Keeping the faith

Posted on August 18, 2014

I hate fluctuations. I always try not to get too excited when I see the number on the scale drop because I know that true weight loss is a slow process. If my weight drops a pound in one day for some reason, I can't really expect it to stay there.

We had guests in town this week. I was mindful of my eating, I counted my calories, and we did some hiking, but I was still over my budget on the order of a few hundred calories this weekend. The scale jumped, a little higher than the math dictates it should, but still somewhat justifiably. But the thing is, even taking into consideration a couple of bad eating days, I'm still eating at a rate that would eventually lead to weight loss. It would just take a very very long time. And it's hard to stay motivated losing a quarter pound a week. So this post is really about brainwashing myself into believing that I am still losing weight even when the scale doesn't give me that feedback. I can see it objectively in the number of calories I'm taking in, and I can feel it in my body. When I eat whatever I want, I'm basically never hungry. Now I wake up hungry, I'm hungry at various points during the day, and I go to bed hungry. It is working, it just doesn't look like it is.

I can be patient. As long as the weight comes off and stays off, I don't need it to come off fast.

Comment Now!

Kat

08/18/2014 6:28PM

Hey Perky, I hear your pain. You say you are tracking your calories. Have you consulted a nutritionist about the number of calories you should be consuming? And calories aren't always the problem. For many people, the ratio of fat to protein to carbohydrate is important, too. Watch your total carbohydrate intake. For me, more than 400 calories of carbohydrates a day from whole grains and starchy vegetables (equal to about 4 slices of bread) and I have a tough time dropping weight. Be strong, get some exercise, and make good food choices. We can do this!

Katelyn

I go with the calorie budget recommended by dietbet and other online calculators assuming weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week with light/medium exercise, and then I use more of a low-tech approach to allocating those calories, just going off of experience and how I feel. It works reasonably well. As a practical matter, it's really hard for me to keep within my calorie budget if I eat a lot of carbs and I end up incredibly tired if I work out and don't consume extra protein, so the inherent realities of the system keep me fairly balanced. Little tweaks every day :)

robut

08/18/2014 11:44AM

You're doing ALL the right things! My approach has been to consider the scale is the least measurement, I'm trying not to care too much about it (hard, because of social conditioning, but it's better for mental health to de-prioritize it). It's conflicting, because it's the only measure that dietbet uses to judge whether someone is a "winner" or not — it's a positive incentive for some, it's just not so meaningful for me. Gauge how you feel, and start monitoring things like inches lost or muscle-to-fat-ratio, and log you activities to see how you're improving (ie hiking distance or speed, lifting more reps, etc.), because THAT's what really matters.

Katelyn

I agree, the scale is mostly just a nice awareness tool to keep me on track and give some feedback about my progress. The daily fluctuations are irritating, but the overall trend is downward at a pace I'm fairly happy with and I know my body is tightening up a teensy bit.

By the way you've been kicking ass! Seeing the zombie running makes me feel like I should get my butt out the door. And on that note, off to an hour of body fitness followed by a grueling two-hour dance rehearsal :)

holli o.

So true