Generally when a weight loss blogger isn’t talking about weight it’s because a) they’ve stopped checking and caring about the scale or b) they are gaining weight.
For me, it’s the second one. Sort of.
This week I’m up a few pounds.
Weigh In
Current Weight: 209.2 lbs
Previous Weight (2 weeks ago): 207.4 lbs
Weight Loss: +1.8 lbs
Weight Loss Total: – 41.8 lbs
Starting Weight: 251
Thoughts
I admit, those numbers don’t look good.
I’ve been weighing myself every day this week (I’d stopped that for a while) and it’s been an interesting ride.
Mon – 208.8
Tues – 206.9
Wed – 206.5
Thur – 210.4
Fri – 207.6
Sat – 206.1
Sun – 209.2
Yikes. So today on my “official” weigh in day I’m at 209.2, which sucks for my blogging and record keeping. But am I really at 209?
Looking at the last week there is a clear pattern. Every day after I ate a meal out or consumed a lot of salt I was up. After my Sunday eats I was up to 2.5 pounds. After my Mexican food dinner on our anniversary Wednesday I was up almost 4 full pounds. And after yesterday’s kebab and fries I’m up 3 pounds.
Even with eating healthy food for the rest of the day those meals seem to push me up several pounds. I believe it is because of the sodium contained in the food. Whenever I eat out a meal or two the next day I’m up on the scale and usually feeling bloated.
My engagement ring is actually a really good gauge of this occurrence. Normally it’s pretty loose on my finger but when I woke up this morning it felt *tight* around my finger where yesterday it felt fine and loose. I’ve never given much thought to feeling “bloated.” As a very obese girl it wasn’t even a concept for me. I was just so big there was no difference between feeling “normal” and “bloated.” Plus, I ate fast food and salt foods every day, so I was probably constantly having this problem. But now I’m noticing that my body responds strongly to salty, greasy foods.
At first I didn’t want to believe this happened, but after tracking and watching it happen time and time again, I’m starting to see that it actually does. I’m not sure what this will mean but I probably need to give considerable thought to eating out at all. On the other hand though, I do like food from restaurants and since the results are only temporary (if not fun) I might just deal with it.
And regarding the weight today? I guess if I don’t eat much sodium and drink plenty of water I’ll be back down in a couple days. I’ve been hitting the gym (woohoo!) despite my head cold and I know that ultimately I’m making my body better and stronger. Because I’m doing all the good things I’m trying not to let the weight get to me. I know that eventually I’ll get past 200, even if it’s like my own personal Everest.
Weekly Goals
This week I want to:
1. Hit the gym 4 times at least.
2. Not eat out at all after today. I want to go a full week without any food other than what I prepare (which is pretty much salt free) and see what happens and actually make some progress and “officially” hit the next 5 lbs down.
3. Stop caring what anyone thinks about me. Or my blog. Or my weight loss progess Or anything I do. Because I’m awesome. ;)
Have a great Sunday everyone!
Also, I updated my about page! Please check it out, thanks! :)
I think the thing to take away here is that the numbers on the scale mean less than how you feel. I feel bloat immediately and I too have learnt to gauge from my ring and from my jeans instead of from the scale. According to the scale I can fluctuate 2-3 lbs each day depending on my food and it’s all sodium.
I don’t think you should cut out the food you’re so enjoying because life happens and you want to enjoy it but now that you’re aware, you can make choices basic on that.
And I’m so going to try that Mexican place now!
You should! It’s good for being in NZ! Hehe.
I don’t really feel it right away, it takes my body a while. And since I normally eat the salty meals for dinner it’s not til the next morning when I really feel it. Oh the sodium! I’m not going to cut out the food, but I’m definitely going to consider the results more when I do decide to eat it.
I was thinking about it – you tend to have your splurge meals on weekends, right? Maybe change your weigh in day to sometime in the week, when your body has had time to adjust?
Or, just keep it in mind when you weigh in and don’t take the number to heart!
Well I tend to have them on Sundays AFTER I’ve weighed in, but this week was different. I was supposed to cook on Saturday but being sick I didn’t want to do it. So I ate Chinese. Being sick has kind of ruined me lately, so I hope I eventually get over it.
The same thing happens to me. I totally know what you mean. Last week I was up 4 lbs (same reason as you) and this week I am down 5. This is about *healthy* not just weight. It’s hard for me to keep that in perspective sometimes.
True true!
Hey Mary. I have been followin you for a while. I have hit a plateau again. I have decided to demand some change of numbers from the scale over the next two weeks. Why don’t you do the same and we can compare the results after two weeks? I want to lose 4lb so I have made a conscious decision to really work at it. I have been making excuses and done things rather half heartedly. I am off on my hols in a few weeks and being 4lb lighter would be nice for me I think. I have not really blogged much in the past but have just begun to write to reflect how I feel and make myself accountable. Would appreciate any comments.
Regards
Hi Billie! That sounds just great. Plateaus suck, don’t they?
I believe that I had this happen in the week that I was sick. Because despite hardly eating anything for a few days, I actually gained weight. However, I think it makes a big difference at least for my mindset, whether that is an actual gain due to poor eating/exercising or simply my body being bloated.
Ugh, I’m sorry your sick! I’ve been sick too and it’s no fun at all! I hope you feel better!
