hung up on the scale - JP Fitness Forums

karenmc6 · 02-24-2008, 07:18 PM

like several of you, i am really trying to break the power the scale holds over me. i have definitely seen lots of signs that i am progressing well with nrol4w, but the darn scale hasn't been as cooperative as i'd like. alwyn's blog entry today really struck a chord with me. karen

jhardy · 02-24-2008, 07:42 PM

Thanks for sharing. I also get caught up on the number on the scale and have a magic number I want to weight. I have seen the comparison before (fat vs. muscle), but it was nice to see it again.

jzomom · 02-24-2008, 07:50 PM

I am a scale addict myself, thankfully I learned something recently. I got back down to my lowest body weight since high school when I was in excellent shape. Only after 3 babies it didn't look the same. It looked better than the 25 lbs I had packed on in a stressful year but I wasn't satisfied. I worked out for several months doing the standard girly fare of pilates, bar method, yoga and lots of cardio along with high rep low weight upper body work. (Because of course I wouldn't want to do resistance with my lower body, I wanted that long lean look, lol at 5'3" that ain't happening) So now I weigh less than in high school, but still see cellulite, love handles. I was skinny fat. Now just a few weeks into this program I am seeing definition, my waist is measuring thinner, even my thighs are. But I have gained 3 lbs. In the past that would have freaked me out but this time I am going to ignore the number and look at the mirror and the way my clothes fit. I am not there yet but I can encourage you that at least from where I am standing the number is meaning less and less.

Lisa~ · 02-24-2008, 08:40 PM

Excellent blog post from Alwyn! Thanks for linking us to it!

MuscleMom23 · 02-24-2008, 08:47 PM

Oh yeah I loved that blog!

I have lost 5 lbs but it looks like 20! Umm I have a lot to go but I am about to bust the scale!

Juleslynne · 02-27-2008, 12:12 PM

Yes, thanks for the link. Perfect timing for me too, to read something like that. I've been a victim of that stupid number on the scale for years and it's taking time for me to ignore it. After each kid (I've had three), I make it a mission to get back to my pre-pregnancy 'weight' and I'm not getting there. HOWEVER.....I'm gaining muscle, losing fat and my clothes 'do' fit better. This is more than a physical challenge, it's an emotional one!!!

frogguruami · 02-27-2008, 01:22 PM

I have been rereading that entry for three days now. Since starting I have gained weight. I am trying to stick with it and I know it could be a monthly thing but my pants are tight darn it!!

Susan4 · 02-27-2008, 02:41 PM

I'm struggling mightily with this as well, the pic on the link helps

5# fat vs. 5# muscle that is. I've asked for an Omron as a belated b-day gift and hope that will help the mental aspect of the scale not moving much.

missjane · 02-27-2008, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Susan4

I'm struggling mightily with this as well, the pic on the link helps

5# fat vs. 5# muscle that is. I've asked for an Omron as a belated b-day gift and hope that will help the mental aspect of the scale not moving much.

Oh, how I hate my Omron. That thing is so unreliable. Truly.

Ruthie · 02-27-2008, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by missjane

Oh, how I hate my Omron. That thing is so unreliable. Truly.

I don't have an Omron, but a similar product and I totally agree. I think you would be better to buy some Accumeasure calipers. Here Accu-Measure Fitness 3000.

marthand99 · 02-27-2008, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frogguruami

I have been rereading that entry for three days now. Since starting I have gained weight. I am trying to stick with it and I know it could be a monthly thing but my pants are tight darn it!!

I retained a TON of water in my lower body when I started this program. A couple of weeks ago I had to start taking it easy on my lower body due to a mishap involving a patch of ice and my tailbone, and after a week of that, all my pants fit fine again. Just FYI. Rixatrix was great about reassuring me, so I thought I should do the same.

I also just invested in an Omron. I am checking it first thing every morning and writing down the number, and am going to see how it trends.

starfish · 02-27-2008, 03:51 PM

I intentionally stay off the scale because it can be discouraging to work so hard and not see the needle move. I don't care what that scale says, as long as I look good!

I weighed 162 lbs. a couple of weeks ago, I'm only 5'5" and I wear a size 8. When I've been at my most fit, wearing a size 4-6 and 17% bf, I weighed 145-150. I can't believe how much I weigh and all those BMI charts say I'm obese. Whatever.

About 2 years ago when I was at my heaviest weight in my life, I did the hydrostatic bf (where they dunk you in water) test and I had 125 lbs of lean muscle mass. That single test changed my relationship to my scale....I threw it out! I'll get hydrostatic bf testing done in a couple of months.

rixatrix · 02-27-2008, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starfish

I weighed 162 lbs. a couple of weeks ago, I'm only 5'5" and I wear a size 8. When I've been at my most fit, wearing a size 4-6 and 17% bf, I weighed 145-150. I can't believe how much I weigh and all those BMI charts say I'm obese. Whatever.

About 2 years ago when I was at my heaviest weight in my life, I did the hydrostatic bf (where they dunk you in water) test and I had 125 lbs of lean muscle mass. That single test changed my relationship to my scale....I threw it out! I'll get hydrostatic bf testing done in a couple of months.

