Dr C Question---how can I loose sizes but no weight??

[Boo Boo Kitty 3]

Hey Dr C (or anyone else that knows)

I have a question---how is it that you can loose clothing sizes but no freaking weight??? I haven't lost a SINGLE pound since my last fill 4 weeks ago, but dropped from a 18/20 to a 14/16....how????

[Lois 0]

Probably just means everyting is tightning up. Hey if I could get in a size 8 or 10, I would not tell anyone that I weigh nearly 300. My little secret. ha

I think you are doing great. In a few days you will probably have a big lose show. Keep up the good work.

[faithmd 14]

Have you been working out more? Even if you haven't, with the increased Protein intake post band, you could easily be gaining muscle mass and losing fat. Muscle is three times heavier than fat, so if you had a piece of fat that is 5 lbs and a piece of muscle that is 5 lbs, the muscle will be about one-third the size of the fat.

I'll see if I can find the picture I've seen of it.

[faithmd 14]

Here it is, hopefully it will stay there, but it is in someone's Photobucket, so it could go away eventually:

[Jachut 487]

If you exercise a lot it happens. Running has definitely done that to me. I've lost a grand total of a whopping 2kg in the last 5 months yet have gone down an entire size and a bit.

[Boo Boo Kitty 3]

I haven't been working out really other than 3-5 mile walks at school 3 days a week. I guess I shouldn't complain but I feel dissapointed still.

[MarySue33 0]

I would not feel disappointed. I think that we have been slaves to the scale for so long that we sometimes can feel that it is the ultimate judge of our success or our failure. I am one of those people who has a pretty solid muscle mass under this flab. Even back in the days when I was 'normal sized', I had thighs like a figure skater -- big thighs, but very muscular, so they did not look bad. 25 years ago when I weighed 150, people thought I weighed about 135. When I hit 200, people thought that I was closer to 175.

I think we have to be careful that we don't let the scale rule us. After all, I suspect that is why most of us are here. The scale is not the be-all, end-all. It is just ONE FORM of measurement. A much healthier form of measurement is to have your BMI professionally measured. You would be amazed. If you are shrinking that much in sizes, you are doing something right and should not be disappointed at all. We have become slaves to the scale because society has made weight such a big deal vs. what really should matter -- your health.

I actually find it kind of empowering to know that I can be fit and "overweight" (whatever that actually means) without being "fat". I vaguely remember how that felt and I want to get back there again.

Once I finally stopped being ruled by the scale, I found it to be absolutely awesome that I could weigh 30-40# more than my friends, fit into the same sizes and not have any of the health issues that they have (high BP, high cholesterol, etc.)

One of the most freeing moments of my life was when I went to the exercise physiologist at my old weight loss doctor's office at JHU and she did a thorough body fat impedance measurement. Turns out, I'm within the healthy and acceptable range of body fat when I hit between 150-168# -- and I'm only 5'2". In fact, as I get closer to my goal, I plan to make another appointment with her to get an accurate measurement of my true BMI and, likely, I will adjust my goal weight up to reflect what is really healthy vs. what society deems to be an appropriate weight for a woman of 5'2" tall.

I won't have any problem with being a 150# 'hottie' by the time I turn 50! In fact, I can tell you right now that my girlfriends will be envious that I can look that good, feel that good and 'get away with' carrying those extra pounds.

So...the moral of the story is...listen to your body and stop being a slave to the scale. You will be absolutely AMAZED at what it does to your outlook on life and your mental health and well-being, in general!