The Scale is really NOT moving much! :(

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13

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  • erikasmith2013
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    I stay under 1200calories per day.

    I beleive this is your problem. Stop starting yourself.

    That is not my calorie intake.... I intake 1360 and that is w/o the calories I workout.
  • erikasmith2013
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    I think I have it set to 2 lbs per week...

    You're not 100 lbs overweight. Losing 2 lbs per week is way too aggressive. It just makes you frustrated and unable to stick to your plan. It leads to binging and bad moods. You've already lost 32 lbs! Consider adjusting your goals just a little. But in general, I think you'll be fine if you can stick with it. <3

    Uff...bad moods are an understatement, and I am sore and tired ALL the time. I think I will adjust that as well.
  • chele1173
    chele1173 Posts: 3 Member
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    This is/was an area I struggle with. I want to see numbers drop!!! I had to learn that muscle weighs more than fat and to ignore the scale. Clearly you are losing fat and gaining muscle if you are down to a size 10. Keep in mind if you are lifting heavy weight you are building more muscle. I lift lighter weight but more reps/sets to just keep toned and not bulk up. Regardless it sounds like you are doing a great job, keep up the good work!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    OP here is my advice…

    Make sure that you have a food scale and are weighing, logging, measuring everything that you consume.
    Keep lifting heavy.
    Not sure what your macros are set to but change them in custom setting to 40% protein, 30% fats, 30% carbs..

    It sounds like you are having progress without the scale moving, this is a good thing.

    Also, keep in mind that weight loss is not linear….it will drop, go up, stay the same, but as long as the overall trend is down then you are good to go….

    Your comments are harsh but funny. Yes i will set it now to custom and will buy a scale (scared to...lol) but it is necessary. I do like lifting heavy that is why i was wondering if I should stop that.

    was not trying to be harsh ..just trying to get my point across….I guess I am a tad blunt…

    the food scale is your friend, not your enemy …it will do wonders for your progress...
  • erikasmith2013
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    I spent my whole childhood being the overweight kid, being picked on in school, and even having my parents call me fat. I tried everything from barely eating to eating right and exercising every single day. Nothing seemed to be working, I wasnt losing the weight. I got out of high school and thought maybe it would get better, maybe now i can finally work at it harder and lose the weight. But I was wrong. Even into my adult life i was still overweight and i felt like i was back in high school all over again. People were truly horrible to me because i couldnt lose weight. I looked in the mirror each day and was disgusted with myself. I hated myself for not being able to do anything about the way i looked. One day i was out with an old friend i hadnt seen in a while and she suggested http://easy-fat-loss-factor.com. I was skeptical at first as i thought it was another scam. I didnt believe it would actually work since nothing else has. I decide what the heck ive tried everything else. I got my copy and im so happy i did. I was like a zombie i read it over and over and over again. I learned so much that i didnt even think was important to losing weight. It’s comprehensive, detailed and customizable, with meal planning, specific weight loss strategies, different levels of workout routines and many varied weight loss recipes. The program doesn’t waste time with ineffective exercises and highlights high intensity interval training, the most effective kind of exercise for losing weight. I lost 85 lbs and im so happy with myself. I can finally look in the mirror and like what i see. When im out with my friends i get men asking me out for a change. I would recommnend this to everyone who is struggling to lose weight. It worked for me and i know itll work for you too. Good luck on your journey just remember to never give up even when you think nothing will work.

    Go spam somewhere else... Geez Not even on here we are safe.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Here is a thought about scale weight. Many people think that scale weight is the indicator of how good you are going to look and that lower is better. That is really not true at all.

    For example in the below picture this girl is 11 pounds heavier in one picture than the other. Can you tell which picture she is heavier in?

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Screen-Shot-2011-07-21-at-9.23.11-AM1.jpg

    Yeah, the one on the right she is 11 pounds heavier than the one on the left.

    (I tried to post the picture in here but it didn't scale appropriately so will have to go look at the link in your web browser)
  • Nice2BFitAgain
    Nice2BFitAgain Posts: 319 Member
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    FWIW:

    I am 5'4" (and 3/4, LOL)
    SW 170
    CW 141
    GW 135

    I also lift weights 3x per week (as heavy as I can for 8-12 reps) and do ONLY 30 minutes of cardio 2x per week.
    I eat 1500 calories per week, and I think I could go to 1700 but I want to stay at 1500 because sometimes I only make it to the gym 3x per week. I measure all my liquids with measuring spoons and cups and I weigh all my solids with a digital scale. I didn't at first... I thought I was eyeballing it close enough and rounding up....when I started using my scale it was an EYEOPENER!! wow. I can tell you it has made a significant difference in my weight loss. HUGE difference.

