Losing 100 plus pounds

And the Scale Says…

It’s Saturday and I’ve decided that’s likely the best day to weigh in. So, first thing today, after using the bathroom, I hopped on the scale.

Drum roll please………………

Yes so the picture says 333 even but the two I took earlier were 332.6 so that’s actually what I’m going with for MyFitnessPal stats. (You can see my friendly fat kitten, Tracer, wanted in the picture and the dogs going in and out the back yard made everything dirty as well. Life with many pets. )

Hardly any of that loss should be water weight. I have not cut down on salt and didn’t have sore muscles on original weigh in. So, that 3ish pounds should be mostly fat loss!

It’s a good start for sure.

Now, don’t be thinking I’m going to be regularly showing 3 lb a week losses. The first week generally is always one of the best. On average, I should lose 1.5-2lbs a week. You will though see that eventually I will post lower because of a bad water weight week or similar. I use the scale as a tool, not the have all be all of my journey.

Today, I will likely either go on a walk, do some heavy cleaning (or both) for exercise. Going to try to give the knees a day off the squatting on the Total Gym.

Keep it going
-Kimmie

One week down

Yes!

I made it through a whole week exercising every day and logging my food diary every single meal. The first couple weeks are always the hardest to get back in that logging habit.

That’s basically all a healthier lifestyle is. It’s just a series of healthier habit choices.

Now am I saying I made all healthy choices? Not by a long shot. What I did do, though, was note everything I ate carefully, keep track of my calories and stay under what MyFitnessPal recommended for me to lose at least 1.5lbs a week. My aim is to lose 1.5-2lbs a week so that’s why I stay under, and often a ways under, what they recommend.

Did I eat healthy food? By most people’s opinions the answer is no. I eat high processed food fairly often. For now, I’m mostly watching calories and making sure I get at least 30g of protein a day. I will slowly incorporate more “healthy” choices, but, for now, I’m focused on calories and trying to drink more water. I struggle with drinking enough. I generally have no issues from taking in too little water, but I know it’s good for me and weight loss so am doing my best to drink more.

I’ve had 8 days straight of exercise. I love keeping up the streak. From the first walk to the one I took yesterday I noticed less tiredness and I wasn’t breathing as heavy. I also raised my time from 14 minutes to less than 12. So, that is improvement. I also notice I’m getting better on the arm exercises on the Total Gym machine. I’m also burning slightly less calories than at the beginning of the week while pushing just as hard. My body always has adjusted quickly to change. That means I have to work harder each week to burn the same amount of calories. So, either push harder or put in longer times for exercise. Fun fun .. Grumble grumble…

So, I’m overall happy with the progress. I will be weighing in soon. You know I will post it!

Keep it going,

-Kimmie

What are Non Scale Victories?

So, I mentioned there being other ways to chart your progress on you journey to better health and here where I will expand on that.

a non scale victory or NSV for short is exactly like it says. This is basically anything positive occurring in your life due to weight loss and or exercise increase.

Some examples of NSV are:

Clothes fitting better of feeling looser

Measurements going down

Flexibility increased, being able to touch your toes

Endurance increased, you can walk further, stand longer, hold a pressure or weight longer

Something that was very hard being a little easier to physically do

More room in the car, having to adjust seats forward or seatbelt being less cutting

Chasing a child or pet and not finding yourself short of breath

Moving in a notch on a belt

Feeling less hungry, feeling full easier

Craving less “junk food”

Your significant other notices you snore less

People comment you look like you’ve lost weight or have been exercising

Your knees, feet or joints seem to be bothering you less

Getting up from a seated position is easier

You find yourself having more energy and are getting more done.

Having to buy new pants because they are trying to fall off

Seeing definition where before there was only roundness or flab

Basically, NSVs can happen often and be in all sorts of different fashions. Often, you won’t be watching for it and it just strikes you out of the blue. You’ll just notice it’s easier to get up or down or seems you’re walking faster than you used to.

Cherish and celebrate these victories just as much or more than the numbers on a scale going down. After all losing weight as a goal isn’t just to lose weight is it? Don’t you want to be in better shape, be more confident and or have other tidbits that literally have nothing to do with a number on a scale?

I have been exercising a week now and already notice a difference. That motivates me to keep pushing. I hope you see these little successes and they do the same for you.

Keep it going
-Kimmie

The Dreaded Weigh-Ins

So, how often should you dare to face the scale when you are on a journey to a large loss?

Well, like most things, that’s going to be a very individual decision. Some people love to jump on that scale every day after their workout. They love to see their hard work pay off. I highly recommend not weighing in daily, especially women, but really everyone. When you are more than a few pounds overweight you also will find this even more important not to do. For most I would recommend weighing in once a week, once every two weeks or once a month. I wouldn’t go longer than a month without checking in if you are actively trying to lose weight.

So, why shouldn’t you weigh in every day? Shouldn’t you see a loss every day if you are following a diet and exercising? In a perfect world, yes you would see a loss every day because you technically should be losing every day. Do we live in a perfect world? That would be a resounding No!

Everyone’s body will retain water. That retention level can change by the hour, much less the day.

Ate something extra salty? Bam! More water retained.

Tried a new exercise and have sore muscles? Bam! More water retained.

Drank some alcohol last night? Bam! More water retained.

Didn’t sleep well or much? Bam! More water retained.

Be about to have or having a period? Bam! Mega water retained.

Didn’t drink enough water the last day or two? Bam! I think you see the pattern by now.

And, not only water retention can make you not appear to be losing weight, when you really are. If you happen to not have bowel movements as often as average (most healthy people should have at least 1 every 24 hours or so) then you literally are carrying some extra waste weight.

Then, we get into the muscle building. Muscle is far denser than fat. It takes up about half the space. If you happen to be doing some major weight training or other muscle building activity you actually could be adding muscle tissue as you lose weight. If you happen to be adding muscle faster than losing fat (which can and does happen, especially to the very out of shape) then you may actually see a scale say you gain slight weight in a given week. If you had sore muscles that week, don’t believe that scale.

Always keep in mind that this is a journey. You are looking for a downward trend if losing weight. If you have a lot to lose (like me) then this will be a long journey. If you have one week where you don’t lose or gain a bit but at the end of the month you have lost 8 pounds that means you lost 2 pounds a week on average.

Don’t let the scale rule you. Yes, seeing the numbers go down is so encouraging and shows progress, but so many other things do that as well. I will discuss those in another post. Just keep the scale put away if it starts to discourage you. You are doing well.

Keep it going
-Kimmie

My Fitness Pal Predictions

So, this is more just an interesting thing that I’ve never kept track of and want to do.

Basically, every day you complete your food diary at My Fitness Pal they give you a prediction for what you should weigh if you eat this same amount for 5 weeks. I’ve used this site for years and never actually paid attention to how close their prediction are for me.

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See, this is yesterday’s prediction and today’s was a bit higher since I ate a little more than yesterday and burned slightly less calories as well. I actually want to keep track and see how close this lines up. Now, yes, this won’t be perfect, as we all eat and exercise differently each day, but this is more just a curiosity and almost for fun than anything else. . I will give it some leeway and say 320 lbs in 5 weeks.
So that means by October 11th I should weigh that as long as I am fairly consistent about this routine. 15 lbs in 5 weeks is very achievable for someone my size.
What do you think? Will the numbers match up? We shall see.

Keep it going
-Kimmie