ONLY thing I am losing

is my MIND!!! it is now 3 full weeks that I haven't lost an ounce...I could see if I were eating the wrong things or not going to the gym...but I think I am doing everything right...this is very depressing Linda

Muscle weighs more than fat. You are probably losing inches, even if you aren't losing weight on the scale. The general downhill trend usually has a few periods where your body catches up. Mine were at 4 months and again at 7.5 months. One stall lasted for 5 weeks and I thought I was done. Not so. Reached a new low this week. As long as you are doing everything right, trust in the process. In fact, it was during the stalls that I changed the most in pants sizes! If you haven't taken measurements of hips, thighs, upper arms, waist, etc. try doing that. Write them down. In two weeks do it again and there will be a difference, even if the scale is still hovering as your body replaces fat with muscle. Hang in there! Nancy

I am just short of 4 months out...my stall began at 3 months I'm being as patient as possible but it's just soooooooooooooooooooo discouraging and frustrating Oh I would LOVE to measure myself...but since my daughters are home from school for the holidays my tape measure has vanished (along with so many other things in my house ) I'm sure I will find it in one of their bedrooms (seems that's where everything ends up). thanx for the advice and support...I truly appreciate it. Linda

LINDA your not going out of your mind. YOUR at a normal body catch up stage. WHEN your body is ready its gonna release pounds and its gonna be a big whooshie. ITS very frustrating but hang strong your tool will work for you. KEEP positive! EMAIL me anytime! YOUR doing nothing wrong and the reward will come. MANY go thru this horrible stall your going thru, I know your looseing the inches while the pounds seem to be standing still on your scale. BE STRONG! (((HUG))) LISA xoxo

hey Lisa sorry I haven't been in touch...it's just been a little crazy around here lately Girls are both home from school and my schedule has been turned upside down... I HATE this stall thing...I weigh in tomorrow and will see if anything has happened...I am just so discouraged and frustrated...I know it has to happen but I need it to happen now (even if it's only 1 pound) I will find out what I have lost in inches when I get weighed and measured at the gym on Tuesday morning...hopefully it will result in a happy new year How are you doing hon? Did you have a nice Christmas? hugssssssssss....Linda

My Dr. told me to not go to the gym as I was building muscle and not losing weight, the inches came off and hung like crazy. I stopped going to the gym and lost the weight. Maybe you need to leave the gym alone and take some walks instead Nectar

OMG I CANNOT believe that a DOCTOR told someone NOT to work out because the scale would move slower. That's just flat out wrong. Yes, muscle does weigh more than fat. However, if you are building muscle, you are helping to LOSE fat in the long run. THROW AWAY THAT SCALE before you do lose your mind. I have been a very slow loser, however, I have toned up as I have lost weight BECAUSE I worked to build muscle which would burn that fat. I will bet if you start using a measuring tape, you will discover that even though you are not losing a lot of pounds, inches are still disappearing. Look at a pound of butter [which is nothing more than solidified dairy fat] and you will see how much it takes to make up a pound. Then go and get a pound of steak and see just how little you have by comparison. I had two major wow events as a result: 1. a man asked me if I had done some weights after the surgery and I said yes, to which he said it was amazing, because most women have major batwings after that and mine just were not anymore than normal for a 57 year old woman. 2. At the support group meeting, I had one of the girls ask me who did my breast lift, because for my age, they are pretty darn perky. I have never had any work done on mine. It was all from WORKING the muscles. I have been where you are and I know the frustration. However, be safe, sane and sensible. Working out is far more beneficial than NOT working out. Also, in addition to minor weight lifting, WALKING is the best. Not jogging - brisk walking. Start parking at the END of the parking lot instead of looking for the spot closest to the door. Take the stairs when you aren't going up to the top of the building. Good luck and God bless!

thanks LINDA MY HOLIDAY was nice. INTERESTING point that nectar said on the gym. I havent made it to the gym this month and my weight loss far exceeded the past couple of months that i started the gym! MAKES me think. BUT some might be the sickness. DEFINITELY INTERSTING i do know muscle weighs more then fat so its confuseing. I am hopeing to see that you broke your stall but we are all different. I know if you dont see scale results you will have inches gone too when you get measured at the gym! KEEP us posted! Im routing for you! I know your doing everything right. I saw that Lisa whom had her surgery seemed to break thru her stall that was frustrating her. I know she increased her protein with protein added to her cofee and it might have helped! GOOD LUCK thinking about you lisa

