kmunson's Journal, 21 May 13

Yesterday is in the past...today is a new day. But there are still changes from yesterday that need to happen today. I ended my day yesterday by drinking a total of 5 20oz bottles of water. That is 100oz of water consumed in a 24 hour period.
Today I have 1 down and 4 more to go...and a new maximum calorie count of 1600. Trying to keep most of them carbs and protein. We will see how this works...

My hubby sent me the following:

Why The Scale Can Lie
Fat cells are resilient, stubborn little creatures that do not want to give up their actual cell volume. Over a period of weeks, maybe months of "proper dieting", each of your fat cells may have actually lost a good percentage of the actual fat contained in those cells. But the fat cells themselves, stubborn little guys, replace that lost fat with water to retain their size. That is, instead of shrinking to match the reduced amount of fat in the cell, they stay the same size! Result - you weigh the same, look the same, maybe even gained some scale weight, even though you have actually lost some serious fat.

The good news is that this water replacement is temporary. It's a defensive measure to keep your body from changing too rapidly. It allows the fat cell to counter the rapid change in cell composition, allowing for a slow, gradual reduction in cell size. The problem is, most people are frustrated with their apparent lack of success, assume they have lost nothing, and stop dieting.

However, if you give those fat cells some time, like 4-6 months, and ignore the scale weight fluctuations, your real weight/shape will slowly begin to show. The moral of the story - be patient! Your body is changing even if the number on the scale isn't.
…From the perspective of the scale, it can be discouraging. Which is why the mantra: Water retention masks fat loss (repeated frequently to oneself) is helpful. Water retention will mask ongoing fat-loss for as long as the body retains the water

Individuals vary, but max weight loss runs about 2 pounds per week...under extremely optimal conditions... or 1% of body weight (whichever is the lower number). So don't use the scale as an excuse to undermine your progress. Even when the scale is in a stall, fat loss can be occurring.

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We've been told over and over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can't resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can't bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence its' readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale.

Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body's water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don't understand what's happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto its water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water.

Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention…. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn't have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts…

The more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content…

Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum.

Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and it's packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it's stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates.

… It's normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you're prone to obsessing over the number on the scale.

Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it's wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you've had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different than putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It's the actual weight of everything you've had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you've finished digesting it.

... So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, it's likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner

Generally, it's only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it's physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you're really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle.

This brings us to the scale's sneakiest attribute. It doesn't just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose "weight," that doesn't necessarily mean that you've lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you've lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you're just sitting around. That's one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue.

Robin Landis, author of "Body Fueling," compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn't differentiate between the two. It can't tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat.


… The best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don't be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride.

It's a matter of mind over scale.

View Diet Calendar, 21 May 2013:
1459 kcal Fat: 59.25g | Prot: 72.44g | Carbs: 158.30g.   Breakfast: Water, Sunbelt Sweet & Salty Peanut Chewy Granola Bar. Lunch: Great Value Energy drink mix wild strawberry gr value, Sunshine Cheez-It Original Snack Crackers, Brownberry Wheat Sandwich Rolls, Oscar Mayer Smoked Shaved Ham, Fresh Express American Lettuce Blend, Water. Dinner: Pringles Original Potato Crisps, Brownberry Wheat Sandwich Rolls, Water, Gold'n Plump Everyday Easy Chicken Patties. Snacks/Other: Roasted Salted Hulled Sunflower Seeds, Water, Pink Lady Apples. more...
3680 kcal Exercise: Driving - 20 minutes, Desk Work - 8 hours, Resting - 7 hours and 40 minutes, Sleeping - 8 hours. more...

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Comments 
Love it!!!! Can I copy it? 
21 May 13 by member: BeckyBaby65
Go ahead...he found it somewhere online...and cut down some of the content. If you want to know where I will ask him. 
21 May 13 by member: kmunson
Oh yes, please do! I would love to know the source! This makes so much sense. I had also heard that exercising will cause muscle to retain water as it repairs itself. 
21 May 13 by member: BeckyBaby65
I found it online! Thanks! 
21 May 13 by member: BeckyBaby65
I will ask him when we get home tonight. He has lost over 45 lbs since September...so he is a marvelous support for me! He wants me to succeed in this...so he is all about helping me understand that I have to be patient and let nature take it's course. He REALLY does not want me losing weight too fast, even though I want to see results NOW!!! He is a wealth of information... 
21 May 13 by member: kmunson
good...I am glad you were able to find it. He just thought it was a little long and he thought I would not read it if it was too long... :)  
21 May 13 by member: kmunson

     
 

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