I dare myself

[bluemoon]

OK, First off, hello everyone. I introduced myself in the spotlight forum, and have started induction on Monday.

I have a very bad habit that I need to break. I figured if I posted about it, maybe I'd feel guilty next time I had the urge. So here goes.....

I weigh myself every day

I really shouldn't, because even though when it drops I feel great, the times that it either remains or rises I get frustrated! A half pound gain drives me crazy! I have now read through the posts here and have learned about the non-linear scale movement. I'm giving myself grief when none is needed.

So, I do hereby dare myself not to weigh in until the full 14 days are over. Please wish me luck!

We should have great news come Jan 2nd

[2big4mysize]

Re: I dare myself

welcome to ADBB and to Atkins.

so you suffer from scalenumberphobia. quick hide the metal monster and break that habit. I think we have a twelve step program for that here somewhere.

there was a noweigh challenge going on. check the challenge board and see if you can get in on it.

[kkat55]

Re: I dare myself

Welcome!

I have weighed in every day since I was a teenager and it makes or breaks my day. I finally broke my habit by putting the scale away in the closet where I can't see it. Maybe you could try that for a while or give it to a friend to hold for you until you are ready to weigh in.

Give it a whirl...

[LonghornChick]

Re: I dare myself

OK, First off, hello everyone. I introduced myself in the spotlight forum, and have started induction on Monday.

I have a very bad habit that I need to break. I figured if I posted about it, maybe I'd feel guilty next time I had the urge. So here goes.....

I weigh myself every day

I really shouldn't, because even though when it drops I feel great, the times that it either remains or rises I get frustrated! A half pound gain drives me crazy! I have now read through the posts here and have learned about the non-linear scale movement. I'm giving myself grief when none is needed.

So, I do hereby dare myself not to weigh in until the full 14 days are over. Please wish me luck!

We should have great news come Jan 2nd

Hey girl... we should buddy up somehow, we are about the same weight, and I am a weigh-aholic too!! Okay here goes... I also dare myself not to weigh in for 14 days... Friday, January 6th. EEK!!

[ttdriver]

Re: I dare myself

Here we go again...By Sonya Tilley, CarbSmart Contributor

How the **** does your body hold onto weight and still manage to get smaller while you are on your chosen low carb diet?!? You know the scenario: You are on Induction for two weeks, and you haven't cheated even once. You notice that your clothes fit better, that you are stepping a little livelier, and as far as you're concerned, all's right with the world.

But then you step on that evil construction of the Devil himself, the bathroom scale, and you instantly feel betrayed. The stupid thing insists that you have done nothing! Sometimes, it even states you have done less than nothing; it accuses you of cheating because it tells that you haven't lost any weight! Well, there area couple of simple explanations to help you get through this trying time.

First of all, if it is at all possible for you to do so, throw that insipid Monster Scale in the trash. Or at least put it up somewhere that it is really, REALLY inconvenient to get to so that you won't be tempted to ask it's opinion every single day of your life. Face it. If you are feeling better and your clothes are looser, do you really need the scale to tell you that you're on the right track? No! You don't! Why do you think you do it, then? I'll tell you why. The low fat diet demons have a tenacious hold on your brain. That's right, you've been brainwashed. All your life they have told you through doctors, dietitians, newspaper and magazine articles, surgeon generals and the like, that you give up X calories per day and you will lose a pound of fat. They even go on to tell you how much fat you should lose each week. In the process, they've made you dependent on the Monster Scale to gauge your progress!

What a big lie!

Even on the diets that "they" advocate, the Monster Scale does not often cooperate. You go back to the Diet Demons and demand to know why the scale does not reflect the torture you have put yourself through for a month. They immediately start backpedaling on the "give up X calories and lose a pound of fat" story, and start talking to you about water retention and muscle buildup. Sometimes, they even blame it on you with questions like, "Are you sure you counted the calories in everything you ate?" (This is delivered with a knowing little smile that makes you want to rip their knowing little face off.) Being the type that is given to blaming things on yourself, anyway, you cooperate with an answer like, "Well….." They pounce on this with "Ahhhh, well.." Then, they launch into one of their scoldings/lash/encouragement speeches.

So, get off their bandwagon, already!

