Weekly Weigh-In: Discouraged
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Happy Wednesday! It’s that time of the week that you either love or dread – which varies depending on your scale each week.
Still, regardless of the results, accountability and reflection on what worked and what didn’t is key to success. So….
I stayed exactly the same. Do you have any idea (and I’m sure many of you do) how frustrating that is?
I paid close attention to my calorie burn. I made sure to stay active. I ran over 15 miles. I wrote down everything I ate. And, I stayed exactly the same.
So, what went wrong? Well, I have a few theories. One is that, although I was writing down everything I ate, I wasn’t really counting calories. Writing down what you eat is helpful, but actually knowing how many calories you’re consuming is the real goal. I was trying to get away with guesstimating.
Two, I snacked more than normal. I was really hungry on Monday and Tuesday when I was expending a lot of calories, so snacking wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I really have to guard against the attitude that because I’m burning a lot of calories I can consume more food. That’s counter-productive if I’m not being mindful of how many extra calories I’m consuming versus how many I’m burning.
Three, we ate out quite a bit. I tried to make good choices, but you’re almost always going to have higher calorie days when you eat out rather than eat at home.
Four, I did have some hormonal issues that could have affected my weight. I’m really hoping some of what I saw on the scale Tuesday morning was water weight.
Five, the dreaded “P” word – plateau. Brianna asked me last night what if this is just the size I’m going to be. It’s a possibility that my body is leveling off at a comfortable weight.
I told her that I’ve thought of that and if this is the smallest I ever get, I’ll still be much happier here than where I was…but I’m not where I want to be and I’m not going to quit fighting to get there.
So, my plan of action this week is to keep doing what I’ve been doing as far as workouts and activity go, both of which I increased last week, and to be more mindful of what I’m eating – to make the best choices possible.
As Jillian (The Biggest Loser) is fond of saying, “Keep doing the right things and eventually your body has to respond.”
How did you do on working toward your fitness goals this week?
Do or do not. There is no try.
Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.
I really do understand your frustration. This is when we have to dig deep and not quit. Let's not give the scale that much power! I had a great week as far as staying on my eating plan. I weighed this morning and I was up. I am thinking it is due to my cycle…… but I will never know. I just have to keep on going. If I get frustrated now and not follow my goals, I will only be hurting myself. This can be so hard. I am thankful for you and your giving us this platform to share the good and the bad. A place for support and hugs! I am sending you a hug! Thank you for inspiring me!
My daughter found a site that helps with calorie counts & food log's…it is called Myfitnesspal.com. It can download on an i-touch as well, for those mobile going out to eat times. I do believe what you said Jill from the Biggest Looser said…keep working at it, and it will show!
I feel your pain! You're going along doing your thing and maintaining. You want to do better so you can actually lose, but when you put the effort in and really think you'll see that reward and there isn't one, it is so disapppointing. I've been going through the same thing. I'm not weighing in until Friday, but I'm already wondering if I'll be in the same boat as you. I'm trying to look at it this way… at least I'm eating healthy foods and exercising. Before I lost weight I was doing neither of those. When I was "just maintaining" (for the last several weeks) I wasn't even exercising. Now I can feel my body toning up already and feel healthier for doing what I'm doing. You have really tried to analyze what might be going on and might be onto some things there. I too wonder if this is just where my 41 year old body wants to settle! I'm okay with it but not entirely happy. I'm still a little bit into the "overweight" category BMI-wise and still have more tummy pudge than I'd like. So I, like you, am going to keep Jillian's quote in mind and keep on trying my best! Do or do not, there is no try! Keep up the great work!
Exactly, Christine! Oh, it's so nice to hear when someone gets exactly where you're coming from. I could have typed that whole reply myself, except that I have been running consistently the last few weeks. I turn 41 next Tuesday.
My husband told me last night that he could tell that I was toning up even if I wasn't losing pounds. That definitely made me feel better. I measured last week and wrote the measurements down, but I refuse to measure again until the end of the 12 weeks (that's easier than not weighing). I feel confident that I'll see results there even if I don't see them on the scale…but I want to see them on the scale, too, so I'll keep working at it.
I absolutely refuse to quit. If I have to work this hard to maintain, I'll do that before I'll be willing to gain again.
Thanks for the encouragement!
I was thinking yesterday about My Fitness Pal. Someone told me about it recently. I've also used Spark People in the past, which sounds really similar. I was using the Apex site subscription the came with my body bugg, but it has expired and I don't really want to renew it. I'd rather do something free for awhile. My body bugg still works with the subscription and will tell me how many calories I've burned, I just can't access the site where I put in what I've eaten to compare the two.
Thanks for the suggestion. I may check into it today.
Thanks, Jill. This is a good time to remember the questions that Lisa Terkeurst asked in Made to Crave: Did I feel good about what I'd done before I got on the scale? Did I move more and exercise regularly? Did I overeat on any day this week?
