Anybody else not care about weight?

Wetterdew
Wetterdew Posts: 142 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I used to care about how much I weighed--it was my measure of success. Then I lost like 20 pounds in summer of 2012 and didn't really look much slimmer. I had lost muscle more than fat.

Now, when I'm on a diet, I'm measuring body fat rather than weight. My weight goals are totally out of date and I haven't updated my weight on MFP for like a year because I don't really care about it.

I think it's better this way. BUT I will say that if you are very overweight, seeing your weight drop must be quite rewarding, so I think it still has merit.

Personally, I think weekly photos or measurements of your body would be more rewarding and keep you on track. Weight is so fickle anyway.

Also I've noticed that sometimes people on MFP try to dismiss other people's arguments based on their weight tracker in their signature, which is what prompted me to make this thread. Weight isn't the end-all of health.

Replies

  • kellenas
    kellenas Posts: 154
    I agree.. I'm trying to not focus on my weight, but rather how my clothes are fitting. I get discouraged if the needle doesn't move down, but I know my clothes aren't as tight. Plus, I'm weight training and not just doing cardio, which I suspect is the reason for my clothes fitting better :)
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
    You're one of my favorite trolls <3
  • melissadsims
    melissadsims Posts: 59 Member
    I 100% agree! I haven't had the scale go down hardly at all over the last 7 months but my measurements and pictures tell a MUCH different story!!!! I would be depressed if I hadn't been taking photos the entire time to compare my progress! I have found these forums to be quite frustrating because people care primarily about the scale not so much body fat and muscle.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I wouldn't say I don't care about weight, but it's not my primary concern. I go mostly by how I look and feel. Since I bought my fancy scale I do check my weight and BF often, but I went 50 years without having a scale in the house, so it's natural not to focus on weight for me.
  • sunsetzen
    sunsetzen Posts: 268 Member
    I care more about measurements than weight. I've always weighed more than I looked so its nbd.
  • mortuseon
    mortuseon Posts: 579 Member
    Yeah, it's what I see in the mirror that really matters. If I step on the scale and it's (much) higher than I expect, it's still an unpleasant experience, but really I can still be unhappy at a lower weight depending on body comp.
  • BuzzardMarinePumper
    BuzzardMarinePumper Posts: 42
    WOW ! I like this forum ! My goal even at 53 was never to loose weight it was to loose fat be healthy and lean out as much as possible and if weight loose were my only concern I would have lost well over 100 lbs from the 266 lbs I started at but , myself I have lost about 60 lbs of fat and gain about 20 lbs of lean viswiable muscle ! That is why it took a year and I have only lost about 46 lbs . But I am according to my Dr. obese and look at my avatar an I am getting skinny looking ! Muscle weights more than fat and that is old news I know !
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
    I think if you're within your healthy range then going by bf% and inches is better but if you are obese or overweight it's highly unlikely that you are gaining muscle at a rate which totally negates any weight loss (if not impossible) It's important to know if you're on the right track and for obese or very overweight people, pounds have to come off in a reasonable timeframe (1lb/week average) or it's time to re-evaluate.
  • BuzzardMarinePumper
    BuzzardMarinePumper Posts: 42
    I used to care about how much I weighed--it was my measure of success. Then I lost like 20 pounds in summer of 2012 and didn't really look much slimmer. I had lost muscle more than fat.

    Now, when I'm on a diet, I'm measuring body fat rather than weight. My weight goals are totally out of date and I haven't updated my weight on MFP for like a year because I don't really care about it.

    I think it's better this way. BUT I will say that if you are very overweight, seeing your weight drop must be quite rewarding, so I think it still has merit.

    Personally, I think weekly photos or measurements of your body would be more rewarding and keep you on track. Weight is so fickle anyway.

    Also I've noticed that sometimes people on MFP try to dismiss other people's arguments based on their weight tracker in their signature, which is what prompted me to make this thread. Weight isn't the end-all of health.

    Well stated great post ! I like a lot ! from an old guy that is accused of looking 15 years younger than I am :) Got to post a new pic that shows more fat loose and more vascularity !
  • BuzzardMarinePumper
    BuzzardMarinePumper Posts: 42
    I think if you're within your healthy range then going by bf% and inches is better but if you are obese or overweight it's highly unlikely that you are gaining muscle at a rate which totally negates any weight loss (if not impossible) It's important to know if you're on the right track and for obese or very overweight people, pounds have to come off in a reasonable timeframe (1lb/week average) or it's time to re-evaluate.

    Sorry to disagree are you going to tel me the 28 year old Body builder with a BF%of 8 and is 6 ft and 280 lbs which is obese by any Dr. is fat . would never want to be in that class 6 ft and 280 but I could deal with 230 and 6 ft and a BF% of say 12%
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    I only care about the weight of muscles and fat on my body. Percentages are a construct of the man, and unnecessarily complex.
  • bvincentelp
    bvincentelp Posts: 36 Member
    I would think with most people its about the fat loss, could not care less what the scale says.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    me. my main size goal is to be in a size 6 again. i honestly could care less how much i weight when i'm there.

    in fact, i'd actually kind of like to be 25-35 pounds heavier than what i looked. back when i was small, that's what saved me from being picked up by my evil cousins and guy friends who were trying to be jerks. they'd try to pick me up a few times and have to put me down quickly because they were like :embarassed: OMG you didnt look like you weighed that much :laugh:
  • bookyeti
    bookyeti Posts: 544 Member
    Weight really isn't important to me. What means more? My body's composition, my strength/endurance, how I feel, how I look in my clothes --> taking care of myself, in every way possible.

