Shouldn't have weighed...

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  • pandabearlove105
    pandabearlove105 Posts: 10 Member
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    This helped me, it might help you too!


    “Get Off The Scale!

    You are beautiful. Your beauty, just like your capacity for life, happiness, and success, is immeasurable. Day after day, countless people across the globe get on a scale in search of validation of beauty and social acceptance.

    Get off the scale! I have yet to see a scale that can tell you how enchanting your eyes are. I have yet to see a scale that can show you how wonderful your hair looks when the sun shines its glorious rays on it. I have yet to see a scale that can thank you for your compassion, sense of humor, and contagious smile. Get off the scale because I have yet to see one that can admire you for your perseverance when challenged in life.

    It’s true, the scale can only give you a numerical reflection of your relationship with gravity. That’s it. It cannot measure beauty, talent, purpose, life force, possibility, strength, or love. Don’t give the scale more power than it has earned. Take note of the number, then get off the scale and live your life. You are beautiful!”
    ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Thanks everyone! Honestly I've only been committed to this for the last 2 weeks and I think I just had my expectations set WAY to high for 2 weeks.

    How do I get away from those "expectations" of how it should go?

    I think shows like "the biggest loser" set folks up to have false expectations. But those folks are live breathing weightloss 24/7 and from what I read a lot of them end up gaining back the weight once they go back to their "real lives"

    I was happier once I gave myself a range:
    ROCK BOTTOM: 1200 cal
    TARGET: MFP Calories for lose 1 lb a week (when that hit 1200 I changed to lose 1/2 lb per week)
    TOP OF RANGE: Maintain Calories for my GOAL Weight.
    (SAFETY VALVE: Maintain Calories for CURRENT Weight - remember to keep updating this number as you lose)

    As long as I stay under my TOP OF RANGE I will continue to lose until I get to my goal, As long as I don't go over my SAFETY VALVE I shouldn't gain. (bearing in the numbers MFP gives you are generalizations) It was a way to remind myself that even if I couldn't do 1200 a day I was still doing a lot better that I was doing before MFP.

    ++Only worry about it 1 lb at a time.
    Forget I *NEED* to lose 20, 30, 50, 100 lbs. I'm only worried about 1 lb the next one. I'll worry about the others later.
    Once I found ways to lessen the stress, I found it way easier to focus on the process and let the results follow. (It's what worked for me some people need the stress to get them motivated. Me I get scared and overwhelmed and don't see the big goal as achievable. )

    Keep an eye on overall trends as long and you are consistently moving in the right direction you doing okay.
    I think of losing weight like the stock market. Yes, there will be fluctuations but as long as the trend is consistent I'm doing well.

    In the end it's all about maintenance... The slower you lose the more you learn about eating healthy for maintenance. For my last 10 lbs. every time I lost 1 lb I added 100 calories back so that by the time I got to my goal I wouldn't have to learn another way of eating for maintenance.

    I really like this approach! :smile:
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
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    ...but I'm better than I was last year/last month/yesterday and THAT keeps me going.
    ^this :happy: :happy: :happy: :happy:
  • turtlebeach
    turtlebeach Posts: 6 Member
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    "parkscs" - "just focus on the "moving" average. This is the best kept secret. Weight yourself everyday, and focus, focus, focus, on the "moving" average. "parkscs" knows of what he speaks.
  • hmaddpear
    hmaddpear Posts: 610 Member
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    Yeah, that feeling has managed to scupper every diet I've ever been on (that and the deprivation. 100kcal diets are awful!) This time, when I hit my first stall (at about three weeks in - fairly usual), I'd already read a lot of posts on the forum and was intellectually aware that the weight would finally start to move again. But the best things were a) using a lot of different measurements to show progress - such as clothes fitting better, tape measurements going down, being able to walk a little faster, realising I could stand on one leg without falling over - and b) having MFP friends to rant to.

