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Ditch the scale...

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julieofarc
julieofarc Posts: 31 Member
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.... seems to be where I am at right now, and also the philosophy at my box. However, I'm struggling to change my mentality and still move forward. Basically, I'm tracking waist & hip measurements and ignoring the scale. It just makes me crazy because I am not a steady loser regardless of method. My current plan is to eat fairly clean paleo and get into the box 4x a week and just let the weight normalize. Has anyone else had success doing something similar? Did you continue to track here?

I wish the tickers could be set to inches lost, not pounds.

(I'm new to MFP, but finding it easier to use for a food log than others I have tried, which makes it feasible to just track for my coaches to review if I'm not making the progress they would expect. I set my daily caloric intake to "maintain weight" so I don't get all the over goal notices and feedback and can just use it to track food.)

Replies

  • bananapancakebella
    bananapancakebella Posts: 178
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    Ditch the scale. I've gained weight since starting crossfit. My thighs, butt, chest and arms are bigger. My waist is slimmer, and I'm getting a cut on the sides of my butt, plus it's a lot perkier. I've definitely lost fat and am enjoying newbie gains. I also play volleyball, my slams sre harder, i can jump higher and block better. I'd go crazy if I was judging progress by the scale. For my sanity, I can't look at it.
  • difabu
    difabu Posts: 143
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    I'm trying to but it's so hard! Especially when my coworkers keep commenting on how much I've lost and I feel the need to confess it's actually not that much according to scale.

    I CrossFit 4-5 mornings a week (this is just my fourth week) and my weight is currently hovering though I'm losing inches everywhere. I feel leaner! I'm struggling to divorce myself from the scale as I continue to drop the fat.
  • shaywallis
    shaywallis Posts: 165 Member
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    throw it out a window!!! I have been doing crossfit for a couple months and have actually gained 7lbs. But I look 10000 times better. I mean, just look at my profile picture = ) The scale is evil.
  • MissXFit13
    MissXFit13 Posts: 217 Member
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    Ditch it!

    I have been astounded by my body composition changes since starting Crossfit in January, so I decided for the next 30 days to document my progress by taking a picture every day. I think that will be an interesting experiment!
  • sburde2
    sburde2 Posts: 178 Member
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    Agree with the above posts, throw it out! I used to weigh myself at least once a week but I have only weighed myself twice since starting crossfit 3 months ago. I'm still tracking what I eat but I'm just letting my body do it's thing. I can tell that I've lost fat and gained muscle so I'm happy. One of the women at my box gained 25 lbs in the year that she's been crossfitting...and she looks amazing, it is all muscle!
  • Vmg773
    Vmg773 Posts: 49 Member
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    so the problem i have is that i can't go to crossfit regularly which slows my progress. I work on some of the exercises at my own gym, but i only get to the box once a week. I still use my scale (even though the numbers aren't moving on it) to just keep me in line, since i won't be making huge muscle gains.
  • lilmissmanx
    lilmissmanx Posts: 81 Member
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    Taking a pic every day is a great idea! My scales aren't budging at all and not losing any inches around my thighs, but my clothes look better and feel looser so something must be going on! Might try the picture idea to see if I can spot it, rather than measure it :-)
  • Z_I_L_L_A
    Z_I_L_L_A Posts: 2,399 Member
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    Ditch it. We did BF% once a month. Everyone was dropping weight but me. But my BF% was dropping like crazy. I was gaining muscle fast and losing fat at the same time. I went from 237 and 18% to 243 and 17% in one month, now I'm between 245-250 and look even lighter and more cut. Check this morning and may have to go down to 32" waist in jeans now. Thats pretty cool being 6'3".
  • Mummyadams
    Mummyadams Posts: 1,125 Member
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    Ditch It!
  • julieofarc
    julieofarc Posts: 31 Member
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    I'm trying to but it's so hard! Especially when my coworkers keep commenting on how much I've lost and I feel the need to confess it's actually not that much according to scale.

    I CrossFit 4-5 mornings a week (this is just my fourth week) and my weight is currently hovering though I'm losing inches everywhere. I feel leaner! I'm struggling to divorce myself from the scale as I continue to drop the fat.

    This is SO me! Had a friend at the box ask how much I'd lost.... and I had to sheepishly say 2-3#. And I think it's funny that you use the word divorce! Giving up the scale does feel like a really bad breakup. ;)
  • julieofarc
    julieofarc Posts: 31 Member
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    I have been astounded by my body composition changes since starting Crossfit in January, so I decided for the next 30 days to document my progress by taking a picture every day. I think that will be an interesting experiment!

    This is brilliant! I may shoot for every week, but the changes should be apparent regardless. Thanks!
  • julieofarc
    julieofarc Posts: 31 Member
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    Ditch it. We did BF% once a month. Everyone was dropping weight but me. But my BF% was dropping like crazy. I was gaining muscle fast and losing fat at the same time. I went from 237 and 18% to 243 and 17% in one month, now I'm between 245-250 and look even lighter and more cut. Check this morning and may have to go down to 32" waist in jeans now. Thats pretty cool being 6'3".

    Great job! I wish we had a local and inexpensive BodPod so that I could just check quarterly and see what my body composition is doing. I know I regain muscle fairly quickly, which makes the first 6-8 weeks back horrid on the scale. It does NOTHING. (That's not true.... it sits there and ticks me off!)
  • julieofarc
    julieofarc Posts: 31 Member
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    Gave the scale to my 16 yo to hide. My dh is a softie and will get it out of hiding for me if I ask. The teenage son will just laugh at me.

    My current self-agreement is that I can get back on it to check when I can do a pullup. (That'll give me a loooooong time away... Ha!) I am just telling people who comment on my changing shape that I have no idea what I have lost because I'm not tracking it, but I can now do <insert recent PR>, thank them for noticing, and then ask about their recent PR. Good to have a plan for those convos.
  • Z_I_L_L_A
    Z_I_L_L_A Posts: 2,399 Member
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    Ditch it. We did BF% once a month. Everyone was dropping weight but me. But my BF% was dropping like crazy. I was gaining muscle fast and losing fat at the same time. I went from 237 and 18% to 243 and 17% in one month, now I'm between 245-250 and look even lighter and more cut. Check this morning and may have to go down to 32" waist in jeans now. Thats pretty cool being 6'3".

    Great job! I wish we had a local and inexpensive BodPod so that I could just check quarterly and see what my body composition is doing. I know I regain muscle fairly quickly, which makes the first 6-8 weeks back horrid on the scale. It does NOTHING. (That's not true.... it sits there and ticks me off!)

    I did the Bodpod in Atl. at a crossfit place, it was in a big van(mobile Bodpod). We got there and a lady came out of the box to do the test and swear she look likw a dark haired Annie Thorisdottir. I was like I gotta strip down in front of you. I didn't mind,lol. I wondered did she have an older sister that was single,lol.

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