How to fire your scale
 

Hi folks!

I'm sure we've all been ready to huck the scale out the window from time to time, so here's a nice objective lesson in why scales are evil.

I was looking through my journal recently, and I've been journalling for exactly one month.

Weight when I started: 210.
Weight now: 211.

Looks pretty ugly, huh? A month of LC and I flippin' GAINed a pound! Well, I was ALL on a rant about it. I'd been as close to perfect as humans can get, eating LC, doing weights and cardio 3-4 times a week each, using Fitday, etc. So why, oh why wasn't I getting any decent results?

Then I got out my measurements. 2 inches off my bust, 3 off waist, almost 3 more off the hips and 2 off each thigh. I used the measurements to compare body fat. In that month, I went from 39% BF to 34% BF - a loss of 5%. Then I took those numbers and calculated the pounds of fat lost and muscle gained. :D

Are you ready?

10 lbs of fat lost

11 lbs of muscle gained

The lesson: Take your measurements and track your body fat percentage! The scale doesn't know or care if it's weighing a 10 lb rock or a 10 lb can of lard. But you do! It isn't about just pounds or kilos. It's about body composition. :)

For more on BF%, have a look at Nat's two stickies in the Body For Life forum. One of them even gives links to some bodyfat calculators. I use the one on Lean and Strong that lets you enter body measurements, but if you have a set of caliper readings you can use those, too.

Edit: Oh, yes, one other thing. When I came here, I thought I needed to lose 100 lbs. 240 to 140. I now have 139 lbs of lean mass alone. At 25% bodyfat, which is 'normal' for a woman, I can weigh 186 lbs. How's that for encouragement?! As I've said in my journal, easiest 'diet' in the world; you just keep moving your goal weight UP. :D


Cheers!

Friday

Hey Friday.....

Congratulations on the GREAT progress!!

Just goes to show ya......the tape measure IS our friend!! I've had a similiar experience several times and when the scale stands still I turn to my trusty tape measure!

The real beauty of increasing LBM is that it allows us to burn even more calories!!

Marlaine

Thanks Friday, for the great reminder and encouragement!!!
My scale has been s o o o o o o o S l o wwww.
I love hearing the reminder about LBM and reading about success stories such as yours. Makes me want to go do another set of UBWO :) Alas, the DOMS are telling me to take another day for rest :D .

Keep pushin iron!!

Hear, hear about eating more calories! There's a Weight Watchers group that meets in the teachers' lounge at my school and the members are all from our staff. Even with their 'points' thing, I know some of them, such as our 6'5 former football player Vice Principal, are eating 1200 - 1700 cals a day. I have to be very careful about keeping a straight face when I walk through the lounge and hear the coach giving the latest low-fat recipe tip, otherwise I'd be sniggering up my sleeve knowing that I eat 2300-2500 cals a day on my LC days and 3500 on my carb-up day. Then there are the lunchroom stares from the woman eating a only carrot as I proceed to eat half an avocado with a spoon in addition to my crab salad with heavy mayo. :D

The best revenge is living well!

Friday

P.S. MissATC: This is for you :)

Glutamine is my shepherd.
I shall not hurt.
It maketh me to drink cloudy water
and lay down on weight benches.
Yea, tho I lift in the valley of ouch,
I shall fear no DOMS.

I do 15-20 g of glutamine a day M-F. If you haven't tried it, it's worth it for the effect on DOMS alone. Get poweder rather than capsules unless you LIKE swallowing 10 pills at a time.

More math
 

In answer to anyone who is afraid of building muscle:

If I had just lost those 10 lbs of fat and not gained any muscle, my BF% would be a whole 2% higher. 200 lbs, 72 lbs of fat, 128 lbs lean. So despite seeing 10 lbs come off the scale, I would LOOK and BE fatter, and I wouldn't have lost as many inches. So if anyone is wondering about the fastest way to drop your bodyfat percentage, it's clearly weight training AND LC.

Cheers,

Friday

HI,
This is exactly what I needed to read today. I'll start taking measurements. I've been going about three weeks lo-carbing, working out regularly and keeping a food and weight log. I've lost .8 pounds (that's point eight)!
However, I'm stronger, and a couple of people have commented that I look thinner.
That's an interesting statistic that you've added so much muscle in view of the comments here and elsewhere that you can't add muscle while lo-carbing. I suspect the same thing is happening to me and perhaps others.
So I'll get out the tape measure and start tracking inches instead of pounds.
Congratulations. This is good!