    If you're sure you're in a deficit, then the scale will finally budge. This article really helped as well: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html
  • chantels1
    chantels1 Posts: 391 Member
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    The first week is easy as everyone loses a bunch the first week, and then after that they get discouraged. It really does suck that weight loss is not that easy, but neither is weight gain. It doesn't go on that fast, it won't come off very fast either.

    Some people will tell you not to weigh very often. But that did not work for me. I have a scale OCD. I weigh everyday, and keep track of it. I don't add it to MFP everyday. Just keep mental note and once or twice a week I will add it to mfp. Why? Well because I need the motivation and reward.

    However your goal determines your motivators as well. How about instead of choosing a weight, you chose a bf%. This number can not be tracked accurately every day. It is easier to do every 2-4 weeks. Purchase $3.00 calipers off ebay, and once or twice a month measure your bf%. It is not a frequent reward system like weighing daily or weekly, so less discouragement when you hit plateaus.

    Either way try not to get discouraged so easily. This is a long road. Many times people will not drop much or any for 2-3 weeks, then bam all at once they drop 3-4 lbs. Weightloss is not linear. Just because you ate to lose 2lbs this week does not mean your body is ready to let go of those 2 lbs. Or maybe your hormones are interfering and you are retaining water this week. Either way, there are many factors, and you have to be patient.

    Ha ha, this is coming out of the mouth of the least patient person I know! Me! ;-) Just keep it up, don't give up and you may get there slower than you hoped, but destination is more important than timing! You can do this!
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
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    Heather, I am going to point out what may seem like a few harsh realities. Before I say anything, understand that this is *only* an attempt to help and I am not trying to be mean at all. We all enjoy a treat here and there and this is just a quick look and tally to give you an idea of where you may be able to lose a little more steadily.

    I took a peek back through your diary and noticed a lot of chocolate, cookies, and alcohol. Entirely up to you where you spend your calories (I think of it like a set amount of money I can spend per day and I have to choose what to spend it on or if I'm going into overdraft and have to pay a fee which would be extra exercise to make up the difference.)

    In the last two weeks, just adding up chocolate, cookies, cupcakes, soda and alcohol, you have paid 8960 calories.
    To put that into perspective:
    That is approximately 2.6 lbs of fat that you would have more likely lost if had skipped them.
    That is over 6 days worth of calories at a 1400 daily goal.

    This is not counting any fast food, chips, pizza, etc. Those are other calories that you may want to reconsider and try to spend on something less calorie dense and more filling.

    There was more than one day that your daily intake was around or over 4,000 calories. I don't know what your exercise situation is and, again, I am not judging but just trying to help put some perspective on why you may not be losing as quickly as you'd hoped.

    I wish you wonderful success on your weight loss journey whether it's a half pound or five at a time!
  • HeatherGTaylor
    HeatherGTaylor Posts: 48 Member
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    Heather, I am going to point out what may seem like a few harsh realities. Before I say anything, understand that this is *only* an attempt to help and I am not trying to be mean at all. We all enjoy a treat here and there and this is just a quick look and tally to give you an idea of where you may be able to lose a little more steadily.

    I took a peek back through your diary and noticed a lot of chocolate, cookies, and alcohol. Entirely up to you where you spend your calories (I think of it like a set amount of money I can spend per day and I have to choose what to spend it on or if I'm going into overdraft and have to pay a fee which would be extra exercise to make up the difference.)

    In the last two weeks, just adding up chocolate, cookies, cupcakes, soda and alcohol, you have paid 8960 calories.
    To put that into perspective:
    That is approximately 2.6 lbs of fat that you would have more likely lost if had skipped them.
    That is over 6 days worth of calories at a 1400 daily goal.

    This is not counting any fast food, chips, pizza, etc. Those are other calories that you may want to reconsider and try to spend on something less calorie dense and more filling.

    There was more than one day that your daily intake was around or over 4,000 calories. I don't know what your exercise situation is and, again, I am not judging but just trying to help put some perspective on why you may not be losing as quickly as you'd hoped.

    I wish you wonderful success on your weight loss journey whether it's a half pound or five at a time!