    My opinion would be to not change or up your exercise (except, for variety, maybe try different cardio out and make sure to use all muscle groups). Different cardio to consider 20 minutes of a HIIT with 5 minute warm up and cool down.

    Measure and weigh ALL of your food.

    If you aren't using the TDEE method to get your calorie goal then be sure to eat back 1/2 of the exercise calories that MFP give you - they overstate calorie burn

    You have a great positive attitude and I hope you find success.
    Feel free to friend me for support, but only if your diary is open because I like to look and comment :bigsmile:
  • WhataBroad
    WhataBroad Posts: 1,091 Member
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    I know what your going through. Your probably loosing fat... muscle weighs more. I have to limit the amount of weight I use because I pack on muscle very easily. Here are some things that have helped me when I've hit a plateau. Please disregard the poor spelling.

    First measure yourself...in our case this will be your indication that things are going as planned.

    -Try not to eat late. I try not to eat after 6pm (haha, I TRY, I don't always succeed)
    -Eat your bigger meals earlier in the day. For example, if my husband makes something full of too many calories or carbs and I really want to eat it...I'll have something lighter instead but take the tasty meal for lunch the next day.
    -Make sure your getting enough protein... and enough fiber.
    -Watch your sodium... you need it if your working out and sweating a lot but if you're having too much then even trying to flush it out with more fluids won't work.... you'll just puff up.
    -Make sure you drink enough water (I'm guilty of not doing this...I substitute the word "fluids" in that suggestion) But watch out for sugary drinks.
    -Definately weigh or measure everything. It got a real eye opener when I started doing that.
    -Get enough sleep if you can. Here is what I found out about myself.... If I am tired, I eat.... I could have just eaten an hour ago but I'm eating again....My body tries to compensate with food to increase energy.

    In my case, I have hit a plateau and have started gaining weight but my cloths are looser. Sooo.....I have cut out all sugar... synthetic or otherwise. I also cut out many dairy items (but not all) I no longer have 1/2 & 1/2 in my coffee and cut out the string cheese in my lunch... but I have cottage cheese for breakfast sometimes. I've added flax seed, changed out my mayo and now use the olive-oil mayo, exchanged my milk (in coffee) for nothing in my coffee...

    Now I am starting to slowly lose again.

    I hope it helps...these are just things that have helped me... they may not be right for everyone.

    the only thing I agree with in this post is to weigh/log/everything ..

    the rest is bunk …sorry, just being honest...

    absolutely agree... the valid take away points in this is adequate sleep, protein and fluids and to weigh/log everything.

    OP, the fact that you shrinking means you are LOSING FAT, which really is the ultimate goal isn't it? You are winning!!

    The only scale you should make your friend is the food scale. =)
  • marisablakley
    marisablakley Posts: 45 Member
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    About three years ago I took a weight loss journey and logged my weight and intake religiously. Here was the result of that 8 months in terms of weight loss.


    weight.png
    img host

    Looks great right? Here is the thing though. Look at it on any month long scale and it doesn't look like I'm losing weight at all and that was my experience. It always felt like day after day week after week the scale was just fluctuating, but over the period of many months the trends was obvious and in fact very predictable. That one outlier around September where my weight dropped a ton then went back up was because of a 170 mile backpacking trip.

    Like ndj1979 said "Also, keep in mind that weight loss is not linear….it will drop, go up, stay the same, but as long as the overall trend is down then you are good to go…."

    If this "stall" of yours is over the period of 1 or 2 months I'm betting its nothing to worry about at all.

    I LOOOVVEEEEE this!!!!!
  • Rawr1978
    Rawr1978 Posts: 245 Member
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    I want to shop at the stores the OP is getting her clothes at, because i am almost the same size, and the lowest i fit into is size 16 :-S (it's a manufacturing thing)
  • erikasmith2013
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    Here is a thought about scale weight. Many people think that scale weight is the indicator of how good you are going to look and that lower is better. That is really not true at all.

    For example in the below picture this girl is 11 pounds heavier in one picture than the other. Can you tell which picture she is heavier in?

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Screen-Shot-2011-07-21-at-9.23.11-AM1.jpg

    Yeah, the one on the right she is 11 pounds heavier than the one on the left.

