The FastDay Forum

[Tracieknits]

so, my scales. Sigh. I cleaned the bathroom floor this morning. I diligently cleaned the scales as they seemed a bit grimy. Then I got on them before I got in the shower myself. They claimed I was almost 4 pounds heavier than before I cleaned them! I knew I had moved them to a different location, so I moved them back where they were, and fiddled with them a bit. They claim that by cleaning I gained a percentage of body fat back as well as 3.5 pounds

I'm trying to decide which one was more accurate, the readings I liked or the readings I don't. Looking back, I think 10 pounds in just over a month probably wasn't true weight loss and it's probably far more likely that I only lost about 6 pounds since June 26.

Sigh.

So I need to focus on the fact I've been behaving and that the scales are going down.

Hi @Tracieknits and everyone

As mentioned in another post, I am back from a wonderful holiday and need to join the challenge!

After 3 weeks of eating a lot of processed carbs, my challenge is to resume my normal eating routine, have a fast/light day or two to help shed the holiday gain, and to (again?) find that "commitment" to help minimize the evening eating when not hungry.

And yes, Tracie, another example of the problem with scales. (As you knew I would say! ) I do believe that it is more important to focus on one's behavior, rather than what the scales say, when measuring one's success.

Best wishes and good luck to all.

Btw, where I live, Labour Day is in March. Bit long for a challenge period!! My next holiday is scheduled for late October, only 11 weeks away, so I will be aiming to eat as "sensibly" as possible til that time. I might add that for the first part of my recent holiday, I was able to manage my eating okay, but with time I found that I was eating more and more in the evenings. Not sure why (same problem I have always had). But this was the first holiday where I was able to start off okay, so I will be aiming to continue sensible eating for longer while away next time. Remind me...!!!

[Tracieknits]

You were right!!

I'm trying to brush the instance off, but it's bothering me a bit. My husband did gently remind me that at least I still lost about 5 or 6 pounds -- the scale is now telling him he made no progress at all.

I'm glad you had a great trip. You were missed around here, for sure. I'm sure you'll slip back into your healthy eating habits

I edited the first post to reflect a less US-Centric viewpoint

Thanks Tracie! I was able to read forum posts while I was away, usually catching up with a few days' worth at a time, but rarely had enough time (or Internet access) to do any posting myself.

I do know of course that you have a focus on eating behavior, not just what the scales say. And your longer term track record is fantastic, so try not to worry about those pesky scales in the short term. I expect you and OH feel better as a result of your lower carb intake, and that counts a lot.

You are fortunate that your hubby will "diet" with you - I could never get my OH to do that, and he could do with it. He was very slim for many years (always weighed less than me, despite being 8 inches taller) but now has thickened up around his middle and thighs (and I would weigh considerably less than him now). He eats a very high carb and fat diet with almost no fruit or salad veg. And refuses to change, though he has stopped eating chocolate biscuits on a regular basis.

I am about to start a fasting today thread, so will say more on my return to normal eating there... Thanks as always for your encouragement.

[Tracieknits]

You're absolutely right, of course.

Well I'm incredibly lucky that my husband is so supportive, pretty much no matter what. He'll go along with any diet. The problem is, he cheats. But he doesn't rub my face in it, or make it hard on me at all. Usually, it's that he goes out for a business lunch or meeting and just doesn't stay focused. And he loves loves loves fruit, which is hard for low carb.

And thank you, yes, my longer term track record is definitely something to be proud of. I was just so excited because I thought I was almost to a new low I haven't seen in many years. Sigh. I'm still not that far away, and I'm still moving forward so I will just have to content myself with the fact that I haven't gained it back and I'm still losing.

Plus it's pretty nice to have learned how to break my addiction to carbs and sugar.

I'll go pop over and say high on your fasting thread. I'm impressed you can do that on a Sunday!

I'm really lucky too - my hubs eats whatever I make for dinner - sometimes a bit more for him (and a few less veggies - as in Brussel sprouts for instance) - otherwise, he doesn't complain . . he will give an opinion that so and so isn't his favorite maybe. Otherwise, he is incredibly easy to get along with. Sometimes I will make something different for him that I know he likes (and I don't) - Italian food with that Italian tomato sauce I can't stand (pizza, lasagna, spaghetti bol. etc.) - if I am fasting, I will find something for lunch for him etc. - well, he sounds like an angel to live with . . . yet, I can assure you he is NOT !!!!!

