Week 6 confused and a little discouraged

[Guest guest]

Hi Ladies,

I need some encouragement/kick in the pants. I am in the middle of week 6.

As I posted in week 4 I am seeing changes in the ways my clothes fit but I

don't have a scale so I wasn't sure what my weight was. I went to a fitness

specialist that works at the hospital at the University where I attend and

was confused/dismayed/upset to find out that not only have I not lost a

pound, my bodyfat is the same as it was 6 weeks ago. Does anyone have a

clue as to what could be going on? I thought maybe my muscles were firming

up which would cause the clothes to fit looser but wouldn't that show in the

bodyfat percentage? I've been about an 8-8.5 (on a scale of 1-10) on both

my eating and exercising. Pretty good but room for some improvement.

Please help!!

Toni

age 39

weight 162

Body fat 31.9%

goals:

age 27???

weight 140

bodyfat <20% (which according to the fitness specialist may be unrealistic)

[Guest guest]

I'm puzzling here. How do you know you've not lost a pound if you don't own

a scale? Did you have your weight and body fat measured when you started?

And was it the exact same tester/device/circumstances/time of day? And was

it one of those crappy worthless body fat scales per chance? And did you

take pictures? And do you own a tape measure? What have those been doing?

I think you're doing great. It really is all about what you DO every day and

not about agonizing over numbers. If you're seeing changes and your clothes

are fitting differently, everything is good. If your weight is the same and

you're smaller, your body fat percentage has absolutely improved. Testing

methods have a margin of error of 2-3% for calipers and up to 7-8% for

bioelectrical devices. The problem with having someone else test you at

distant intervals, is you have no idea if they're right, or if they just

caught you on an upswing from hormones or free day. If you're testing

yourself regularly, you can be totally consistent with your readings, watch

the trends, and really *know* where you are instead of allowing someone else

to give you a heart attack every few weeks.

>

> Hi Ladies,

>

> I need some encouragement/kick in the pants. I am in the middle of week

> 6.

> As I posted in week 4 I am seeing changes in the ways my clothes fit but I

> don't have a scale so I wasn't sure what my weight was. I went to a

> fitness

> specialist that works at the hospital at the University where I attend and

> was confused/dismayed/upset to find out that not only have I not lost a

> pound, my bodyfat is the same as it was 6 weeks ago. Does anyone have a

> clue as to what could be going on? I thought maybe my muscles were

> firming

> up which would cause the clothes to fit looser but wouldn't that show in

> the

> bodyfat percentage? I've been about an 8-8.5 (on a scale of 1-10) on both

> my eating and exercising. Pretty good but room for some improvement.

> Please help!!

>

>

> Toni

> age 39

> weight 162

> Body fat 31.9%

>

> goals:

> age 27???

> weight 140

> bodyfat <20% (which according to the fitness specialist may be

> unrealistic)

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

PS - less than 20% IS realistic. :-)

>

> I'm puzzling here. How do you know you've not lost a pound if you

> don't own a scale? Did you have your weight and body fat measured when you

> started? And was it the exact same tester/device/circumstances/time of day?

> And was it one of those crappy worthless body fat scales per chance? And did

> you take pictures? And do you own a tape measure? What have those been

> doing?

>

> I think you're doing great. It really is all about what you DO every day

> and not about agonizing over numbers. If you're seeing changes and your

> clothes are fitting differently, everything is good. If your weight is the

> same and you're smaller, your body fat percentage has absolutely improved.

> Testing methods have a margin of error of 2-3% for calipers and up to 7-8%

> for bioelectrical devices. The problem with having someone else test you at

> distant intervals, is you have no idea if they're right, or if they just

> caught you on an upswing from hormones or free day. If you're testing

> yourself regularly, you can be totally consistent with your readings, watch

> the trends, and really *know* where you are instead of allowing someone else

> to give you a heart attack every few weeks.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

A few thoughts ...

It could be that whoever took your bodyfat percentage previously (or

this time) didnt measure correctly as there are margins of error in

bodyfat calculating depending on the method used. How about tape

measuring yourself from top to bottom? Before pics taken?

And if not ..

It actually could be taking your body six weeks to make adjustments

to these eating/exercising routines - some bodies are quite resistant

to change ;-) The old line that one cannot expect changes to happen

quickly after years of abuse is quite right.

But then again ...

You admit to being only 85% spot on with your eating/exercising.

Sometimes our perceptions are out of whack as to portion controls,

choices, intensity of exercising etc, and we need a good recheck to

keep us on the mark. Do you journalize stuff? Are you making a

CONSISTANT calorie deficit each and every week? Is your 'freeday' too

freakin free? You could post an average day or two of meals and or

comment on how active you are (besides weight/cardio time) etc so

maybe some members can give you some suggestions.

joni

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*Think evolution, not revolution*