How do you stay motivated when the scale goes up despite your hard work?

[AriaIncognito]

So I started working out. Weight training and doing cardio. I've just started recently but I've also been watching what I eat a lot more than I used to.

 

I'm sure that I'm building muscle and all that, but i find it difficult to motivate myself when I do all this hard work, and the scale goes UP instead of DOWN!!!

 

It's way premature to complain about it, I should wait til I've been doing it for a while, but I dont know, this is the time I tend to give up (a few weeks in) so I really am just looking for if other people can empathize or have had this same experience where they gain at first, then go down on the scale after a bit of time.

 

Hopefully, I'm not alone in this! I was diagnosed with high cholesterol recently and really want to get myself in shape, for both that reason, and because I want to have my self esteem back!

[Trialbyfire]

Hey ariawoman,

A friend of mine was diagnosed with high cholesterol so she peeled back on her meat intake, only eating very small lean amounts, no shellfish but fish, and she lost weight unintentionally, while dropping her cholesterol. Try steamed veggies plain, etc.

 

Good luck.

[AriaIncognito]

Hey ariawoman,

A friend of mine was diagnosed with high cholesterol so she peeled back on her meat intake, only eating very small lean amounts, no shellfish but fish, and she lost weight unintentionally, while dropping her cholesterol. Try steamed veggies plain, etc.

 

Good luck.

 

Yeah I've been trying to curb my red meat intake. I've been paying more attention overall. I'm gonna log my meals in spark people for a while I think and see where I'm getting too many carbs or too many fats. We shall see.

 

:-)

 

My goal is to lose 10% of my body weight by April. This goal was mentioned to me by the company doctor (who did my cholesterol test).

[Trialbyfire]

Yeah I've been trying to curb my red meat intake. I've been paying more attention overall. I'm gonna log my meals in spark people for a while I think and see where I'm getting too many carbs or too many fats. We shall see.

 

:-)

 

My goal is to lose 10% of my body weight by April. This goal was mentioned to me by the company doctor (who did my cholesterol test).

Good idea! I know you can do it. It's always difficult to change a lifestyle but well worthwhile if you maintain that healthy lifestyle and it becomes your norm.

[Darkzen]

Yeah I've been trying to curb my red meat intake. I've been paying more attention overall. I'm gonna log my meals in spark people for a while I think and see where I'm getting too many carbs or too many fats. We shall see.

 

:-)

 

My goal is to lose 10% of my body weight by April. This goal was mentioned to me by the company doctor (who did my cholesterol test).

 

The whole "how much you weigh" thing is pretty prehistoric IMHO. Body weight is a horrible method of determining anything. I used to have my body fat measured every month when I was in the Army... yet I had a six-pack and a 32in waist (at 6'2" 235lbs). According to some prehistoric chart, I was supposed to weigh 180lbs lol... I weighed 180lbs when I was 15.

 

Diet + exercise is a balancing act and it will always be one. First you have to exercise to a point at which you're capable of maintaining. Next, you have to find out what your diet should be for your activity level. Then it's all about maintaining the balance... if you eat more, you need to exercise more to maintain the balance. If you exercise less, you need to eat less to maintain the balance.

 

Diet itself is all about being informed. Don't drink your calories (the easiest way to gain weight), don't eat garbage all the time (fast food), don't eat for comfort or because it's eating time (eat when you're actually hungry), don't over eat (ramp up the size of your portions, big eyes lead to big bellies), etc....

 

Exercise is something that has suffered immensely due to the rise of sedentary lifestyles... now it's a hobby (or a chore) instead of a way of life. Get off your ass (general statement, not aimed at anyone in particular) and do something that resembles exercise. I don't care if it's karate class, swimming, the gym or even playing table tennis... it's all better than remote control curls and couch-ups (for more snacks). Hell, when watching TV, every time a show ends go bang out 20 push-ups. Whatever it takes basically, no one can motivate you, if you aren't motivated to start.

 

It's all a lifestyle change btw, which is why most diets fail eventually. The trick is to make small changes to multiple areas of your life, as opposed to sweeping changes to one area... you're more likely to stick to the smaller changes over drastic ones. Such as adding a little exercise and subtracting a little food, much better than adding a whole lot of exercise or subtracting a whole lot of food. Especially if you plan to maintain these changes for life.

[amaysngrace]

Darkzen gave some solid advice.

 

I don't weigh myself. I have no scale. So I don't get myself all bogged down with numbers. I go by how I look naked.

 

Is it possible that you've cut back calories too much? If you don't take in enough calories your body can go into starvation mode and hold onto fat instead of allowing you to lose it.

 

As far as the cholesterol issue, I swear by this. Ground flax seed. They sell it at GNC. I use it in my oatmeal and last time (the first time) I had my bloodwork done my good cholesterol was so off the charts on the high side that it drastically reduced my risk of heart disease. It's the ONLY thing I do that's good for me, diet or exercise wise, so I know it has to be the reason.

[taiko]

I'm sure that I'm building muscle and all that, but i find it difficult to motivate myself when I do all this hard work, and the scale goes UP instead of DOWN!!!

 

Don't look at scales, only the mirror counts.

[Darkzen]

Darkzen gave some solid advice.

 

I don't weigh myself. I have no scale. So I don't get myself all bogged down with numbers. I go by how I look naked.

 

Is it possible that you've cut back calories too much? If you don't take in enough calories your body can go into starvation mode and hold onto fat instead of allowing you to lose it.

 

As far as the cholesterol issue, I swear by this. Ground flax seed. They sell it at GNC. I use it in my oatmeal and last time (the first time) I had my bloodwork done my good cholesterol was so off the charts on the high side that it drastically reduced my risk of heart disease. It's the ONLY thing I do that's good for me, diet or exercise wise, so I know it has to be the reason.

 

Not only that, but your body will begin to cannibalize muscle as well, on a diet that is too drastic. This hurts you two-fold. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism is, so losing muscle means you now have a smaller caloric intake. If you ever watch survivor, there's some perfect examples of this... the people who have decent builds, look like a shadow of their former selves, after a couple weeks on the quasi-starvation diet.

 

Diet alone is a bad idea, simply because what if you have a piece of pie during holidays (above and beyond your normal diet)... those calories have to be used or they get stored as fat. The weight gain might be very slow over time, but it'll eventually add up.

 

Put it this way, say you maintain a perfect caloric intake for your activity level. Yet you start to drink a single can of soda a day, without any other modification. 120 calories a day for 30 days = 3600 calories a month, which is in-turn ~1lb of fat. So in a year you will gain ~12lbs of pure fat. Reverse it (stop drinking a single can of soda a day) and you'll lose ~12lbs in a year... say you eat a cheeseburger once a week, drop the cheese and bam you just lost ~1lb in a year from doing almost nothing. It's so ridiculous.