Hello,
Well I feel like I've been doing a great job! But the scales haven't moved, in either direction so I guess I should just be glad I haven't gained. But it's not as exciting! I'm 10 lbs down, which is great, but not enough to make any visible difference, and my clothes feel the same. I'm going to fast today and that's really what helps. I find the low carb/ no sugar is good, but it's fasting that makes my scales move. I have always been such a sugar addict that I always thought if I just stopped the candy/cookies I'd be skinny in no time! I guess it's trickier than all that.

@tracieknits that stinks about the scales! I've had things like that happen just from moving the scale to a different part of the floor! You're smart to focus on the positives of cutting down carbs and sugar and losing a chunk of weight (even if you don't know how much!)

Good luck everyone!

Good afternoon!

I'm "back" from a busy/food filled weekend with my college friends. I weighed myself this morning and it was definitely up, but also the battery is low on my scale. So I bought new batteries and will try again tomorrow!!

I'm having a stressful day though, which is not helping my eating and it's raining out, so might not be able to get a walk in. I got a nail in one of my tires on the car and so now I need new tires (I guess they were getting worn anyway) and they tried to deliver my new washer/dryer unit again and were able to get the old one out (barely), but still can't put the new one in!

I'm going to Florida tomorrow, so I have no idea how that will go as far as eating/exercise. I plan to stick to my eating window and I hope to get up early to get in my walk to avoid the heat/humidity.

As far as scales go, I actually thought this was an interesting article. It talks about precision vs. accuracy. So each scale might not register the same weight of an object, but the same scale should register the object at the same weight consistently. It also talks about the fact that they can lose accuracy over time. http://www.arlynscales.com/scale-knowledge/know-scale-accurate/

So, @tracieknits - Because you cleaned the scale maybe you improved the accuracy a little, but that doesn't mean you didn't still lose all that weight. It is not the same comparison now. So had you cleaned the scale 2 months ago, your weight might've been higher then, so it still would be 10 lbs. less now. I hope that makes sense. When I did WW the first time I was using an analog scale and it was so hard to see the number, so I bought my WW digital scale, which has worked pretty well for a while now. But when I first got it, it was 2 lbs. higher than the old scale I was using. I didn't gain 2 lbs. between getting the scales it was just that one was more accurate than the other. But I just changed my recording of that weight and went from there.

I'm currently reading a book about building habits that others might find useful in trying to lose weight (or anything else). https://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Before-Habits-Procrastinate/dp/0385348630/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502124866&sr=8-1&keywords=better+than+before+gretchen+rubin

I haven't read that much of the book yet, but I have listened to the author's podcast which talks a lot about it. One of the main things that keeps coming up (and has come up on this forum too) is how the same things don't work for everyone. So, @Sassy1, while it's great that you don't need scales to help you lose (or maintain) your weight, some of us unfortunately do. I am a very data driven person and even if I know I haven't "behaved" well or my clothes are getting tight, it's easy to ignore/deny it, until I see that number on the scale. Or if I'm doing a good job, that number motivates me to keep going! I know to take it with a grain of salt and that weight can fluctuate a lot due to different things. That's why I weight myself first thing in the morning before I've eaten/drank anything and only really "count" it once a week. I also use the Libra app which gives a trend weight. I also think that maybe weighing is not as necessary when maintaining as opposed to losing weight. But I'll probably weight myself for ever, or until I'm so old I don't care anymore!! But, I think everyone just has to do what's best for them!!

Well, I better get ready for my trip. I will have my laptop, so I should be able to check in. Have a great week everyone!

My goal is staying in my plan to fast 2 days a week. I am going to Paris in the end of August and I would like to look good and maybe buy new clothes.
I have good FDs and very difficult FDs. Today has been easy and I have been feeling good all day. Some other day I am moody, hungry and have pain in my joints etc. But this is still a better way than counting your calories every day. I have started jogging after losing some weight, it feels good.

