So frustrated.

climbingsingle

A little background on me - I used to suffer from an eating disorder in my late teens and again in my mid-20s. Because of that, I never owned a scale. It lead to really unhealthy behaviors. I recovered from that and now eat healthy, go to the gym and am very active. I've actually consistently belonged to gyms and have worked with trainers since my 20s and consider myself fairly knowledgeable about fitness. 

When I met FI, I did get a little lazy about my eating habits and my exercising. I put on a few pounds. But for the last three weeks, I've gotten a ton better. I've been doing cardio 6 days a week (and switching it up), working out with a trainer at the gym once a week and tracking every single thing I eat on MyFitnessPal. FI owns a scale. I started weighing myself. And my fucking weight has not budged at all! I've been stuck at the same weight for 3 weeks. There's no way I've hit a plateau because I haven't even lost anything yet! 

At first, I was weighing myself every day. I recognized that that was not good. So I only weighed myself twice this week. And it's still the same fucking number. 

The scale is broken, right? I should just throw it in the garbage. Right??? Aaaahhhhhh! 

Edited to add: I've also gone gluten free. You'd think that would have helped too! 

sooshi4u

I hate scales for that exact reason. Right now I just track my measurements, since muscle is less dense than fat. You may be just toning up!

firebabe6519

You can always figure out if the scale is broken by having FI get on there. Also carpet screws up the way the scale measures...

MadHops21

I know very little about dieting and fitness, but could it be possible that you're losing the weight but gaining muscle? Have you measured your waist or anything lately? I don't know, with your background, if that would be better than a scale.

climbingsingle

I probably should just measure. It's possible that it is muscle. I've been working out my arms like crazy. I do feel a difference in my pants - they seem looser. 

emmyg65

Usually my shape changes before my weight, and my clothes start fitting better. We don't own a scale either. I just want to say the same size in my clothes and feel fit and healthy. Numbers are less important.

PolarBearFitz

My advice?

1. Open Window
2. Pick up scale
3. Throw scale out of window.

Now you have lost all the pounds!

You're obviously eating healthy and staying fit. I am sure you have lost inches and gained muscle weight. Just focus on feeling good and staying healthy both mentally and physically. If you have to absolutely know, get your body fat percentage measured by your trainer. That will make you feel much better.

climbingsingle

PolarBearFitz said:

My advice?

1. Open Window
2. Pick up scale
3. Throw scale out of window.

Now you have lost all the pounds!

You're obviously eating healthy and staying fit. I am sure you have lost inches and gained muscle weight. Just focus on feeling good and staying healthy both mentally and physically. If you have to absolutely know, get your body fat percentage measured by your trainer. That will make you feel much better.

You are right. I needed to hear that. Thank you!

FiancB

I'm going through this as well. I know it gets harder with age, but wtf I'm 26 I don't feel like there should be THAT big of a difference between now and my early 20s. I've always struggled with keeping my weight down but it seems like I still had a much easier time years prior. 

You know you're doing things right so you've just got to be patient and wait it out. Unfortunately it's possible that past ED behavior could have whacked out your metabolism some.

 A change may be in order- you might see better results if you cut back on the cardio some and do more weights. Cardio's kind of overrated. I would also take pics every 2-4 weeks so you have something to go by other than weight, especially since weights may make you gain a little at first (not from putting on muscle but from retention and such). Clothing fit sort of works but for me it's too slow and plus pants shrink or stretch depending on how recently they were washed. 

How many calories are you eating? It might help to kind of bounce around a bit. Sometimes I find I stop loosing at 1400 and if I bump up to like 1800 for a few days I'll start losing again. Also how's your sodium intake?

ElcaB

I hate scales, too. If I'm trying really hard to "be good" --- eating right, lowering my calorie count, and exercising regularly, but the scale says the same stupid thing it did when I was gorging on T. Bell & being a lazy ass, I usually say fuck it and eat a box of Twinkies or something. 

My advice is to take your measurements and a photo of yourself every 4-6 weeks. It also helps me to think about how I feel. I'm generally much happier and feel less frumpy when I'm eating right and exercising! 

climbingsingle

Pictures are a good idea too. I've been eating about 1500 calories per day on days where I exercise. 1200 calories on days where I'm more sedentary. 

I probably should be more aware of my sodium intake, honestly. But I do eat a lot of whole foods. We rarely eat out. And the meals I cook are very healthy. 

JCbride2015

ClimbingBrideNY said:

Pictures are a good idea too. I've been eating about 1500 calories per day on days where I exercise. 1200 calories on days where I'm more sedentary. 

I probably should be more aware of my sodium intake, honestly. But I do eat a lot of whole foods. We rarely eat out. And the meals I cook are very healthy. 

You have got to be building muscle then.  That's quite a low-calorie diet.  Just don't worry about the scale!