Thanks Mary. This actually happened three weeks ago. I’m all better now. I hope you’re also better now!
It’s funny, because I can notice the gains thanks to my ring size and my jean size – they’re my indicators if things are going well, or not so well. This week I’m weighing in on Wednesday (a two week break!) and I can absolutely tell I’m up.
That’s why I actually think daily weigh-ins are somehow more reassuring (for me, anyway). Because they show the reality of fluctuation and how it happens and how MUCH it happens. So that once a week or month is not so static (at all). It could increase or decrease in a manner of hours.
Yeah it is pretty reassuring to do daily weigh ins so you catch stuff like this. If I had weighed in last week then just again this week and saw the hugely different weight I would have been disappointed honestly. But instead I learned something new about how my body works.
#3 cracks me up!
As for the weight, eating out can really sabotage us.. us sabotaging ourselves. That is why trying to plan to bring your own food is the best medicine for losing weight. Restaurant food ain’t pretty! :-)
AFG stopped eating at this buffet she went to every week & sometimes twice a week & broke her barrier of not going below a certain weight & has kept losing.
Honestly, I know it is hard, but me, I rarely eat out… some of it because of the above.. some of it is I just don’t trust what goes on in the kitchen. :-O
Yeah, well I don’t go to a buffet twice a week. I never have. I usually don’t even eat out more than once a week. This was a special week because of our anniversary. But I definitely agree that food in restaurants isn’t very helpful!
#3 is a great goal. It’s something I need to do too.
Yup–sounds like water retention. I totally hear you about salty and greasy food: my body responds poorly, as well… my wedding ring gets tighter, and the scale will jump up temporarily the next day. If I’ve eaten something with a megaload of salt in it, sometimes my eyelids even feel all puffy (I avoid that Indian restaurant like the plague now).
We do eat out over weekends, but I’m learning to make better choices as I go and not to feel uncomfortable about asking for “dressing on the side” or “can I have salad instead of the mash or fries”.
Oh my, your eyelids? I never even thought about that. I’ve just noticed my fingers get puffier. Before I didn’t notice because they were fat and always puffy, but now that they are sorta a normal size it’s really noticeable. I’ll have to check out my eyelids next time!
This is exactly why I don’t do the scale. SOOOOO many things can impact it. Including water retention from salt. That definitely sounds like the culprit here. When I would weigh in back in the past, I would always weigh in once a week on the same day. Usually a morning when I know I wouldn’t have something food wise to cause bloat the day or two before. I bet you’re more in the 206 range. :D
Not sure what you think about this, just a suggestion. I find weighing more often than once a week, really upsets more because some days i may be up. I weigh (or try to) once a week on the same scale, so i know that my scale would be the same. And i definitely agree about watching your salt, that can make your weight and blood pressure go up. I also find checking my measurements at that once a week time, was great. Some weeks i wouldn’t lose weight like i wanted, but i would still lose inches. Measurements (arms, chest, hips, waist, thighs) were an awesome way to keep me motivated.
Hey Brittany, thanks for the suggestion! I actually like weighing in daily because it helps me NOT get upset when I’m up on the scale. It works for me so far. I do also take my measurements but not once a week, more like once a month. :)
I weigh daily, but that doesn’t work for all people. I have a couple of pound weight range I let myself fluctuate within. When I was in my losing phase a few pound gain that I could explain through hormones was okay. When I had a gain that I knew was from eating a bit too much, I just really had to work hard at getting my mind in the right place to get back on track.
I totally notice the difference of when I eat too much sodium. I hate the feeling of water retention! Definitely a good idea to go a week without eating out to see your progress. It might be a super good motivator!
Mary,
Been following for a few weeks, don’t know if I’ve ever commented. Nice blog. I do a program called 6 week body makeover and there is no salt allowed, not for cooking or in products that you use for the very reason that salt causes water retention. Anyway, I’ve found that if you go to a restaurant (not a fast food or greasy hut place) they are more than happy to prepare your food to your specifications. I usually indicate no salt, no oil (or very little) and couple it with rice/potato and steamed veggies.
Another eating out tip that works is to check out the menus before you go and plan what you’re going to have. If you find a place that does not have things that are best for you, it’s worth consideration to change to someplace that does.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the comment! I actually do check menus for sodium content and usually base my restaurant food choices off that. However, sometimes it doesn’t matter if I get the lowest sodium content food because it’s still quite a bit more than what I eat at home (no salt added).
Hi,
two things had help me to loose weight is to stop eating sugar and reduce the amount of salt on my food. at the beginning the food taste is horrible but it feels good when you see the scale
Of course you’re awesome! Don’t you forget it.
and you are awesome.
make that your mantra of the week, Woman.
the backdrop to ALL YOU DO.
I’d say stop eating out frequently just to add to your wedding budget, not to mention the health benefits. Especially since you have time to prepare food, take advantage of it.
Ugh after I eat out too much in a row (on a vacation, or when the fridge was broken, etc) I start feeling really bloated and gross. Its not even fast food or anything, its just that even most normal restaurants dump a lot of extra stuff in there I guess. Yay I like goal #3 :) I mean, I like the other ones too, but 3 especially.
Yes you are awesome!
You know what the scale does the EXACT same thing when I eat out. I usually don’t even bother weighing myself after I eat something salty the day before or sometimes I try to guess what it is going to be. Salty salty salty.