    Two of my favourite quotes regarding 'weight':

    “If you reached your goal weight and looked like crap, would you be happy? What if you only reached half of your goal weight and looked fantastic, would you be upset? What matters are the inches and how you look and feel. Not how much you 'weigh'." ―Skip Lacour

    "You can completely reshape your body without affecting your weight much. I simply strive to trust in the process and remember: Who sees the scale? Just you. Who sees your shrinking measurements? EVERYBODY! " ―Clew & others on MFP
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
    Given a choice .. I would rather lose an inch compared to a pound any day of the week.

    I do want to lose some weight .. as it is just unhealthy to carry around all this extra weight.

    - Kevin -
  • Foodorlife
    Foodorlife Posts: 111 Member
    I don't care about it either. I can lose a lot of weight and still have same measurements , so now I only measure myself. Neck, stomach, buns etc.
  • Former300lber
    Former300lber Posts: 3
    I have only ever used weight as a progression tool to make sure thing's are moving in the right direction, I weigh my self maybe once a month, Knowing your in a constant caloric deficit, seeing the physical change's in the mirror, and having your motivation high is all you need.

    Protein and resistance training will help you spare that muscle tissue, There shouldn't be any reason why you lost all of that muscle, Muscle isn't something that is exactly easy to lose, It come's down to the whole "If you don't use it, you lose it" attitude, so long as you are actively participating in some type of resistance training, while making sure your protein intake is on par any muscle loss should be very minimal.

    What you did was probably overestimate your LBM, which is just a rookie mistake, and is okay to make.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    I use weight as a rough guide, just because it's a metric that's easy to use. I'm really concerned with fat and muscle, and as I approach my goal weight, which I set as a rough estimate, I'll focus a lot more on body composition. That said, I plan to keep weighing daily, as a kind of early warning system in case I inadvertently start eating more than maintenance, following the advice in John Walker's chapter in The Hacker's Diet on "Perfect Weight Forever."
  • mjhedgehog
    mjhedgehog Posts: 249 Member
    agreed. the first time I lost weight I was always worried about the # on the scale. I lost about 35lbs but wasn't very fit or that much smaller so I mostly lost muscle. If the scale wasn't going down I was disappointed. But this time around Im going by how my clothes feel, measurements, and my endurance/fitness level.
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
    I think if you're within your healthy range then going by bf% and inches is better but if you are obese or overweight it's highly unlikely that you are gaining muscle at a rate which totally negates any weight loss (if not impossible) It's important to know if you're on the right track and for obese or very overweight people, pounds have to come off in a reasonable timeframe (1lb/week average) or it's time to re-evaluate.

    Sorry to disagree are you going to tel me the 28 year old Body builder with a BF%of 8 and is 6 ft and 280 lbs which is obese by any Dr. is fat . would never want to be in that class 6 ft and 280 but I could deal with 230 and 6 ft and a BF% of say 12%

    I get that the BMI chart doesn't apply to the very lean bodybuilding types. I mean most overweight people. Most people trying to lose weight probably don't have bodybuilder bf%. What I'm saying is, if you're a fat dude or gal the scale should move even if you're not "focusing on weight"

    ETA: OF COURSE eveyone's primary focus should be to lose FAT and preserve as much lean mass as possible but for people who are fat (such as myself for example 5'6" @ 170 and 30%bf) the scale should move downwards regularly.

    So I guess what I mean is for the truly fat, and not bodybuilders who we know may fall into this category because of leaness. A little common sense goes a long way here.
  • RonnieLodge
    RonnieLodge Posts: 665 Member
    Weight schmeit, I care more about my measurements and body fat % too.

    1000kgs with a 75cm waist and 23% body fat will look and move better/easier than 1000kgs at a 175cm waist and 40% body fat
  • ingeh
    ingeh Posts: 513 Member
    When I was starting at 180lbs after having my second son I was all about the lbs. Now that im in the healthy bmi range and have been told by my GP that im a perfectly healthy normal weight, Im going by measurements more then scale weight. I still have a weight goal Id like to get to but Im more excited by the tape measure these days!
  • BuzzardMarinePumper
    BuzzardMarinePumper Posts: 42
    Weight really isn't important to me. What means more? My body's composition, my strength/endurance, how I feel, how I look in my clothes --> taking care of myself, in every way possible.

    Two of my favourite quotes regarding 'weight':

    “If you reached your goal weight and looked like crap, would you be happy? What if you only reached half of your goal weight and looked fantastic, would you be upset? What matters are the inches and how you look and feel. Not how much you 'weigh'." ―Skip Lacour

    "You can completely reshape your body without affecting your weight much. I simply strive to trust in the process and remember: Who sees the scale? Just you. Who sees your shrinking measurements? EVERYBODY! " ―Clew & others on MFP



    I like this a lot ! Weight loose is a sickness to be treated by Dr. fat loose is a healthy life style !

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