Sometimes I find on days when my pants are looser and I feel good, the scale hasn't budged.  But sometimes on days when I'm worried I've gained, I get on the scale and lost a couple pounds.  So  I think there's just a genie in there who puts up whatever number he wants because he thinks it's funny.

pumpkinsandturkeys

I have pretty much the exact same history as you, and I know how frustrating it can be.

Breathe.

PPs are right -- muscle is more dense and the more you build, the less your weight will drop. What really matters is your shape, and you should definitely measure.

Sometimes, it also takes a while for the weight to drop when you start a new fitness regime, because of the fat-to-muscle shift. Totally normal.

I'd also look at increasing your water intake (if you haven't done so already) and do keep an eye on the sodium intake because that can make you bloat and retain water, making you feel bigger and also keeping that scale number higher.

Finally, it's just a number. I've gone back to the weigh-myself-every-day crap, but I've learned to let the number go if it goes up a pound or two, because I know that it's likely due to a heavier meal one day, more sodium, less water or sleep, etc. What matter is how you feel, and how you feel you look.

Hang in there! If you ever need to chat, you know where to find me

Chipmunk415

Climbing- I'm overweight, and I admit it. My belly, butt, and thighs jiggle. I'm working to correct that. But both my mom and I notice the same thing- our clothes fit better, we lose inches off our waist, and the scale doesn't move AT ALL. It's muscle, possibly you're retaining a bit of water (esp near your cycle). Ignore the scale, focus on the clothing fit. Cheering for you!

smalfrie19

I know how you feel. I keep fluctuating between like the same .6 lbs back and forth... and  I have just decided..as long as my wedding dress fits and I am happy with my curves..fuck it.

climbingsingle

Thank you guys! Seriously - this is the pep talk I needed. I feel so much better. 

garnetandgold60

I'm so glad you feel better! And I'll join in on the convo...

I've started coaching women's lacrosse at my old high school and been doing the drills with them, etc for about a week/week and a half. The numbers on the scale in my parent's bathroom (living with them out of college...and I refuse to own a scale because I'd be on it every 30 minutes) haven't gone down but I can tell I've been getting more fit. My mom was measuring my waist for a belt she's making me (for my rehearsal dinner dress!) and said I've toned up/shrunk from when the salon took my measurements for my wedding dress!

I think everyone has really great advice: measure actual inches, take pictures, see how strong you can get (I can do 25 pushups in a row now!!!), and see how your clothes fit. And smile, because being healthy is awesome!

KPBM89

Girl I am right there with you! FI and I are doing insanity and dieting and I know I have lost fat, but then I step on the scale and it's like "nah you're the same as 2 weeks ago LOLzers" -_- but when we do our measurements at fit tests, I've lost inches all over. FI has to remind me about muscle weighing more than fat every time he sees me check that damn scale. Stupid muscles!

RebeccaB88

I am a firm believer that none of us who have/had eating disorders (myself included) have any business ever owning a scale, ever again. It's just too easy to trigger ourselves back into destructive behaviors, choices, and thought patterns with one of those damn things.  I don't even look at the scale in my doctors offices anymore, or let them tell me anything about it. 

Make healthy choices, be active, watch your clothing fit, and feel good. That's all you need to do. I operate within about a 5 pound swing, even in one 24 hour period, so whatever the scale says is just transitional anyway. It's normal based on what and how much you eat, if you poop that day, what other normal body functions are doing, etc.  Like, I know that if I eat ramen noodles I will gain 3-4 pounds over the next few hours, as my body will swell up from the salt.

Gluten free doesn't mean diet, or weight loss, or low calorie either.  Sometimes the different grains used in the gluten free stuff make me bloat up and swell and do other yucky things to me.

feeislove

I agree. The scale just shows you a number. What's important is how you feel. And go you for overcoming your eating disorder

HisGirlFriday13

I'm with Rebecca. I refuse to own a scale because if my ED history. It doesn't show you the true picture, just a number.

If you're eating right and exercising and taking care of yourself, you're doing well.

Good for you!!

jenna8984

Same here. I don't know that I would call what I had a true disorder but I definitely had unhealthy habits and tendencies in college (related to losing/ maintaining weight). Maybe that is the definition of disorder and I just never admitted it? I've never had a scale in my house. I would check when I visited my parent's house once a month. 

But you may be one of those people like me- my weight does not change. My body composition, muscle, toneness, fitness level changes but my weight doesn't. When I went through a break up in a far away city and was uber depressed eating ice cream for dinner for months, I was only a 5 lb difference between when I was at the pinnacle of my fitness and ran a half marathon. My body looked insanely different but it weighed the same. So never depend on scales, only the mirror and how your clothes fit. 

Also maybe don't be quite so rigid with your calorie counting because things like nuts and avocados have a lot of calories but they are so healthy and shouldn't be skipped because of their calories.