Today I had my yearly check up with my dr.
You should of seen the look on his face when he looked at the weight his assistant wrote down for me.
He asked me to stand up and he looked me over, shaking his head.
I told him I started Atkins April of this year and initially lost about 12 lbs and have continued to this day to lose more "inches" than "weight". I told him I started out at 152, got down to about 141 but I weighed in at 157 (clothes on) at the office. I know scales vary.
He said I looked about 125 and was shocked to see 157. He said I looked like I lifted weights as my arms have muscle or definition. I explained to him that I haven't been working out but that I too have noticed more definition in my arms as well as the weight gain. I asked him if I could be building muscle due to the protein? (I never really have been a meat eater or protein person until this woe) and is this why I'm up on the scale? He said "maybe".
He checked me to see If I was bloated or retaining water, or looked swollen and everything looked fine. He asked me if maybe I miscalculated my starting weight and that maybe I started out at a heavier weight? I assured him absolutely no way.
My b/pressure was borderline and he had a copy of my report on my cholesterol from May from my regular gyn. It was high then, he retested me today, still waiting results.
We started talking about other issues and he came back to my weight and asked me if I'd like to take Meridian. I declined of course as I didn't think he thought my weight was a big issue since I assumed he thought I was lifting, which I'm not!
He then prescribed Dyazide (diuretic) to help lower my b/p and to help water retention IF I was retaining water which like I said before he didn't feel or see any swelling.
I'm to return back in three weeks to take a stress test on the treadmill, also he'll check my blood pressure as well. I'm still waiting for the results of todays blood work regarding cholesterol and trigs.
I don't make a habit of carrying before pictures of me in my purse but he was making such a big deal about my weight that I took out a picture and showed him. He was shocked and amazed that I lost so many inches but yet my weight went up?? Again he asked me if I was lifting. Will eating protein put 10 lbs on me and make me look like I'm lifting? Or is it just definition I see in my arms, less flab, more muscle? He never really answered my question.
So my question is this: He was shocked at my weight number, offered me Meridian, then told me I needed to lose weight but that I looked like I weighed 125, so I guess the number on the scale does count, right? It's not the inches.
If this dr. judges me by the scale number when I'm actually building muscle (I think) and getting into smaller sized clothes then what will another dr. think?
Has anyone gained from Atkins but still lost inches?
And if so at this rate I'll be 185 in a size 7 pants, ridiculous.
Also I am taking a low dose estrogen pill, have been since 96 when I had a total (ovaries removed) hysterectomy.

To be honest with you, I am quite shocked that your doctor recommended meds for weight loss to begin with. I thought you needed to be obese for a doctor to warrant prescription weight loss meds. I guess I was wrong.

Also, I think there is a big fluctuation in the scale. Do you have a before weight from his office scale? I know that I fluctuate almost ten pounds from my home scale and the official scale I weigh-in on at TOPS each week. It's a consistent ten pounds so I can figure I'm losing if my scale starts to budge in the right direction each week.

Last, you can certainly gain weight from muscle increase, but you are also offsetting by losing fat, yes? You shouldn't really see that much of a gain I wouldn't think. I know for me personally, when I am really working the weights, I may stay the same weight, but I don't gain.

I'll be interested to know how the diuretic works for you. With your blood pressure being borderline, that just may be a good prescription for you and it may be part of your problem.

It sounds like you are working in the right direction and to look 125 lbs is awesome.

I have 2 scales in my house and each reads a different weight and I don't mean just 1 or 2 pounds. My digital scale reads almost 5-7 pounds less than the other one. I think you can guess which one I use . I even checked to see if they were calibrated. Who knows?

Absolutely you can lose inches and gain or maintain weight. One pound of fat is about 3-5 times the volume of one pound of muscle. If as you say you weren't much of a protein eater before Atkins then again, absolutely yes your muscles could and probably are repairing themselves now that you are eating more protein. If you haven't already (but it sounds like you might have) take some measurements. I wish I had taken mine at the very start but I didn't until I'd already lost about 16 lbs. The tape measure and the fit of your clothes are a MUCH more accurate gauge of how much healthier you are getting then the number on the scale

Debbie

I found the link for the picture that gives you an idea:
Fat vs Muscle

Thank you everyone for responding.
I wanted to let everyone know that my blood work came back better than the Dr thought it would.
Great news,my cholesterol dropped 30 pnts in 90 days exactly.
I told my Dr. it would be down and I'm so glad I was right!. Looks like I won't have to take cholesterol pills as it's going down and my Dr will be running new blood tests in 3 months. I knew this WOE was helping my cholesterol, I just knew it!!
As for my diuretic (dyazide) for my boarderline b/pressure, it seems to be helping my body rid the excess water. I was down 3 lbs but have only been on the med for 4 days. My spirits are back up and just like you said Chicamala, this just may be what I needed.
I'm staying away from the scales until I go back to the Drs for my stress test. That way I won't get all worked up and discouraged if I don't see the numbers dropping. I do have a good feeling that the "Next" time I do step on those scales it will show a great loss.
Thank you everyone for your help and support.

Measurements tell the CORRECT story, as you know. Everyone at work thinks I am lying when I tell them how much I weigh.. According to them, I'm around 110 and borderline anorexic -- at 5'4 /128?!?!?! LOL. Muscle baybee! I do lift, however I'm not up to anything remotely impressive as far as weights go.

Congrats on your loss and on your blood numbers I am also surprised he offered you medication for weight loss-I know genuinely overweight people who can't even get medication until they are bonafide obese.

It sorta happened to be, too. The last time I weighed this much I was a size 12, not a size 10.

I believe your Dr. should stop looking at the numbers, and look at his patients!

I have lost about 11 inches since November but I have lost nothing in weight.

next time you go to the Dr., step on your own scale before you go out the door and then when you get weighed at the doc's office you'll know if it's off and by how much.

Sounds like a weird doc, IMO. He's thinking you look lighter and you have muscle definition but he's not happy with your weight and offers you WL meds??? Weird.

Congrats on the excellent blood work!!

Nicole