    (I tried to post the picture in here but it didn't scale appropriately so will have to go look at the link in your web browser)

    Wow... that was a great example, to actually see it in a picture it makes total sense. Thanks
  • erikasmith2013
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    I want to shop at the stores the OP is getting her clothes at, because i am almost the same size, and the lowest i fit into is size 16 :-S (it's a manufacturing thing)

    Girl I shop at the same stores as everyone... The Gap, The Limited, Express (the jeans from this store are usually very small and I am fitting their 10's I used to fit 4 yrs ago...) The issue is that we are all shaped differently.
  • erikasmith2013
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    FWIW:

    I am 5'4" (and 3/4, LOL)
    SW 170
    CW 141
    GW 135

    I also lift weights 3x per week (as heavy as I can for 8-12 reps) and do ONLY 30 minutes of cardio 2x per week.
    I eat 1500 calories per week, and I think I could go to 1700 but I want to stay at 1500 because sometimes I only make it to the gym 3x per week. I measure all my liquids with measuring spoons and cups and I weigh all my solids with a digital scale. I didn't at first... I thought I was eyeballing it close enough and rounding up....when I started using my scale it was an EYEOPENER!! wow. I can tell you it has made a significant difference in my weight loss. HUGE difference.

    My opinion would be to not change or up your exercise (except, for variety, maybe try different cardio out and make sure to use all muscle groups). Different cardio to consider 20 minutes of a HIIT with 5 minute warm up and cool down.

    Measure and weigh ALL of your food.

    If you aren't using the TDEE method to get your calorie goal then be sure to eat back 1/2 of the exercise calories that MFP give you - they overstate calorie burn

    You have a great positive attitude and I hope you find success.
    Feel free to friend me for support, but only if your diary is open because I like to look and comment :bigsmile:

    I am running to get the scale this weekend.... That seems to be the common denominator here!
  • tanyaelise
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    Just remember that what works for one may not work for everyone. What I described in my previous post (almost 8 hours ago) worked for me. Doing what I described took me from 215 to 140 (I'm 5'8). 9 years later and an L4-L5 fusion, I have regained about 15 lbs... it happens. There is a lot of good advise here. Make changes as you can and not all at the same time or it will be overwhelming. You can do it!!!:happy:
  • Mello_Rello
    Mello_Rello Posts: 421 Member
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    Oh my Bob...do NOT base your weight loss success on the number on the scale, the scale is a LIE! INCHES!!!!!! Losing INCHES is #1. 1lb of muscle and 1lb of fat weigh the same of course, but muscle occupies less space than fat, so 150lbs of fat and 150bs of muscle would look totally different on ones body. You may be shedding fat and gaining muscle at a steady pace simultaneously. Just stay off that scale, you're gonna drive yourself nuts.
  • erikasmith2013
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    Oh my Bob...do NOT base your weight loss success on the number on the scale, the scale is a LIE! INCHES!!!!!! Losing INCHES is #1. 1lb of muscle and 1lb of fat weigh the same of course, but muscle occupies less space than fat, so 150lbs of fat and 150bs of muscle would look totally different on ones body. You may be shedding fat and gaining muscle at a steady pace simultaneously. Just stay off that scale, you're gonna drive yourself nuts.

    Thank you Thank you... I will be putting it away somewhere where i won't see it instead seeing it every morning in my bathroom. I am going to do some measuring and hopefully will notice some changes there. :) Thanks....
  • erikasmith2013
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    ******UPDATE.... UPDATE******

    I just measured myself per all of your advice and I am happy to say that I have lost a total of 9.3 inches since July.. 9 months!!!! Yup.. I feel so much better so the scale will be stored away and I will just go by what clothes/sizes and measurements. Thanks a ton everyone!!!!!
  • Mello_Rello
    Mello_Rello Posts: 421 Member
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    SEE! That scale is from the devil I tell ya! It'll drive us gym rats crazy!
  • OkamiLavande
    OkamiLavande Posts: 336 Member
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    Take measurements every 7-10 days. It's recommended so you can keep an average of what your baseline is for normal measurements and you can notice any abnormal gains.

    My measurements always change before my scale weight. My hips went down a whole inch before I lost three pounds. :smile:
  • erikasmith2013
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    Ooooo I'm jealous! I'm 5'4" as well, SW 165 CW 152 and I JUST got down to a size 10! Take a look around my diary, I average about 1360 calories per day with eating back exercise calories (it might seem confusing because I calorie cycle but my food notes explain my calorie goals per day). I agree with everyone to reevaluate your calorie needs and to start measuring!

    I did the measuring and I lost a total of 9.3 inches... so happy about it!