Plateaus will happen.. weight loss is individual..I have been there and done that (I am the only one who won't lose wt, that this surgery won't work for etc)...But the wt loss comes and goes as it pleases. We can do a lot of things to INFLUENCE our wt but that is it! The body will drop it when it wants. I try and recommend people reshift their focus from pounds to lifestyle. This journey is about gaining helath/wellness (or should be) losing weight is a BONUS! Take this time to learn a new way to live w/ food. How can u make your lifestyle healthy for the LONGTERM! These habits u teach self in early newbie months will serve u well (or not if u dont change) in the years to come! Measures of success are the scale, measure tape, clothes fitting, your freedom of mobility, self esteem etc...Scales fluctuate so much they are unreliable at best. Self image/esteem should NOT be guaged by a number on a scale. We are more than that. So ALL U CAN DO IS ALL U CAN DO, your body will do as it pleases. If your taking your vits, drinking yur fluids (water) and taking your protein, and eating small, healthy meals (3 a day w/ possibly 1-2sm snacks) avoiding sugar/refined carbs that is all u can do.. Oh and exercsig is so important to save your muscle and build muscle so u can burn fat better! It is also a oping skill to learn vs using food to soothe. NEVER LISTEN TO someone who says avoid exercise PLEASE! Maybe change a routine of course, vary a workout but dont quit! This is what we must do to maintain longterm (eat small/healthy meals and exercise) In my opionion! Tell us about a typical day, sometimes people are not eating enough, dehydrated etc... that way we can offer suggestions or areas for potential change! I also included 2 articles about scales ok! Hugs! REMEMBER THIS IS NOT ABOUT losing wt, it is about gaining a healthy lifestyle (that will support wt loss/maintenance ok!) Take Care, Jamie Lap RNY 10/9/02 Dr. Singh 320/163 5'9'' (lost 45# before surgery) Plastics 6/9/04 & 11/11/2005 Dr. King "Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!" Weighing in on the Scale http://www.calorieking.com/library/article.php?path=13%2C66&art_id=749&printable=yes&noviews=yes Pat Fiducia and Anna Delany, September 22nd, 2004 It's no secret that many of us allow our moods to be determined by a number on a scale. If it's the right number - elation. If it's the wrong number - deflation. Just recently, I was at the gym standing near the scale when a woman went to weigh herself. Before she jumped on the scale she was in a cheerful, upbeat mood, but when she read the number on the scale her mood changed dramatically; she was devastated. And I mean devastated. But what she hadn't noticed was that her purse handle was leaning on the scale, making the reading about two pounds heavier than it should have been. That two-pound difference almost ruined her day - until someone politely pointed out the trespassing purse handle. When she removed the guilty party from the scale and saw the number dip by two pounds, she was ecstatic. Again, all was well with the world. Read more : · Mind over scale · Water-weight: Here today, gone tomorrow · You aren't what you eat · Muscle gain vs. fat loss · Using the scale effectively Mind over scale Watching that woman reminded me of all the times I've tried to explain to my weight loss clients (without totally demoralizing them) that daily fluctuations on the scale, whether up or down, should never be taken too seriously. One client in particular, who had high blood pressure and was on medication, experienced extreme water-weight fluctuations; up six pounds one day, down six pounds the next. Try as I might to tell her that the changes were not a measurement of success or failure, but a result of the medication, she couldn't see it that way. Instead, she remained happy and proud when the numbers went down; and unhappy, frustrated and hopeless when the numbers went up. Her perceptions had little to do with the fact that she making excellent progress changing her eating and exercise habits and losing weight gradually; everything revolved around the scale. The fact is, the number she put so much stock in was reflecting - among other things - the ebb and flow of water, not just the loss of fat or the increase of lean muscle mass, which are the two indicators of true weight loss. Water-weight: Here today, gone tomorrow Sixty to seventy percent of your body is made up of water, so it's not surprising that daily weigh-ins reflec****er-weight fluctuations; water-weight is a major component of what the scale measures, and the numbers can go up or down, depending on whether your body is losing or retaining water. Water retention. Next time you step on the scales and think "Oh no, I've gained three pounds. All my efforts have been for nothing!" take a moment to consider whether it might just be water retention that the scale is picking up on. Several factors can cause water retention. Excess sodium is one of them. The minimum physiological requirement for sodium is 500 mg per day and most health organizations normally recommend a maximum of 2400 mg. But when you think that just one teaspoon of salt supplies 2358 mg of sodium, it's easy to understand why most Americans consume sometimes twenty times more sodium than their bodies need, causing water retention and adding water-weight. Not drinking enough water can also cause water retention. Although it sounds back-to-front, you need to drink a sufficient amount of water to flush out the water you're already holding on to! Eight or more 8 oz glasses a day does the trick. Other common reasons for water retention include menstrual bloating, constipation, and certain diseases such as heart or kidney disease. Water loss. Generally it's only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of actual fat per week. If you are losing more than that, it's likely that it's water you are shedding, not fat. While you will always lose some water-weight when decreasing calories, extreme dieting will produce extreme water loss, and false weight loss readings. Excessive calorie restriction, for example, causes the body to use up stores of carbohydrates and to break down protein in the muscles. As both carbohydrates and protein hold water in the cells, a loss of these also results in a net loss of water. As a result, rapid weight loss can often be made up of 75% water loss. High-protein or low-carb diets also cause too much water loss. A high level of protein, especially from meat and dairy products raises the levels of two toxic by-products, uric acid and urea. To flush these out, the body pumps lots of water through the kidneys and urinary track. Loss of glycogen (a form of stored carbohydrate) on low-carb diets can also cause excess water loss, as can the diuretics people often take on these diets. You aren't what you eat An average-sized meal can easily weigh a couple of pounds, which is what you'll seem to have gained if you jump on the scale straight after your meal. That's because the scale registers the weight of the food, not the weight you will have gained from the meal - plus any water-weight