If I can answer those questions and feel good about my answers before I get on the scale (and I could this week), then I don't need to let the scale make me feel bad. Thanks for the virtual hug. 😉
BAH. That's what I have to say — for BOTH of us!
I gained two pounds! TWO POUNDS! BAH! I snacked on pretzels and blueberries at the drive-in on Sunday night, and I had a real burger on Monday (rather than a Boca burger as usual). But TWO POUNDS! I'm so mad I could spit nails.
Yikes! I don't blame you. It's so frustrating to gain when you've put forth the effort to lose. Is it about "that time"? Maybe it's water weight?
I am new here – but I was going to recommend My Fitness Pal to you too, I see you have heard of it. My husband and I got new smart phones in January and MFP was an app already installed on my phone. I got curious about it and started using it. It has seriously saved my life. I've lost 60lbs so far (with much more to lose) and I love MFP. It has been a tool that I believe God placed in my hands to help me find the strength to try again. I know it is very frustrating to do all that work and not see results, I've been there a few times myself, even with MFP, but it is a help and I do hope you will check it out if it could work for you. Keep striving towards your goal! You are an inspiration to me.
Thanks, Sarah, and congratulations on your 60 pounds lost!
Okay, I just had to say, I joined My Fitness Pal and just finished logging all my food/exercise for the day. That's all I've done on it so far, but I'm LOVING it, already! It's not as comprehensive as the body bugg site as far as my calories burned goes (because there I could just upload directly from my body bugg), but inputting calories consumed was great! There are so many foods in the data base and they're exactly what I use — like Great Value light sour cream or Luzianne tea — so I'm able to get exact calorie counts without having to input the nutrition labels by myself.
Thanks for the suggestion! I think I'm really going to like MFP.
I am just starting out on my journey. For now, it does not include weigh ins, but it will include body measurements in the near future.
My goals this week were to start walking, drink more water, eat more veggies, and make my food more colorful, tasty, and interesting.
Excited to join you.
Honey
I'm excited to have you join us! I love your food goal — colorful, tasty and interesting sounds varied, healthful, and exciting. Good luck!
No, it's not water weight. Truthfully, I think there are two reasons: I snacked more than I should have, and I'm at a plateau.
I started reviewing today, and I really think the little snacks are getting to me. The tasting during cooking, the couple of chips when I am making lunch for others, the cookie that I eat without thinking …. It would be easier if it was just one thing. But snacking is my Achilles heel! I know it. I'm just going to have to be more conscious about it.
My activity level was normal. (I walked 17 miles.) I think I'm just going to have to find some different things to do. I have some workout DVDs to use, and there are always the old squats/lunges/pushups to fall back on.
So there ya go. I'm still mad, but I'm mad at myself. I've just got to be more focused!
How is it different from SparkPeople? I've been using that, and I like it, but I'm always up for better.
Staying focused is so important. I have trouble with that, too.
I found the food database SO much better than SparkPeople. There seemed to be many more choices. The only thing I didn't like is for my milk my only choices were cups and grams. I'm used to putting in ounces because that's more accurate. My scale weighs grams, so I can do that. It' just something I'll have to get in the habit of doing.
I loved that when I put in a recipe I was given the choice of whole packages of things — like I could choose the whole can of tomatoes or the whole bag of rice. Neither SparkPeople nor Apex (body bugg) offer that option — at least, SP didn't the last time I used it.
I love that it shows you how many calories you have left/are over for the day based on your exercise and food. I told Brian that I'm guessing it's not as accurate as the body bugg since the bb actually measures your total calorie burn for the day and you can download it. MFP will just have an estimate of my calories and won't include things like housework (though you may be able to estimate that and put it in), but if I'm going to be off on my calories burned, I'd rather have burned more than I thought I did than less, so this may be a good thing for me.
Loving your inspirational words.
You most likely built a bit of muscle this week and so the weight looks the same but you have become just that bit stronger.
I was interested to see one of your goals was to do a pull up because I am doing that same thing. I can now just about do the baby pull ups from the bench and that is a huge improvement for me.
Yay on the baby pull-ups! I can't wait to be able to say that I can do a pull-up. Thanks for the encouragement.
Just checking in with my weigh-in for this week. I was at 173.2 this morning (Friday). I don't know what my exact weight last Friday since I wasn't keeping careful track and was weighing incessantly, but I do know that today's number is at the lowest end of what I've been weighing for the last several months (173-177). So I'll take that as a good thing. Hopefully it'll be below that plateau point next week. Off to comment on your latest post since that where I think a huge issue lies for me too!
Good job! I love those times that you're at the low end of the fluctuation when your weight is fluctuating. And, now you have a point of reference for next week.
After seeing myself in pictures this past weekend, I have gotten back on track. For the past 3 days, I have counted calories and drank my water. I am using http://www.myfitnesspal.com and like it a lot. You are an inspiration to me, and I know you will reach your goal!
I'm loving My Fitness Pal! Yeah, sometimes those photos are a great motivation. 😉 I wish you great success in your weight-loss efforts.