Muscle weighs more than fat; muscle weighs more than fat...

[Cherishthepast 20]

Okay, if I keep telling myself this perhaps it will finally sink into my thick head. I reached a stand still between Nov/Dec and finally lost 3 pounds. Now it's been 5 weeks since my last fill and I've only lost 2 pounds.

I eat all the right foods and for the past 2 months have increased exercise from 1 day to 3 days a week - 1 hour sessions ranging from swimming, weight training and cardio. Yep, trying to mix it up so that I'm not bored.

I see a difference in the way that my clothes fit, I wear size 16 pants and some 14's.

Why in the heck can't I get this @&*#&* scale to more?

[Makulafamy 55]

Okay, if I keep telling myself this perhaps it will finally sink into my thick head. I reached a stand still between Nov/Dec and finally lost 3 pounds. Now it's been 5 weeks since my last fill and I've only lost 2 pounds.

I eat all the right foods and for the past 2 months have increased exercise from 1 day to 3 days a week - 1 hour sessions ranging from swimming, weight training and cardio. Yep, trying to mix it up so that I'm not bored.

I see a difference in the way that my clothes fit, I wear size 16 pants and some 14's.

Why in the heck can't I get this @&*#&* scale to more?

That is a toughie, bc normally I would recommend looking at what you are eating, what you are drinking, and moving more or switching up your routine...but it sounds like you are doing all that.

Are you eating enough?

Do you read any of the lapband blogs? Catherine (who is username Catherine55 I think) had a good stall on the scales when she started a really intense Bootcamp workout. But she was taking her measurements so she knew she was losing...it took about 6 weeks for the scale to move.

Try to stay positive bc you know you are making good choices and your clothes are showing the difference!

Amy

[Cherishthepast 20]

Hadn't thought of measuring. I'll try measuring myself and see how it goes. It could also be that I'm not eating enough.

This is what I've had so far today.

B- choc Protein shake on my way to work

plain oatmeal w/splenda upon arrival

L- sandwich wrap w/chicken and muenster cheese (my treat for the day) and mustard. Also, had an apple and saving my yogurt for mid-afternoon snack

I plan to have another shake at 5:00 before I leave the office to attend my swimming class this evening.

Please don't hesitate letting me know if you have any other suggestions.

By the way, I've seen your pics and you look great - congratulations on your success.

Thanks!!

[Makulafamy 55]

Hadn't thought of measuring. I'll try measuring myself and see how it goes. It could also be that I'm not eating enough.

This is what I've had so far today.

B- choc Protein shake on my way to work

plain oatmeal w/splenda upon arrival

L- sandwich wrap w/chicken and muenster cheese (my treat for the day) and mustard. Also, had an apple and saving my yogurt for mid-afternoon snack

I plan to have another shake at 5:00 before I leave the office to attend my swimming class this evening.

Please don't hesitate letting me know if you have any other suggestions.

By the way, I've seen your pics and you look great - congratulations on your success.

Thanks!!

Thank you for the compliments! My one year is next week and it has been a journey. There is sometimes a debate on here about not eating enough and your body holding onto it's calories...and man oh man, I dont want to get that started...but what I have seen over the course of this year through blogs and through this site, coupled with research I learned years ago while I was on a really low calorie diet...at or below 900 calories

is a starvation diet. Your body just doesnt want to lose the weight. A lof the the girls on out there with the band have found a happy medium around 1100-1300 calories. I always keep a running estimate in my head. For some of the girls who workout A LOT, they actually up there calories to around 1500 a day. You will find right it right for you and what works! It is a learning curve for sure!

[adagray 1]

Does your surgeon's office use one of those fancy Tanita scales that breaks out your lean body mass % from your fat %, etc. I get this little printout (like a receipt) every time I go in. Well, for my pre-op appointment, I was so embarassed because I knew I had gained weight. I had a terrible time w/insurance doing multiple appeals so about four months had passed between my final nutritional visit and my pre-op appointment.

In that time, I did not gorge myself, but I also did not diet. I refuse to suffer and be hungry anymore. But, I did decide to get my butt in gear and get more serious about exercise. I started doing Jazzercise which was really really hard for me at first because I was really out of shape. My muscles were sore and it was hard to get through the workouts.

OK, long story short, flash forward to my dread at getting on the scale for my pre-op appointment because I KNEW I gained weight and was worried my surgeon might scold me or even cancel my surgery because I didn't lose the 10% of my excess weight that they want. And, what happens... she CONGRATULATES me because she sees that I actually gained EIGHT pounds of lean body mass. So, even though the scale was up a few pounds, I had actually lost a bunch of fat. Woohoo!!!

So, just giving you this as an example of how you really can be gaining muscle when the scale is standing still, going down or little, or even going up. I never believed in that cause my WW instructor had told us before that this is a myth and that most people don't work out hard enough to really be gaining that much muscle quickly. But, darn it, some of us are!!! ;->

[dizlizd 0]

As long as you are seeing progress in changing sizes, don't worry so much about the scales. Take your measurements and then take them again in about 2 weeks. If you are exercising and eating right, you will eventually lose. Are you measuring your foods? there is a web site called Sparkpeople.com that's free to use. You can track all of your nutrients in the food you eat, not only calories, but fat, carbs and Protein too. If you are working out a lot you need between 80 and 100 grams of protein to help build your muscle tissue and not lose it. Good luck.