Saturday, January 8, 2011

Frustration

Okay, now I'm downright annoyed.  We're coming up on the end of the first week of the new year.  I've been faithfully following Phase IV of the challenge I'm on, and today my ring is snug.  S  N  U  G.

So I hop on the scale ...

Last week = 242

Today?

How about 243?  What the heck?!  Water intake, right on the money.  Exercise, just as outlined.  Diet, easy peasy.  But weight doesn't just go up magically for the heck of it.

I even checked the calibration on the scale.  It is accurate.

No, it isn't "female" ... which leaves me no choice but to revisit the diet.  When 2 + 2 = 5, something isn't adding up right. 

I've read the body sometimes works to hold onto things, if the diet changes in some significant way, at least initially.  This may account for the uptick, but I just don't see this diet as all that different from what I've been eating.  The calorie count is what I've been on for a month.  The content of the diet changed a little, but not what I'd consider significantly.  Perhaps, though, the body perceives it differently.  I don't know, and I can't assume, so I am revisiting exactly what I've eaten this past week.  I'm reading through the food diary with an eye toward a misstep somewhere.  So far, I'm not seeing one, but I'm making careful comparisons with the packet material for this past week.  Yes, it is analytical, but I want to make sure there isn't something more (or less) I should be doing. 

It is frustrating to be so very careful, and yet see a lack of progress.  Bodies need to adjust, and I get that, and hope this is all it is.  I'm NOT making 243 my official number this week.  The weigh-in is officially on Sunday morning, and we'll see what it reads then. 

Frustration aside, I'm not detered from staying the course and remaining on plan. 

14 comments:

  1. When adding exercise, the body really needs to adjust. The electrolyte levels change, you need to drink more water (experts recommend an additional 0.5litre of water for every 30 minutes of workout) and your body starts building up muscles. (I.e. when exercising, you might not see a change in weight, but in inches.)

    Okay, the muscle build-up may take a little longer, but the other things may have something to do with this... stick with the plan and everything should turn out as desired, I guess. Good luck!

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  2. Same thing is happening to me, I've been seeing that on a lot of blogs. I have a feeling if I report that I lost 1 lb. I will be rounding unless the scale cooperates tomorrow! Granted we've been exercising but I can't imagine it changing THAT much! It IS frustrating. I don't even have my period or anything to blame for it. It WILL get better if you stick with it, it will turn around. Keep it up!

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  3. Imagine driving from coast to coast. East to West.
    There will be some times you are actually going South.
    Or North. There will be sometimes you will be standing still.
    The thing that matters is that you get there.
    Keep your focus there.
    Eat right for life, for health....
    Do right and all the numbers will fall into place.

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  4. I like what Anne just posted up there. Really good analogy. It's the good choices to celebrate I would think! Doing good for yourself and your body. It WILL pay off and is paying off, although sometimes we can't always see it the way we want to or when we want to.

    Hang in there Ann! You are a supastar girl!!!

    ~Margene

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  5. Have you had a lot of salty stuff? It could be that as well. A lot of processed foods have a ton more sodium that you'd think.

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  6. 147 ounces of fluids, over 8 pounds per day. It will work, relax, pee, poop, this is a long haul !!!

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  7. I just have to listen to Allan, cause I had the same dang thing happen. I only made very few changes-very few--to the plan, like using up some extra lean ham steak we had last night. I weighed my portion of ham AND of potato (didn't weigh the brocolli, cause a cup is a cup), and my servings were exactly 3 oz each (I got myself a small potato that was roughly a half cup in visual size, ended up at 3 oz weighed. Ham steak=100 calories.

    Even with salt and all, after five days on plan (weighed on 6th so that doesnt' count), I expected to be close to 2 lbs down. No, .2 lbs UP.

    I decided to wait to weigh-in formally tomorrow--same thing. Hoping I piss out some weight and NOT be higher than the official start weigh-in.

    This is what threw me off 1200 last time. Happened AGAIN. And I'm eating a different plan than what I did then (lower carb). Maybe you're right. Body hates change at first and has to adapt, dunno.

    But both times I was drinking a whole heckuva lot of water...so the only change for me was the caloric change.

    So, yeah, frustrating. Unbelievably so for those of us who just STARTED at the 1200 cal level and expected a nice PUSH from it.

    No push. Just...er, this. ; )

    Hugs, we'll get through it and press on.

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  8. I hate it when that happens. It is crazy frustrating when you work your tail off and you get on the scale and bounce. Argh!

    Did you eat anything that had a higher amount of sodium? Sometimes a little extra sodium can puff me up so fast I don't know what hit me and every ounce of that puff shows on the scale. Hang tough. This too shall pass. :D

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  9. You gotta love those unforgiving scales and we really hate the truth they throw at us. I usually find that when I think I am down I am up and vice versa. Somedays when I step on the scale I'll be down and give a shout of joy and then the next day that dad burned scale weighs heavy. You may not have changed your food to much but if you are exercising more then you are building muscle and muscle weighs more than fat. Don't despair and keep on keep on!!

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  10. Ann, I know what you are feeling. I am being so good, working out like crazy. Scale not moving. I will see what happens tomorrow. You dont despair and neither will I. We can root each other on hun. Gracie

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  11. That is incredibly frustrating! There is a good chance you aren't doing anything wrong, and you wouldn't find anything in your food journal. You've lost how much weight over what time period? At some point, your body is going to need time to adjust. These bodies of ours like for things to stay the same, and they fight us sometimes. Weight loss is so much more than 3500 calorie deficit = one pound lost. You just have to hold out and hope that you don't plateau for too long. :)

    Also, exercise honestly could have an effect here. Going from little activity to a fair amount of activity is a big change for your muscles. They like to hold onto water when you throw curve balls like that at them. If and when you add strength training, be prepared to see more gains. Building muscle makes your muscles retain water, and building muscle may cost a few pounds. The good thing is, though, that muscle is not only healthy in and of itself, but it also increases your metabolism nicely.

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  12. Sometimes (lots of times) our bodies don't cooperate with our plan. Why? Obviously no one knows. But just stay the course and focus on the big (or little?) picture. The tortoise will get there, too.

    Jo
    http://awellkeptlife.blogspot.com

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  13. Stress and a different sleep pattern can affect the body's chemistry and makes it hold on to weight ... there are reasons, I assume, and it certainly doesn't make if any easier to take but Ann you're doing this and your body will eventually give you what you want to see.

    ~Sheilah

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