I’m not losing any weight. I’m in good physical shape, but I’m not losing any weight and I still have too much excess body fat. I’m not sad, depressed, or mad about it, I’m just stating a fact; I’m not losing any weight.
I still need to be losing weight slowly, but it’s not happening. Even with tracking my calories, the weight is not coming off. I must be cheating on my measurements (estimations) or eating things that I’m not writing down–or both.
Pam and I had a conversation the other night about what I can do to change this. We went back to when I was losing a consistent 1.5 pounds per week and came up with the fact that I need to be held accountable by someone. What works best for me is to be held accountable by you guys, so here it goes:
Weight: 193.4
BF: 25%
So I’m back to the Wednesday Weekly Weigh-Ins. I didn’t post it yesterday because JD had already scheduled a post and I didn’t want to bump it. Every Wednesday, I’ll be checking in with my weight and body fat % and I’ll provide an update as to how I felt I did. I’m going to stay at my running since I’ve decided to run the event in May and have a long run partner that I have committed to. I do best when I’ve got a commitment, so I won’t be dropping that.
Remember, I’m not sad, depressed, or mad. I know weight loss and getting fit is a journey. I’m happy with my progress. I just wanted to let you all know where I stand.
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
I suggest you read some of the posts over at: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
Looking at your Fitday journal you eat alot of carbs and not enough fat or protein. This can easily interfere with weight loss even if you eat less calories than you burn.
thanks chris…i’ll check it out
How do you measure BF? I have a scale at home that does weight and BF but not sure if you use a different method.
Glad to see the weigh-ins back. I’ve found that they really help in my case.
If you are doing everything right then just stick with it. Sometimes our bodies take a while to believe that we’re living healthy and hold on to reserves for a bit.
My BF% is with a Taylor Home Scale that measures body fat by electrical impedance. I’m sure it’s not very accurate, but I’m looking for downward trends not the actual number. If my fat is trending down, I’m happy, no matter where I get the number from.
I second Chris’ recommendation of Mark’s Daily Apple. Even if you’re not ready to go whole hog primal (though it does seem to be a super healthy way of eating), lowering your carbs and increasing fat and protein will likely help you out. And is good for you!
Now where did I put those Fritos…
I feel the same way about the ‘actual number’. Mine tells me it’s 18% and it gives a different (lower) number to my ridiculously skinny boyfriend so…it works good enough.
Mac,
Any of those ‘electronic BF scales’–even an expensive one–will be EXTREMELY inaccurate. You definitely need to move to a Caliper system. Those scales fluctuate with all kinds of stuff (especially water in the body) and in fact are nowhere near precise to begin with.
If you’re not going to use a caliper system, at least find an online calculator that calculates based on wrist/hips/waist ratio — this will be more consistent and precise.
I’m not the only one who says this — Medhi from StrongLifts strongly advocates using calipers instead of less accurate systems like these (borderline scam) scales.
You’re not even safe using the “it may be off, but as long as it’s trending down” approach, because it may well trend up when you lose bodyfat.
Step 1 is measuring somewhat accurately, or else you’re going to be needlessly & wrongly happy or sad based on misleading results over time!
You’re probably right Andy. Do you know if calipers are easily obtainable and easily used in the home? Or do I need to pay someone to do it at my gym?
I’m sure the diet is an issue, but I still have a problem with your training program. Looks to me you’re running too much.
Parth, I’m training for a half marathon. I have to run! I understand that weight loss and running don’t necessarily go hand in hand. Maybe I shouldn’t worry about my weight while I’m running as much, but it’s hard not to. I’m committed to this race and need to get in the miles.
I hope this can be a source of inspiration and encouragment for you in your effort to lose weight and get healthy. Mike Weaver, frontman of the band Big Daddy Weave, took on the challenge of losing 90 pounds this year. He’s doing this with the help of two health & fitness experts to guide him along the way. Mike has been tracking his progress online with the hope that his successes and struggles will encourage others to live a healthier lifestyle. You can go to http://www.90in09.com to check out Mike’s daily updates, find healthy living tips and idea, take on your own fitness challenge, and join the online community!
Oh ok, then thats fine. So then just choose one goal over the other. Which one is more important?
If you’re looking for a workable and cheap caliper, take a look at this one by Accumeasure: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014AYTIE/181-9899023-9655053
Could you update your weight in the sidebar, too? Maybe you can keep a note of the lowest weight achieved in addition to noting current weight, for those moments when you trend back up?
(I think it is pretty normal to fluctuate a bit, and it might be helpful to outright acknowledge that in your sidebar…)
In any case, it’s awesome to see that you’ve lost–and kept off–nearly 30 lbs over the last year! Thanks for the ongoing inspiration.
I won our office “Biggest Loser” contest two years ago. At 175lbs I didn’t have to lose that much to have a winning percentage, but here we are two years later and…I’m 170#’s. Back to trying to get it off….and keep it off. I’m also working GetRichSlowly to make and keep a friggin (I know I know _language_!) budget.
Instead of marthon like cardio – you need to look into High Intensity Interval Training – especially the method that Dr. Al Sear recommends.
Sorry for the wrong link, here is the correct one: http://www.alsearsmd.com . Regards, Colby
Wow, what a quack.
Wow, what a winner.
Mac, I got stuck in the 190s for a while in Nov-Dec. In early January, I started cutting back on all processed foods, and most grains. I went paleo + dairy, using zone portions. So basically ever meal I eat 5 oz of lean protean, and a ton of veggies, some fruit and nuts. It’s worked out really well, I’m at 178, and I my performance numbers have gone way up. For example I ran my first 10K about 3 weeks ago in about 60 minutes.
Anyway, you don’t have to go totally paleo, but you might want to try cutting back on really starchy foods, and making up for the lost calories by adding a little bit of lean protein, and, good types of fats (from nuts and avocados, olives, etc).
I like the edit feature btw.
Updated the sidebar Leanne!