Hi! I love you! You're the first person I've met with similarish statistics to me...I'm 5'5", currently 189lbs and a size 12/14. I used to live with a girl who weighed the same as me, but was a size 18. I've always felt like a freak, since the number on the scale is a lot bigger than most other size 12/14s I meet. When I weighed 165-170, I was wearing a size 10.

I've always wondered what I would look like with less fat and the same amount of muscle...when you're bigger than you want to be, it's hard to know how much SPACE your muscle is taking up compared to fat.

And those charts are so bunk. I've always felt "dense." (no jokes! haha.) Ugh, and I shudder to think, but once, when I was around 14 and on the tennis team and the swim team, my dad whipped out those height and weight charts and asked me how much I weighed, which was 155 at the time. He told me I need to lose 5lbs...and then, strangely, later in my teens, I became clinically depressed and gained at least 15. I would now kill to be back at 155. Funny what we take for granted. (And screw the things our parents have told us...)

Anyway - thank you for posting your stats. It's so nice to see someone naturally carrying more muscle, like me. I've felt so alone!

LisaS · 02-27-2008, 05:02 PM

If it was long enough ago, the insurance height/weight charts used to assume height with a 1" heel for men and a 2" heel for women.

When my body is changing and the scale is not I often joke (gallows humor) that I'll end up the world's only >xxx lb single digit size person (e.g. 190 lb size 4 <G>)

starfish · 02-27-2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rixatrix

Hi! I love you! You're the first person I've met with similarish statistics to me...I'm 5'5", currently 189lbs and a size 12/14. I used to live with a girl who weighed the same as me, but was a size 18. I've always felt like a freak, since the number on the scale is a lot bigger than most other size 12/14s I meet. When I weighed 165-170, I was wearing a size 10.

I've always wondered what I would look like with less fat and the same amount of muscle...when you're bigger than you want to be, it's hard to know how much SPACE your muscle is taking up compared to fat.

And those charts are so bunk. I've always felt "dense." (no jokes! haha.) Ugh, and I shudder to think, but once, when I was around 14 and on the tennis team and the swim team, my dad whipped out those height and weight charts and asked me how much I weighed, which was 155 at the time. He told me I need to lose 5lbs...and then, strangely, later in my teens, I became clinically depressed and gained at least 15. I would now kill to be back at 155. Funny what we take for granted. (And screw the things our parents have told us...)

Anyway - thank you for posting your stats. It's so nice to see someone naturally carrying more muscle, like me. I've felt so alone!

You too? In fact, almost a year ago to the day I weighed 189 and was a size 12/14 too!

Your body sounds just like mine. We'll be nice and solid AND slim by the end of NROLW!

I think it's funny to say how much I weigh because the men can't believe I almost weigh as much, if not the same as them, and women who don't lift weights just can't believe it. According to those charts we're supposed to weigh 125 1lbs or something. I read fitness competitor's stats in Oxygen and they're the same height and 125-130 lbs, but I just don't see myself losing 30 more pounds. I think I'd look like a crackhead. I'd lose all my boom! pow! heh heh.

Talk about dense, when I was younger I used to swim and tried synchronized swimming, but it was so hard for me to flo

prof41 · 02-27-2008, 08:06 PM

How frustrating that on almost every web site you go, most of us are considered obese....no wonder we fret all the time about weight.

A lot of these sites are fitness oriented, health oriented etc, but according to all of them I should weight 130 or so....I don't think I ever weight that little in my adult life.

I wear size 7 pants....29inch jeans, and buy tops usually in small sizes

I need to lose some fat for sure, but damn it no way I need to lose 20 lbs. I dropped down under 150lbs for a bit and people kept asking me if I was sick...my mother was worried I was anorexic for God's sake....(she was exagerating as mother's do of course) but it makes me crazy....

Anyway, it's no wonder we freak out over numbers on a scale.

rixatrix · 02-27-2008, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starfish

You too? In fact, almost a year ago to the day I weighed 189 and was a size 12/14 too!

Your body sounds just like mine. We'll be nice and solid AND slim by the end of NROLW!

I think it's funny to say how much I weigh because the men can't believe I almost weigh as much, if not the same as them, and women who don't lift weights just can't believe it. According to those charts we're supposed to weigh 125 1lbs or something. I read fitness competitor's stats in Oxygen and they're the same height and 125-130 lbs, but I just don't see myself losing 30 more pounds. I think I'd look like a crackhead. I'd lose all my boom! pow! heh heh.

Oh jeez, I know. I've been dating my boyfriend for seven-ish months - I don't want to know how much he weighs. He used to be heavier but dieted down a bit before I knew him - I suspect it would put me in fits if I knew. But he seems to like me just as I am...

Men always think you're like 100 lbs, no matter what you weigh. Cause you're a girl, right? And girls way like, what, 115, max? Ha!

Anyway, I'm just so glad to find someone I can identify with. It really makes me feel more accepting of myself. Now I can just focus on being one strong, kickass female.