked what your sodium intake is like?

MissFurlow

Check sodium intake! Too much will cause you to retain water, adding water weight. How much water are you drinking? You should be drinking half your body weight in oz daily. (200lb person needs 100 oz) then just PUT THE SCALE AWAY! i always hated hearing that...but you have to. Dont get caught up on a number that doesn't tell what's going on within your body. I stayed at a plateau for two months once, lost a whole size, then woke up one day & dropped 7lbs in a week. Allow your body to catch up! You do your part & it will do its part eventually! Just be consistent with exercise & watch what you eat! Sidenote: I've been at the same weight since May & im still pushing! I've lost 5.25" within the last month tho! You shouldn't keep weighing it makes you stress & stress disaallows weightloss!

Tryntalose80

Don't stress about weight if you're losing inches. Check your sodium intake over the past several days...chances are you're retaining water, and eventually (as everyone else has said) the scale will reflect the inches you've lost. Also, cardio can increase muscle as well, so don't discount what exercise you've been doing for muscle gain. If you have been sore at all, then you are building muscle. Just a fact of life. Keep doing what you're doing because it's working! Stressing over the scale can turn into an unhealthy obsession - take it from a recovering anorexic/bulemic. It doesn't matter what you weigh, just how you look and feel.

Keep up the awesome work!!!

rjsimpson2002

So glad you started this topic because my scales haven't moved for 9 days....my measurements also haven't moved so I don't have that as a comfort either.

I'm going to check my sodium and not worry until I go a month with no loss. Thanks everyone

marymayt

I have the same problem but Im still happy with the inches I lose b/c I think its all in the process of losing and transforming our bodies. I think when the scale doesnt move our bodies are shifting things in the right places so we look better in shape. Yes it does make me happy to see the scale move but when I look in the mirror and see the other transformations I be just smiling Imagine if all we did was lost pounds and not inches how would we look? Im no expert but I do feel its all a process that leads up to getting where our bodies need to be.We may want to look one way on the outside but I feel its happens inside out. Hopefully this makes a little sense and helps ease your worry some give it a few months to see how things shape up believe me you can look like you weigh 190 but actually weigh 225 as long as you are eating healthier and exercising. Also if the scale isnt budging you can try changing your workout, doing things a different way can sometimes get the scale moving again make it more intense or add more time just switch it up to keep the body wondering whats coming next challenge yourself.

deevatude

are u sure ur eating enough?

stoogeswoman

My scales give me a different weight every time I step on them - in fact, this morning I went from 212.4 to 223.4 in 10 seconds! So my scales budge all right, but in the wrong way!!!

lydt5880

How is the sodium intake going? I'm keeping an eye on mine but it always seems to be way under. I am also drinking at least 2ltr of mineral water a day.

lydt5880

My calorie goal is 1300. I am eating most of my exercise calories back but not all of them as they sometimes seem a little high on here compared to other calculations.

crazyvermont

Sounds like you are doing just about everything right. You mentioned cardio and just wondering how often you are changing routine? Have found out personally that varying exercise every two weeks(minimum) keeps me from plateauing

crudd123

This happened to me and I cut my carbs way down to like 20 a day for a week and I lost 3 pounds! Good luck to you!

VanessaGS

STOP worrying about the scale and focus more on measurements. Inches coming up are what you want no matter what the scale says.

MyaPapaya75

When is the last time you had a physical with complete labs done ..perhaps it could be something metabolic..I tried for years to lose weight and was only fighting an inactive thyroid without knowing it. ...I say talk to your physician explain what you have been doing and bring a log of your food and routine and go from there....Sodium is also a BIg culprit...Im not sure what your carb intake is you said low but try perhaps keeping under 200 per day for a week and see how it goes...good luck!

californiagirl2012

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale though: water retention, digestion, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool, the same with other metrics. Take front, side, and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

I ignore exercise calories anyway so the exercise log is just to track time spent exercising for me. Exercise calories are highly over rated. You can't exercise away eating too much food. I learned this the hard way most of my life running marathon after marathon (and lifting) and not being able to lose weight and in fact continued to gain year after year. And I don't pig out, binge, snack mindlessly, eat out of boredom, etc, but the portion sizes are too big for a small person like me. (well I wasn't small when I weighed over 170 lbs at 51'0"!)

Anyway I found what worked for me was separating out the two things:

Eat less to lose weight
Exercise to maintain or build lean body mass
end of story.

I found just ignoring all the complicated stuff everyone throws at us is the key. Day in and day out focus on two things. Eat lless, move more, stay within calorie budget (either weekly or daily). You can eat low one day and high the next, whatever you want. Well, it did work for me. I am the fittest, leanest, strongest, and most muscular I've ever been in my life at age 51 and I'm healthy and don't get sick and have long endurance.

Not according to "The Reverse Taper Diet " :

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

Oddly enough, it seems as though some obese people have an unbelievable amount of fat available as a fuel, but a lower ability to burn that fat, whereas as they get leaner, they have less and less fat available as a fuel, but a greater and greater ability to burn the fat they do have. So at extreme levels of leanness, it is the fat availability that limits a persons ability to lose fat.

---

If you have a lot of body fat reserves you would be surprised at how little you can eat (unless you have emotional eating issues or disorders). The leaner you get the less your body has to draw from and then you have to taper up your calories. There is no such thing as starvation mode for women over 12% body fat or men over 6% body fat. I am a living breathing example of that. I went from obese to now under 12% BF and I've maintained for one year and built muscle the whole time. You don't BUILD muscle in starvation mode, so I proved everyone wrong.

lydt5880

So i upped my cals to 1630 per day and the scales are finally budging. It is only a tiny loss but it is moving in the right direction! I am also taking weekly photos and measurements of myself so I can celebrate NSV too.