    Oh I know lol. Before these 2 weeks (and a few nasty days last week) I was over board. Thanks for your honesty, I am exercising a more then I ever have before and have cut down TONS from my lifestyle before the 2 weeks but even cutting down doesn't mean the weight will melt off. I'm trying to incorporate the alcohol and chocolate so that this is a lifestyle change (when I cut it out completely I binge and boom back to 4000 cal every day).


    Thank you everyone! I feel better about the whole situation and reminded what is important. I am trying to change everyday and thanks to you all I won't "throw in the towel" just because I "think" I should be at a place when I haven't given it enough time or the amount of effort required to be right there :) MFP People you are awesome!
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
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    You know which items that are important to you and which you would miss enough to over-indulge later. Very good idea to figure out how to include those in moderation (and even the very occasional excess). I am doing similar in trying to find a way of eating that I can continue to do rather than just cut down to 1200 to lose some fast weight and then gain it all back and more. I was here almost a year ago and did try the 1200. I was able to maintain that.. maybe a month? And then I had just one 2100 calorie chicken strip meal.. and then just this and just that until I was totally ignoring the whole weight thing. Then, on top of that, I stopped smoking and that really did not help at all as far as the sweets. I was a candy *kitten* lol.. I went from 204 to 229 under three months.

    This time around, I am looking for modest weight loss and a menu that I can continue to do long term. Something that fills me up, includes more healthy choices, and allows room here and there for the cookies or chocolate.

    We can do this!
  • stormbornkraken
    stormbornkraken Posts: 303 Member
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    Heather, I am going to point out what may seem like a few harsh realities. Before I say anything, understand that this is *only* an attempt to help and I am not trying to be mean at all. We all enjoy a treat here and there and this is just a quick look and tally to give you an idea of where you may be able to lose a little more steadily.

    I took a peek back through your diary and noticed a lot of chocolate, cookies, and alcohol. Entirely up to you where you spend your calories (I think of it like a set amount of money I can spend per day and I have to choose what to spend it on or if I'm going into overdraft and have to pay a fee which would be extra exercise to make up the difference.)

    In the last two weeks, just adding up chocolate, cookies, cupcakes, soda and alcohol, you have paid 8960 calories.
    To put that into perspective:
    That is approximately 2.6 lbs of fat that you would have more likely lost if had skipped them.
    That is over 6 days worth of calories at a 1400 daily goal.

    This is not counting any fast food, chips, pizza, etc. Those are other calories that you may want to reconsider and try to spend on something less calorie dense and more filling.

    There was more than one day that your daily intake was around or over 4,000 calories. I don't know what your exercise situation is and, again, I am not judging but just trying to help put some perspective on why you may not be losing as quickly as you'd hoped.

    I wish you wonderful success on your weight loss journey whether it's a half pound or five at a time!

    Oh I know lol. Before these 2 weeks (and a few nasty days last week) I was over board. Thanks for your honesty, I am exercising a more then I ever have before and have cut down TONS from my lifestyle before the 2 weeks but even cutting down doesn't mean the weight will melt off. I'm trying to incorporate the alcohol and chocolate so that this is a lifestyle change (when I cut it out completely I binge and boom back to 4000 cal every day).


    Thank you everyone! I feel better about the whole situation and reminded what is important. I am trying to change everyday and thanks to you all I won't "throw in the towel" just because I "think" I should be at a place when I haven't given it enough time or the amount of effort required to be right there :) MFP People you are awesome!

    I have to give kudos to serindipte for the kind tactfulness used on that approach. Honest, blunt and I felt as if you could be talking to me. I am with you Heather, it is a lifestyle choice and there are things that need to remain.

    Between the two of your posts I see an opportunity for acknowledgment and happy improvement and I have to cheer for the positive vibes I got from you two.

