This was a difficult week. As thrilled as I was to see 181 on Sunday, I woke up Monday morning to a weight of 185. The scale is an absolute nightmare.
When the numbers are going down like they’re supposed to, I feel good. When the numbers jump around like they have been, it messes up my resolve. It makes me feel like I’m not sure if I’m making progress, and it’s really demotivating. To top things off, as silly as this may sound, someone took a photo of me at a party on Sunday night that I think makes me look exceptionally fat. Quite the downer.
I’ve researched the issue I’ve been having with my weight jumping around, and confirmed that it’s most likely water weight. The issue I’m having is that the fluctuations make if a lot harder to track whether I’m making progress. I’ve tried to keep my water intake high because that should keep me from retaining water, but the fluctuations continue. Doing this in a way where I can track metrics easily is very important to me, but the erratic measurements are getting me down.
The other variable that is complicating things is the prospect of muscle gain. When I was frustrated with a potential plateau earlier this year, I discovered between my two DEXA scans that I had gained around 8 pounds of muscle and lost an equal amount of fat, even though the scale wasn’t moving. That was without doing any weight training at all. I’m doing more resistance training now than I’ve done in years, so it stands to reason that it may be affecting my body composition in ways that are harder for me to measure.
My clothes are fitting better, and I can tell from my trips to the gym that I’m getting stronger, so I need to continue to have faith that I’m doing the right thing and that staying persistent will ultimately allow me to get the results I’m looking for.
The good news is that after 21 days (the amount of time experts say it takes to form a habit) my eating and gym habits have become second nature. Although some days I’m tired and don’t feel like going to the gym, it’s not a struggle to do it in spite of those feelings. This is the basis for a changed life, and I should be proud of that, regardless of a few stupid weight fluctuations.
I’m proud of the changes I’m making. And for now, that’s good enough for me.
The scale is a disaster – you’ll get used to those fluctuations as you go. Make sure you’re only weighing in once a day at the same time. The worst is to do what I do, which is obsessively weigh myself 9 times a day hoping for a difference.
It’s all about water weight – as long as you’re getting a consistent habit together, that will eventually go away and you’ll be fine.
Best piece of advice – I really started to drop weight when I added workouts that caused me to get my heart rate elevated followed by short interval breaks. They are hard, but they provide an ongoing challenge and can ramp up as you improve overall fitness. Hope all is well man – keep it up.
Thanks Barron! I will try avoiding the 9x habit.
I’ve been afraid of the dreaded “plateau” but as long as it’s jumping around I guess it’s not technically a plateau. I’m trying to stay positive and keep chugging along, regardless of my weight numbers. Hopefully by the time week 12 comes, I’ll look back at this and laugh.