So I have a theory....

[bdtracey]

Alright get this:

DW and I have been living a healthier lifestyle now for a little over a year (October 2005 for DW and January 2006 for me). Now we leave for WDW in 65 days and we both wanted to drop a few more pounds before then. DW has lost a 71 lbs since she started and I just hit the 40 lbs mark this morning.

That being said I don't think that my weight was correct this morning because I really haven't been doing all that well over the past week. I had a bit of a rough weekend and that has somewhat carried through until yesterday. Since last week I have, according to my WI this morning, lost 2.5 lbs. Really, it doesn't make any sense to me because I haven't been working out all the diligently and my eating has been "spiraling out of control" as I like to say but it really hasn't been that bad. I've had a few snacks here and there that I probably shouldn't have had...blah blah blah. Everyone here knows exactly what I'm talking about!

Alright now for my theory....

I figure that I have lost weight because I haven't worked out and have been somewhat off track since last week. Crazy you say??? Well I think that my body hasn't been storing as much water as it does when I'm working out 5-6 times a week. I read somewhere that finely tuned athletes have, approximately, 70% of their body weight as water. Now I'm no 'finely tuned athlete' but I think that my body probably works the same way. Even if I'm drinking lots of water, my body is just getting rid of the excess that it doesn't think it needs. My body doesn't think it needs it because I'm not working out as much as previously.

So....what do you think about this little theory of mine????

 

[fofinia]

I have to say I agree in part. I'm not sure why, but a lot of times the weeks I don't exercise I lose much better. It's frustrating really. You exercise all week and think 'oh yeah this week is going to be great. Definitely see a loss.' and then bam nothing. Have a lazy week and see a loss. I don't know. Sometimes it seems the scale doesn't truly reflect your goings on. It seems to happen the reverse way for me as well. Sometimes a gain when I don't feel it is justified.

Congrats on the wonderful losses to you and DW! Wish I was going to Disney again as soon as you!! Have fun.

 

[AKASnowWhite]

Well...I'm no expert but I do have LOADS of experience! I work out religously, and try to watch every bite I eat. And I know that when I take a few days off, eat reasonably and get caught up on my sleep I *usually* make out just fine. I think that our bodies need that much deserved break now and then.

It's my theory that our bodies can only process so much of the food that we ingest, and our bodies and metabolisms adjust to accomodate our typical intake. So when we have a day or two that where we think we are over-indulging with our food selections, our bodies don't necessarily absorb all those excess calories because it's just not used to it. It's when those bad little habits start sneaking into our daily life that the weight-gain issues rear their ugly heads! (again...just a non-scientific theory!)

Also - I do know that if you don't eat enough calories for an extended period of time, your body will slow your metabolism to protect against starvation. Sometimes giving it a few *extra* calories may just be what it needs to decide to "let go" of what it's been holding on to. (yeah - this is SO not my problem )

 

[bdtracey]

Also - I do know that if you don't eat enough calories for an extended period of time, your body will slow your metabolism to protect against starvation. Sometimes giving it a few *extra* calories may just be what it needs to decide to "let go" of what it's been holding on to. (yeah - this is SO not my problem )

AGREED! It seems like I'm constantly eating!!! I eat pretty good mine you; I think of everything that I put into my body as fuel. If it isn't doing something good for me I'm not going to eat it.

What's also really funny is that when I get stressed out I lose weight! It's probably because I don't eat right when I get stressed; in fact sometimes I'll totally forget to eat! I know it's awful for me and I'm trying to correct this problem by keeping easy to munch foods around (carrots, celery, pea pods, etc.) I would feel much too guilty if I ate junk food when I'm stressed because that would just add to the stress of eating poorly and not making it to the gym.

Well...that went off topic...sorry about that.

I forgot to mention in the original post that after I get everything back on track (if not better than before) I'll hold my weight rather than dropping. In the long run I still lose weight but, like you said, it can get very frustrating when we're working out but not seeing the losses.

Alright...this is going off topic again but I'll share my story...

I started my journey in January 2006 by eating WAY better with moderate exercise. I was still in University so the moderate exercise eventually got weaned out of the program but I was still eating good. I dropped 20 lbs (220 to 200) between January and April. After I graduated I quit smoking and went on my Disney detox . Basically, I figured it was time to get a new start with my life and kicked the smoking thing the day after my last day of classes. We left for WDW 3 days later (those were 3 tough days!). When we got back I joined DW's gym, got a personal trainer and hit it HARD!!! I honestly didn't lose any weight from May to September. After that it seemed like 10 lbs (200 to 190) melted off in about a month and a half. I dropped another 5 lbs (190 to 185) by around Christmas, found 2 more over the holidays and was down around the 184/185 range until about 4 weeks ago when DW and I decided to ramp it up again.

Now, just this morning I'm down to 179.5 but I don't feel like it's justified and I'm almost halfway convinced that I'll be at 181 next week (I was at 182) last week. Oh well, in my mind I'm still making gains and I know where I want to go and have a pretty good idea how to get there.

Thanks for reading and listening!

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

Congratulations to you and DW for your continued success and sticking to it.

Seems like you've found a way to remain in control and I am proud of you for your determination and diligence. Way to Go!

It seems to me that your theory is logical. I don't know though and would love to understand this better. If there is a "scientific" explanation it would be interesting.

 

[bdtracey]

Congratulations to you and DW for your continued success and sticking to it.

Seems like you've found a way to remain in control and I am proud of you for your determination and diligence. Way to Go!

It seems to me that your theory is logical. I don't know though and would love to understand this better. If there is a "scientific" explanation it would be interesting.

Thank-you very much! We're fairly proud of ourselves too! I'm especially proud of DW! The real kicker with this whole weight loss was when DW's gall bladder decided to quit working! We couldn't believe it, all of her hard work getting her body healthier and then it decides that it doesn't want to work anymore. It was pretty brutal but we got it all sorted out AFTER our trip last May! She could hardly eat anything while we were down there but she stuck it out. By the end the only thing that would keep the pain under control was gravol and Tylenol 3's w/ codeine.

I'm meeting with a good friend of mine today who is really serious about weight lifting; his brother performs in competitions for body building. Hopefully he'll have some insight into all of this. The toughest thing for me is going to be staying away from the scale until next Thursday (WI day for me) because I already cheated and checked this morning (still good BTW!!!! )

I'll let you guys know what my friend has to say!

Take care!!!