Then, there's the competitive spirit. You hear about what other people have done on your chosen diet. Yes, Brian went on Atkins a year ago and lost over a hundred pounds. Yes, a hundred pounds in a year is over eight pounds a month, or 2 pounds a week, or .0119 pounds per hour….but, "Hello? You ain't Brian!" And, did Brian ever say that he lost .0119 pounds per hour? No! He said a hundred pounds in a year. This only proves he got on the scale twice; a year ago, and yesterday. Take a hint from Brian. Stay off the scale!

The second solution is to understand what is going on in your body in light of the current state of human affairs. Today, all a person has to have to eat every day is money and transportation to a grocery store or, better yet, a nice restaurant. However, your body's survival instincts have not matured in a million years. Your body still thinks you are a hunter-gatherer. Yes, in spite of a million years of evolution, your body still thinks you are going to have to go out and kill a mammoth to eat. The survival instincts with which you are going to have to come to terms are read-only memory. You can't overwrite them. Deal with it.

That said, let me tell you what happens when you lose a pound of fat. Your body has been saving this fat for that long hunting expedition you're going to have to go on to track, kill, dress and retrieve that huge animal. It keeps the fat in little pillows distributed throughout your body. When you start losing fat, it doesn't trust you to continue whatever insane path you have chosen that is causing the fat to dissipate. So, when the fat comes out of the pillow, it injects water as a "place holder." Sometimes that water actually replaces the weight of the fat it lost. Sometimes it replaces the volume.

Water weighs more than fat just like lead sinkers weigh more than feathers. If you stuff a pillow with a pound of feathers, you'll have a nice big pillow. If you stuff a pillow with a pound of lead sinkers, you'll have a nice (but rather hard and uncomfortable), small pillow. Now, let's say your body removes a pound of fat and replaces the weight with a pound of water. Your weight will stay the same, but you will be smaller. But, if your body decides to replace the lost fat by volume, that is a quite different story. Remember the great big feather pillow as compared to the tiny lead sinker pillow? Well, now think of a gallon of feathers and a gallon of lead sinkers. Try to pick up the gallon of feathers. Piece of (you'll pardon the expression) cake. Now, try to pick up the gallon of lead sinkers. Sucker's heavy, ain't it? So, you will be smaller, but you will have gained weight.

Eventually, your body makes the executive decision that you are not going to replace the fat you lost, and it lets go of the water. In the words of Danny Skaist: "When your body accepts the fact that they are no longer needed, the water will be expelled and the cells closed. This is known as the "whoosh."

What makes your body decide to replace by weight or replace by volume? I dunno. But I do know that it does not seem consistent to the casual observer. What makes your body decide that you are seriously not going to replace the fat you lost? I dunno. But now you know why it's so important to drink your water, huh? Loss of fat is inextricably related to water intake. It's more than a little foolish to go on a diet that facilitates the removal of fat and then refuse to give your body the tools it needs to do so.

Bottom Line: Stop getting on the scale and drink your water. If you stick to your plan and wait for the "whoosh," it will come.



Betty

[Starmaker]

Re: I dare myself

Thanks TT for posting that.

[bluemoon]

Re: I dare myself

TTdriver,

That was an excellent explanation! Thanks!

[Terry]

Re: I dare myself

Another thanks for that TTD!

[bluemoon]

Re: I dare myself

So....the moment of truth arrived today.

I lost 3 lbs during the 2 weeks of induction. Something doesn't seem right. Although I will say that I have been able to tighten my belt further than where I could when I began, so I do know that I'm losing. But 3 pounds? Isn't that just the water and glycogen that my muscles gave up? Hmmm...

Well, to reach my goal I need to lose ~1.6 lbs a week. I'm going to move on to OWL and continue to monitor my progress.

[Anlhess]

Re: I dare myself

If you have ben working out,youmay have only ost 3 pounds because you are building muscle... remember muscle weighs more than fat Keep up the good work though and just keep persevering... you will get there!

[Elizellen]

Re: I dare myself

Three pounds was a good amount to lose if you are looking to lose 20 pounds in total!

It is suggested we will lose between 5% and 10% of our hoped for loss in our first 2 weeks, so you did well losing 15%

Did you measure yourself before starting? Atkins tends to reshape our body as well as removing the unwanted pounds, so you may have weeks of no scales loss but some inches lost.

[kkat55]

Re: I dare myself

You could also post your meals and snacks here to see if there is anything that has hidden sugars in it or if there was something that slipped past you that was not allowed on Induction.

I went through Boot Camp a long while ago and found out that I was eating things I wasn't supposed to while along thinking I was doing it "by the book".

So, if you get a chance, post a few meals and let some of the mods/hostesses give you some tips.