Goodness. The scale really doesn't tell the story, does it?

tapirfrog
tapirfrog Posts: 616 Member
I have been fighting and fighting to get to 174 pounds so I can say "40 pounds lost." I got one pound away last year, then bounced back up, then cried a lot and kept working, then got one pound away last month, then bounced back up, then cried a lot and kept working. It's been agonizingly slow -- it's taken me four years to lose ten pounds. But I have kept at it (WORD TO YO MOTHA) and today I put on my favorite pretty t-shirt so I could go for a walk with my husband and it's no longer all that pretty. Why? Because it is baggy.

I bought it last year and it fit quite smoothly. Now it's wrinkly and droopy. It's not adorably oversized -- it's just too damn big.

I have gone from a size XL to a size L in less than a year despite losing no weight to speak of. This, this is the "body recomp" of which the barbell-heads speak. This is losing fat and replacing it with muscle, and I have done enough of it to need new shirts.

I repeat: word to yo motha. I'm like all small and stuff now.

Well, I'm not small. I will never be small. My *skeleton* will never be small. But I'm dense. Dense is good! I'll take it!

Replies

  • ba502
    ba502 Posts: 54 Member
    Congrats and thanks for this post. I too have struggled thru very slow weightloss even though my clothes get bigger, the scale has actually crept up 3-5 lbs while doing p90x3. Your post reminds me that I'm not alone and not to trust what the scale says.
  • emilyc85
    emilyc85 Posts: 450 Member
    That is so great to hear!! Congrats and good luck in your continued fitness goals!
  • getninshape56
    getninshape56 Posts: 42 Member
    Good for you! LOVE that feeling of success :)
  • liznotyet
    liznotyet Posts: 402 Member
    Non Scale Victory Congratulations! and thanks for the reminder to get out and get FIT. Pounds and BMI are meaningless unless they translate to feeling comfortable in your clothes and free to move.
  • JMRod
    JMRod Posts: 86 Member
    I agree. I have gone from recording my weight weekly to monthly. This month, my weight stayed exactly the same, but my measurements showed a difference. In all, I have lost 3 inches overall--mainly arms, calves, chest, and hips. I'll take it! The scale still causes me some anxiety when it doesn't move down, but i can see and feel differences in my body.
  • becksxxx70
    becksxxx70 Posts: 234 Member
    I'm like all small and stuff now. Well, I'm not small. I will never be small. My *skeleton* will never be small. But I'm dense. Dense is good! I'll take it!
    Love this.....brilliant. :flowerforyou:
  • tapirfrog
    tapirfrog Posts: 616 Member
    I'm being an *kitten* and replying to my own post because I just tried on some jewelry and it's several sizes too big now.

    I'd hidden a bunch of fun costume jewelry last year before a summer trip and forgotten about it. I discovered the box and was all "Yaay surprise jewelry!" The rings that used to fit are now way too loose to wear -- the moment I put them on, they twirl so that the stones are pointing down to the floor.

    I never thought about body recompositioning happening to your fingers. Good grief. I've got, like, toned knuckles or something now!
  • amykuh
    amykuh Posts: 27 Member
    Great job! I am rejoicing with you! Non-Scale Victories, yo…you've got 'em in spades. I, too, am experiencing the XL to L transformation…my scale # is different, but that's just cuz I'm a little shortypants. We kept doing this, because it is a life transformation. We're in it for the long haul. Word.
  • cbeevs
    cbeevs Posts: 41
    halfway is way cool too. You must feel so much better and sleep better and think better?
  • paprikas
    paprikas Posts: 118 Member
    Love it! Body recomp is the best
  • Jaminjo2
    Jaminjo2 Posts: 31 Member
    I've had the same experience this past month. I goal for March was to focus on inches lost instead of weight lost. I was really disappointed that I did not loose many inches considering all the extra effort I felt I was putting into my goal.

    BUT the winning outcome was that I am able to put on a size 20 pants without unzipping them. Before they were tight, almost uncomfortable. The numbers were disappointing but the body speaks volumes!
  • Cynner2007
    Cynner2007 Posts: 46 Member
    Yay for you! I mean Yo you done good!
  • PrimalGirl
    PrimalGirl Posts: 148 Member
    Fabulous!

    My sister gave me great advice not long ago (a bit narcissistic, but we all need a goal) - it's not the number on the scale, it's the reflection in the mirror.

    I'm trying to live by that, and it's making me much happier. I haven't weighed myself since January, because right now, the number doesn't matter.

    I never thought I'd be saying that with six months until my wedding!!!
  • azlifah95
    azlifah95 Posts: 177 Member
    I'm so glad I read this today. I've been working out 5 times/wk and my scale is going up. On the good side, my arms are getting more toned. I'll take a toned body over a flabby one anyday. Just needed to keep reminding myself to be consistent.
  • drmcglone
    drmcglone Posts: 80 Member
    Thank you....Thank you! I needed to read this to know that I am not going crazy...lol! I am going thru the same thing. Weight loss is so slow....But went to a family function recently and everyong thought I had lost so much weight! I assume its inchs and like you said getting denser...lol. I have been doing some crazy crossfit program for the past two months! Bravo!!! Well done...now treat yourself to a new shirt! :wink:
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