Hey there everyone :)

KarenBorter
KarenBorter Posts: 1,157 Member
edited September 21 in Introduce Yourself
Hi there ... I just joined the site because I weighed myself the other day and couldn't believe how much I weighed hah. Now most my friends would say "Karen, you don't LOOK like you weigh 180 lbs" but I do. I work out a lot so I realize that some of it is muscle and I try not to get too freaked out by the scale but I know my clothes aren't fitting correctly right now and that concerns me (moreso then the actual number on the scale).

I work out 4 days (sometimes 5 days) a week doing 45 mins of cardio and about 1 hour of weight / resistance training. I decided that I needed to also quit drinking (bloating and empty calories) and up my water intake. I don't drink sodas, so that's not an issue. I do drink sparkling waters (for the fizzy factor). Diet sodas are diet killers IMO and only make you crave sweets. Speaking of, I don't really eat a lot of sweets but I do love them. I find if I don't eat them though, I don't miss them.

So ... here I go ... I am going to take 10 lbs at a time and try not to get discouraged. I stopped weighing myself a long time ago because I had become obsessed. If I gained 1 lb I wouldn't eat. That's not healthy either. So keeping to the food tracker will help a lot. Yeah, I know, probably not the greatest time to start watching what I eat on a 3 day weekend but you gotta start somewhere.

Keep healthy!
~karen

Replies

  • Kevster75
    Kevster75 Posts: 106
    Hey Karen,

    Welcome to MFP! :smile:

    Hopefully this will offer you some insight as to where the mystery weight came from.. ;)

    Best of Luck!
  • qwho
    qwho Posts: 157
    Hi Karen,

    Good luck with your weight loss.

    I am like you, in that, in my case being tall (5' 11") people tell me I don't need to lose weight, but I knew it was time to take some of the weight off, and it is working! woohoo!

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  • KarenBorter
    KarenBorter Posts: 1,157 Member
    Thanks Kevster ... it's not mystery weight ;) I know where it came from. It's my friends that don't believe it hahaha
  • KarenBorter
    KarenBorter Posts: 1,157 Member
    qwho

    I am 5' 8" not as tall as you but same thing. I hope to achieve my 10lbs at a time and not get discouraged. I guess I am going to have to buy a scale again LOL
  • kimi233
    kimi233 Posts: 271 Member
    I am the same with you, all my friends and family tell me I look great, where do you see fat?! (keep in mind most of these people are very overweight) So all that does is make me feel bad for even wanting to work out because I feel like I'm insulting them by saying I want to loose weight! Ugh! But I decided I will not talk about it at all in front of any of them, and I'm getting ALL of my support on here! So we are behind you on this, and congrats for taking the first step!! =)
  • qwho
    qwho Posts: 157
    I had my old digital scale I had not used in years, and the batteries were still good! lol! I weight myself each day, I like seeing the results, as well as feeling them in how my clothes are getting looser. It is motivation, which I have not really needed, since the biggest step for me was deciding to do this. Watching portion sizes has been key. Do not get discouraged!

    1766700.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods
  • KarenBorter
    KarenBorter Posts: 1,157 Member
    Thanks Kimi :) Just weighing myself the other day (at the gym) threw me into a huge depression. I didn't eat dinner that night. That was probably the worst thing I could do.

    The very next day I came to this site and started tracking my food intake. I think what happens with people is that their portion control goes wacky and even if you are eating healthy you may be eating too much. A good example is the person who says "I don't know how I am gaining weight, all I eat is salad!" but they aren't paying attention to what they are PUTTING on the salad.

    I am going to be looking at all the success stories and tips and just keep going. I weighed myself this morning and I had actually gained 1 lb. LOL I am not letting that discourage me. I also woke up with a headache this morning but I think that's cuz my body is used to me putting more calories into it then I have been over the past few days.

    Thanks for the encouragement!
  • KarenBorter
    KarenBorter Posts: 1,157 Member
    I decided to make my weight goal 165 and then when I get there go from there. I have to keep in mind that I work out and do weight training as well so I do have muscle and that weighs more then fat. I guess that's why I was so in shock that I had gotten to 180. I also guess that's why people wonder where that is on my body LOL.

    165 is a comfortable goal for me right now! I will get 'er done!
  • VAbreeze
    VAbreeze Posts: 19
    This site will certainly be a great benefit for you in tracking & balancing out your foods choices while getting additional encouragement & support. Having already established your workout routine, you have already mastered what many also struggle with. I totally get what you mean as far as being taller & people not believing you need to lose the weight, especially as I have gotten older & must manage other factors along with it (hormones).

    Good luck! :)
  • Adammair
    Adammair Posts: 7
    Hi there Karen,

    I'm pretty new to all this fitness stuff but wouldn't your bmi tell you how fat you are? As you say, muscle is heavier but are you increasing your weights periodically?... I've put on a stone over the last 3 months (I'm actually looking to gain weight) but I haven't got any fatter, but I am more defined. Maybe you should cut back on your weights perhaps? Is bmi a good way to see how fat you should be? Could that also be used as a tool for weight loss?
  • KarenBorter
    KarenBorter Posts: 1,157 Member
    Absolutely Adammair :) I am actually going today to get a scale that measures not only weight but BMI etc.

    I haven't done a BMI in a long time. This will give me a better indicator.

    As far as tone goes; Even when I was at 16% body fat (about 10 years ago before my mom had heart surgery ... different story for a different day) I wasn't what you would call "ripped". I was just skinny. I am not even HOPING to get back into that shape at 46 but I DO want to lose the muffin top and my thighs. I know for that is cardio, cardio, cardio. I am not doing heavy weights at all just lifting to keep the arms from developing bat wings etc. Light weights, lots of reps on 3 sets :) ... ab work is done almost every time I go into the gym.

    I decided to raise my expectation on weight because I was pretty fit at 160 at 5'8" and my clothes were fitting nicely, including jeans. I know where all this caloric intake was coming from (mostly alcohol) and cutting that out is going to dramatically increase my chances to get this extra stuff off. Alcohol wrecks so much havok, it dehydrates you and therefore you end up storing more and more water. I have to tell you (and this may be TMI) this morning was the first morning in a long time that I woke up and went potty and it was absolutely clear! Yay for being hydrated properly! That is also a factor of weight loss! Keeping caffeine to a minimum too will also help, as caffeine dehydrates as well.

    I hope I have that 20% off bed bath and beyond coupon hanging about! LOL
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