Step awaaaay from the scale!

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junebug523
junebug523 Posts: 196
in Health and Weight Loss
I joined here four weeks ago today, and I haven't lost weight yet. I started out with a plateau and I haven't gotten through it yet! I had been weighing myself every day, optimistically expecting to break through the plateau any day...but yesterday, when I weighed in, I just lost hope. I've been doing so well! I've been exercising more intensely (30 day shred, yay!), eating back about 1/2 of my exercise calories, eating way more fruits and veggies and way less junk, but the scale just doesn't seem to wanna budge.

The thing that's keeping me going: I measured myself after 6 days of the 30DS, and had already lost 3 inches around my waist, hips, and thighs. So I am making progress.

When I had my little meltdown yesterday because the stupid numbers wouldn't go down on the scale, my husband offered to hide it from me, so that I have to "check it out" from him. So sweet--really, he saw how unhappy I was.

I haven't allowed him to hide it yet (although it could happen), but I did successfully fight the urge to weigh in today. I'm going to try to do it only once every couple of weeks from now on. I guess some people can weigh in daily without trouble, but for me--at least until this plateau passes--I need to focus on my other accomplishments to keep me going: feeling more happy and energized, prettier skin, busting through 30DSL2 with hardly any modifications, and losing inches.

I WILL not give up!

Replies

  • sjcply
    sjcply Posts: 817 Member
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    GREAT ATTITUDE!! I am in a 4 wk plateau and I am not giving up either!! I am just gonna change it all up and keep on going til something happens!
    Good luck to you!
  • jolene1
    jolene1 Posts: 28
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    oh i've got the same problem. For some reason...i've changed up my eating habits, started p90x...on week 3 and darn it...i haven't budged a bit. The scale goes up and down...i assume water weight and my inches...nothing yet. Only thing keeping me going is p90x right now...hoping to see some results by day 90. I know i'm getting older and things change....but why can't i shed just 10 pounds. I would be happy with 5 if I could keep it from coming back on. I've heard a lot of people talking about the 30 day shred. Maybe I should look into it too. Just don't want to add to many changes and give up. Thanks for listening...and letting me vent too!!! =) Jolene
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    Measure again. You may not be in a plateau, you may just be building muscle.
  • junebug523
    junebug523 Posts: 196
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    Thanks, it's nice to hear this from other people who have struggled with plateaus too, but aren't giving up!

    And Arielle, I definitely plan to measure again tomorrow morning--I will have finished day 12 of the Shred, plus methinks my pants are a tad bit looser.:happy:
  • caro0301
    caro0301 Posts: 8
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    Don't give up!

    I of course have not hit that dreaded plateu yet. I don't recall you mentioning cardio. Have you tried amping up your cardio? When I saw a trainer at the beginning of this journey she told me, "I'm not gonna waste your time or your money, I could, but I won't. Think of yourself as a lump of clay...if you want to shrink the clay you do lots of cardio, if you simply want to mold the existing clay, you weight train. So you tell ME what do you think you need to focus on?" I think her words were the most amazing thing I've ever heard!! Even though I already knew that...it changed SO much to hear it from a professional. Ever since then, I've hit the cardio HARD 45-60 minutes a day and I've been losing steadily!

    This of course is only a suggestion at how to break the plateu...good luck!!
  • junebug523
    junebug523 Posts: 196
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    The 30 day shred has some pretty intense cardio in it. I also walk 3.5-4 mph about 15 miles per week, and am slowly adding jogging into my routine. So, cardio is there, and I am working on intensifying it.
  • BAKECAKE
    BAKECAKE Posts: 10
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    i HATE the scale. it really drives me crazy. i just try to stay away from it. hahaha
    so you lost 3 inches eh? thats pretty amazing! id be proud if i were you. :happy:
  • ladysatin
    ladysatin Posts: 35 Member
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    i weigh myself once a week. every sunday morning when i wake up i weigh myself. your weight is always fluctuating so you have to pick a day and time every week or two to weigh in. this way its more accurate.
  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
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    Try not eating any of your exercise calories back. Not everybody's the same; others can eat all of them back and some (like me) none.
  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
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    Oops double post edit.
  • hanr
    hanr Posts: 20
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    Try not eating any of your exercise calories back. Not everybody's the same; others can eat all of them back and some (like me) none.


    Mmmm I guess everyone is different, but from what I've read, you need to eat ALL your exercise calories back, as the calories you are given when you sign up mean you already have a calorie deficit! Exercising away more calories and not eating them means you aren't eating ENOUGH, your body goes into starvation mode, and this can mean you plateau.

    I'd try eating all your exercise calories for a couple of weeks and see how this goes. If it's not helping, you could try not eating them, but from what I've read this really isn't a good idea.

    Keep at it!! Losing 3 inches off your waist is great! The plateau won't last forever, and hey, it's better than a gain :)
  • SimonLondon
    SimonLondon Posts: 350
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    I honestly don't believe you're in a plateau. When you first start exercising your body changes a lot. Water can be retained or lost, muscle replaces fat etc etc.

    The fact that your waist HAS dropped shows that your body is changing regardless of what the scales say. I would strongly urge EVERYONE not to rely on scales alone and especially when you start working out or increase the intensity of the work out.

    Ignore the scales for now until your body settles down to this new way of life. It's the body measurements combined with scales that give you the clearest picture of what's really going on. Either on their own really doesn't give you the bigger picture.
  • junebug523
    junebug523 Posts: 196
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    Thanks, all! I measured myself again this morning (one week after my last set of measurements), and I've lost another 2.75 inches around my waist, hips, thighs, and arms. My personal definition of "plateau" was based entirely on # of lbs showing up on the scale--it's nice to know I'm actually not in one at all!

    My waist is actually the first thing to start dropping inches when I lose weight--what I'm really excited about is that I've lost .75 inches from my hips and .5 inches from each thigh!

    So, not giving up today. 30 day shred plus walking/jogging intervals. I look forward to it!

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