gain from excess sodium. Of course, after the food is digested it will stockpile some extra calories, but keep in mind that it takes 3500 calories more than your body needs to gain one pound of weight. So, if you've eaten a heavy meal and the scale registers a four pound weight gain, for that to be accurate, the meal would have to equal at least 14,000 calories; that's like eating 8-12 whole pizzas, 23 Big Mac's or 56 bowls of pasta and tomato sauce! Muscle gain vs. fat loss iThe argument that muscle weighs more than fat is often used to explain weight gain when you increase physical activity. But in truth, the effects of weight training on your overall weight are marginal - about one pound a month is the maximum increase. So don't be fooled into thinking that weight gain is a by-product of exercise. Likely, it is true weight gain or a by-product of water retention. Using the scale effectively Although the scale has its flaws, don't throw it out the window just yet! The scale can be an effective long-term indicator of weight loss, especially when used in conjunction with other methods of assessing weight. Follow these tips to help you use your scale effectively: · Understand the scale's limitations. Stay in touch with what the scale can and can't do. Remember that normal and significant fluctuations can occur through water retention, water loss, glycogen storage, changes in body mass, and the normal ebb and flow of fluids. · Focus on what you want to accomplish. Losing body fat and increasing lean muscle mass is your primary weight loss goal. Keep in mind that it is impossible to change body fat significantly in a day or two, or even a week, so don't allow your moods to be contingent on the scale. · Weigh-in once a week or less. The scale should be used to monitor weight trends, not day-to-day weight fluctuations. Weigh in once a week or less and chart your progress over time. It's also best not to weigh yourself for several hours after eating. For more accurate weigh-ins, get weighed first thing in the morning before eating. · Think outside the scale. Think about how you look and feel, how your clothes fit, your frame of mind, your energy levels. Aren't these things worth listening to more than the scale? · Monitor other indicators of success such as your blood pressure, your cholesterol levels, and your glucose levels. Measure success by the positive changes you are making. Using skin-folds or body measurements can also provide some more accurate numerical charting of fat losses. · Don't be discouraged by a number - it's all relative anyway! Think about it this way: If you weigh 150 pounds on Earth, you weigh 136 pounds on Venus, 42 pounds on Mercury, 350 pounds on Jupiter, and a mere 57 pounds on Mars! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Why The Scale Lies by Renee Cloe, ACE Certified Personal Trainer http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/weight/scale.htm We've been told over an over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can't resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can't bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence it's readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale. Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body's water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don't understand what's happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto it's water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water. Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. A single teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium. Generally, we should only eat between 1,000 and 3,000 mg of sodium a day, so it's easy to go overboard. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn't have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts, 460 mg in the pudding versus 123 mg in the nuts. The more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content. That's why, when it comes to eating, it's wise to stick mainly to the basics: fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, and whole grains. Be sure to read the labels on canned foods, boxed mixes, and frozen dinners. Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum. Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and it's packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it's stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates. As the glycogen supply shrinks you will experience a small imperceptible increase in appetite and your body will restore this fuel reserve along with it's associated water. It's normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you're prone to obsessing over the number on the scale. Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it's wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you've had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different than putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It's the actual weight of everything you've had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you've finished digesting it. Exercise physiologists tell us that in order to store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than your body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store the above dinner as 5 pounds of fat, it would have to contain a whopping 17,500 calories. This is not likely, in fact it's not humanly possible. So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, it's likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner. Keep in mind that the 3,500 calorie rule works in reverse also. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Generally, it's only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it's physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you're really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle. This brings us to the scale's sneakiest attribute. It doesn't just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose "weight," that doesn't necessarily mean that you've lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you've lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you're just sitting around. That's one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue. Robin Landis, author of "Body Fueling," compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn't differentiate between the two. It can't tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat. There are several other measuring techniques that can accomplish this, although they vary in convenience, accuracy, and cost. Skin-fold calipers pinch and measure fat folds at various locations on the body, hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing involves exhaling all of the air from your lungs before being lowered into a tank of water, and bioelectrical impedance measures the degree to which your body fat impedes a mild electrical current. If the thought of being pinched, dunked, or gently zapped just doesn't appeal to you, don't worry. The best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don't be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride. It's a matter of mind over scale.