    Wishing you both well on your endeavors. :drinker: Cheers to motivation and celebration!
  • sassysmom35
    sassysmom35 Posts: 130 Member
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    I know exactly how you feel. This past week the scale looked like this:

    201.0
    200.8
    200.6
    200.8
    200.8
    200.4
    200.8
    and then finally today

    199.8

    Shew it drives me crazy. But weighing every day keeps me accountable and on track. I worked hard this week and in 8 days lost 1.2 lbs. It'll prob be back up tomorrow and then take me another 3-4 days to get back to today's weight. That's just how it is. It gets discouraging but I just try to focus on keeping it heading in the downward direction. We will get where we want to be. Eventually. Just got to be patient and keep plugging away at it.
  • wolfsbayne
    wolfsbayne Posts: 3,116 Member
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    Here's my situation. I started heavy lifting near the end of November. I didn't lose any weight until I got sick a couple days before Christmas. My co worker told me my body looked different. When I got sick (bad bug), I lost 8 lbs over the course of 24 hours. Know what? I haven't gained any of that back. I figured I would gain it since it was just from being sick. Nope, not a pound. My measurements are only going down slightly. My clothes feel a little better, but I FEEL more fit. Would it be nice to see the scale move? Yep. It only moved 0.2 lbs this past week :grumble: But, I'm going to keep on keeping on because I feel stronger and better and one day, everything is going to click. I added some cardio in with my weight lifting, so we'll see if that works.

    Good luck on your journey!
  • Kiwi94544
    Kiwi94544 Posts: 23
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    I feel you because I'm just starting out with the whole 'weight-loss' quest (began counting calories and exercising on January 2nd, 2014) and the first week = awesome. I dropped 5 lbs... but after that, despite the fact that I have been completely consistent about my counting and exercise, the scale has been somewhat all over the place for me. There are days I LOVE the scale, and days I think it is a lying piece of *kitten*! ha ha... But after reading over this website, I realized that having your weight go down AND up while trying to lose is NOT uncommon. It seem EVERYONE on here has experienced the same frustration as I have, in seeing the numbers drop, only to go up again a week later, for seemingly no proper reason at all.

    I'm not going to say "ditch the scale" - only try NOT to get discouraged about a gain or a stay-the-same week. If you're seeing several weeks of "gains" or "non-movement" in a row, only THEN would start to stress... Because chances are you're either at that point a) At a plateau (if you've been doing the same thing for a good while, this is possible...) or b) You're maybe miscalculating either your calories consumed, or your calories burned thru exercise... or perhaps both. But don't let 1 week or even 2 get you too down. Your menstrual cycle, water intake and MANY other factors can cause fluctuations.

    Just look at the overall trend over a several week period. The hardest part about this whole weight-loss journey is the patience and persistence, and not letting things like numbers on the scale make you angry enough - or discouraged enough - to give-up on yourself. Hang in there.
  • sillyvalentine
    sillyvalentine Posts: 460 Member
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    This is why I don't own a scale. I weigh in once a month (or every two months) at the doctors office. Don't let numbers on a scale determine your self worth.
  • delamar18
    delamar18 Posts: 2
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    I'm sad about my weigh in today but I'm gonna keep doing my workouts and eating better. Don't get discouraged and keep working out.
  • DirrtyH
    DirrtyH Posts: 664 Member
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    The first week is easy as everyone loses a bunch the first week

    This is not true. I did not lose a bunch the first week. Continually reading this in the forums makes me feel like a loser. Just throwing that out there in case some of the rest of you guys feel the same way.
  • jodienock1
    jodienock1 Posts: 1
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    I think it's hard to forget how much a pound actually IS. I love that "this is what a pound of fat looks like" picture, it really puts things into perspective. It's easy to think that a pound is a small amount.

    Yesterday, I bought some ankle weights. I picked them up, and thought jeeeeeez these are a little heavy! When I looked, I saw that they were 1.5lbs each, so 3lbs total. And I though, THAT's what 3lbs feels like? I just lost 10 lbs... so I just lost a LOT of weight! I hadn't realized what an achievement that was. I haven't seen any changes in my body or to how I feel health wise yet, so I've been feeling like.... meh what's the point. But it's only been four weeks!

    You have already noticed changes in your body.... and that's what really counts! It's not about what you lose every week, it's about what you gain in the grand scheme of things :)

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