Agonies and Ecstasies

I have some great news - I have reached the FIRST of several weight GOALS on my Journey. I am SO pleased!

I came across this woman on Sparkpeople.com who was depressed because she had gained 5 pounds since she last weighed herself. How easy it is to get discouraged. This is what I wrote to her. Many people go through the same agonies.
I have sat in your shoes many times, but all is not lost!
The SCALE has never been a friend to me at all. What I do is take a web cam photo of my head and shoulders (at the beginning, it was every day!) and be as aware as I can of what I am feeling, and the changes I see.
I found out through SparkPeople I am an emotional eater. The only thing I can suggest is to start again tomorrow morning. It is a new day! And to look forward to getting there - to your GOAL!
Some reasons you might be noticing an upturn in your weight:
1) MUSCLE VS FAT: Perhaps you have gained more muscle.Of course it takes a few weeks before you see any measurable changes. But you'll start to build muscle, lose fat and burn more calories from the moment you begin WEIGHT training. Building muscle helps you:
a)Burns more calories. Unlike fat, muscle beefs up your metabolism to help you burn more fat and calories throughout each day.
b) Improves appearance. When done properly, strength training can greatly improve your posture and help to prevent joint pain.
c) Builds confidence. Strong muscles and joints increase your level of confidence in your abilities to perform many lifestyle activities.
d). Prevents injury. Strength training can build stronger muscles and more limber, flexible joints, which play a crucial role in preventing injury.
e) Increases bone density. Weight bearing activities improve your bone density and reduce bone loss. Perhaps you are seeing the results of all that hard work in more dense bones!.So, if you want to look and feel better than ever, you need to build muscle to lose fat. SO YOU are doing the right thing!
2) Perhaps it is THAT time of the month and you can gain 5-7 pounds of water just from that.
3) Perhaps you have eaten extra SALT, which makes you retain water.
4) Measure other measurements. If you are gaining muscle and losing fat, you can weigh more, but your measurements are better!
5) Wikipedia reports: Maintaining muscle mass while losing fat is therefore a key factor to reach both the ideal weight and body composition. To achieve this goal, experts advise not to reduce carbohydrates aggressively. Fat can be lost by reducing the calorie intake by 20% of daily needs for TWO DAYS! This reduced calorie intake, even in the presence of 100% carbohydrate consumption, allows for reduction of fat without muscle loss because the glycogen in the muscle is properly replenished. So if you are BLUE, do you think you can stick to it for TWO DAYS to see a better result??
6) Wikipedia also reports: When the body is expending more energy than it is consuming (e.g. when exercising), the body's cells rely on internally stored energy sources, such as COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES AND FATS, for energy. The first source to which the body turns is GLYCOGEN (by glycogenolysis). Glycogen is a complex carbohydrate, 65% of which is stored in skeletal MUSCLES and the remainder, in the liver (totaling about 2000 kcal in the whole body). It is created from the excess of ingested macronutrients, mainly carbohydrates. When glycogen is nearly depleted, the body begins lipolysis, (GOOD PART!) the mobilization and catabolism of fat stores for energy. In this process, fats, obtained from adipose tissue, or fat cells, are broken down into glycerol and fatty acids, which can be used to generate energy. The primary by-products of metabolism are carbon dioxide and water; carbon dioxide is expelled through the respiratory system. SO YOUR WORKING OUT IS WORKING!
7) One consequence of dieting is DEPRESSION. Your moods WILL go up and down. That's okay. Hang tough and treat yourself to an extra walk around the block, or a facial at the spa. YOU deserve it!
8) REMEMBER: You are not on a 'diet' but you are making a LIFE CHANGE. There is no race to the finish - to your goal. Your goal is to get more healthy, live longer, and dance the Tango at your grandchildren's wedding. If it is possible for you to look at the stage in your life as a positive change, it will be easier to carry on.
9) Food Journaling - People who keep track of what they eat usually eat HALF of what people who don't journal eat, and they lose weight TWICE as fast.
10) Finally, and perhaps MOST important, is to love and forgive yourself. Most women (like you and I) have the toughest time doing or feeling anything positive about ourselves. We give to family, give to work, school, our kids, anyone but us. To ourselves, we can hardly tolerate it when we lose a battle. One battle isn't much. We are in a life-long war on all of the things that put us in this position in the first place. Because we are such givers and "people pleasers" if we fall apart, the whole of our world does too. (Not too much pressure.) Forgive yourself, and be kind. If you are always kind to others, don't you think you deserve a little kindness now? I SO TOTALLY DO BELIEVE YOU DO!!!
Sorry you are feeling really down today.
One final thought: I left my 3rd marriage 12 years ago and I am 61. When I started seeing results with my weight loss, I started smiling to myself when out walking my dog. And I met a man who is kind, and we have fallen in love. With all the 30 and 40 - 50 year olds out there looking for a man, I had slammed that door shut and locked it and thrown away the key years and years ago. Who would look at me anyhow?
What happened was my COUNTENANCE changed. I stopped being blue, taking delight in the tiniest improvements in my body - it is like a great adventure to re-discover knuckles, veins, and finally - tendons! I haven't seen those for the longest time. And this all showed on my FACE.
I pray I have helped a bit, and you do feel more relaxed about this diversion. YOU are worth all the trouble you are taking and I'll keep you in my prayers.



What a schmozzle of info available on losing weight and gaining muscle!