I'm a daily weigher too. I'm so good at being an ostrich - if I don't see that big number on the scale it obviously isn't there, it's just that all my clothes have shrunk!

At the moment I'm trying hard & weighing whenever I'm at home in the morning - and its working! This morning I'm 2 pounds down on my 1st Aug weight. - & at a new low weight for this diet despite having had a lovely evening of pizza & half a bottle of Prosecco while watching an old film on Saturday (followed by fast days Sunday & Monday).

Travelling hopefully!

[Tracieknits]

I'm here! Sorry I was MIA yesterday -- I have no idea how I get so busy.

Great job @WarriorPrincess!! (Mmmm prosecco and pizza is a favorite dinner of mine)

@Orchid! Paris!! Oooh la la! I love Paris so much -- let me know if you need any hotel or restaurant suggestions (and what price range). In August I recommend making sure whatever hotel you get has very strong air conditioning. If you need it and don't have it, it's no fun. Better to have it and not need it. Hotel 34B has inexpensive rooms and very strong air conditioning, and it's in a great neighborhood. I think your plan for the challenge is a good one. I definitely agree that some fast days are much easier than others.

cblasz - I hope you have a fantastic time in Florida! Thank you for the book suggestion and kind words. I decided to "reset" and I deleted all of the weights in my app after June 26 (the day I went to the doctor's office and confirmed my weight). I found the sheet of paper from that appointment that had my weight written on it (in clothes). I entered that weight into fitbit. I'm pretty sure that my scale at home in clothes was 0.1 (maybe 0.2) less than the weight at the doctor's office. In any case. I decided to reset my weight loss from that date/weight. So I'm down 6 pounds from June 26. Still very respectable. Since I have reset my scale by taking the batteries out, I'm hoping that it's somewhere near the truth now. But I'm going to listen to you as well about the whole idea of relative weight. I also know that home scales just aren't necessarily that accurate *or* precise, and I *really* need to recognize them for what they are -- an approximation of weight and a very rough guess at body fat (meaningless, really). For example, I know damn well that if I get on the scale 5 times in one minute, I might get 3 or 4 different weights. They're close to each other, but it's rare that more than 2 of the readings match each other. If I'm being honest with myself, I'd take the one that appears most often. If I'm not, I keep the lowest figure. For example, today I got 203, 203.6, 203.9 and 203.6. So I'm guessing I'm likely 203.6 or 203.5 or "who knows, who cares, they're probably all wrong"

current mood: meh, scales.

NYCNYC2013 -- yeah, I was kind of hoping for no carbs meaning 2 pounds a week weight loss, especially combined with eating windows. I think maybe I've been eating a bit too much at some meals and maybe just not slowing down enough. So I'm trying to focus more on the mindful eating. For example, if I don't eat until noon, and then don't start feeling hungry until five pm or so, I don't let myself eat until dinner -- and I get so hungry making dinner that by the time we sit down I'm ready to inhale my food and overeat a bit. I think I need to go back to forcing myself to eat slowly because I really eat less when I do that. But I have to say, this is still not a bad way to diet. I'm not weighing or measuring any of my food unless it's carby.

I am still hanging in there with my stick-to-it plan. I had slightly shorter fast days on Saturday and Monday (so I don't know what week that is supposed to be !!!) and have been to the gym twice (an extra quick visit on Sunday on my way to somewhere else) with my regular slow motion strength training coming up on Friday.

So far I feel fine and haven't overeaten when the fasts ended - its still very hot here so I am enjoying salads and lighter foods.

Everyone seems to be doing well !!!!!

Greetings from very humid Florida!! My eating is definitely off due to not being at my own house, but not terrible. And I did manage to get my walk in, despite the humidity and the snake on my path!

Tracie - those weights are really pretty close to each other. I know those 10th of pounds do matter, but if you are always getting the same whole number, I think that's pretty good. That being said, on my scale, the first time I step on it I might get an off number, but after that every time I step on it, I get the exact same number. Maybe you need to consider a new scale? Just a thought! But no matter what, 6 lbs. in a little over a month is still great!!

FD and I had to struggle a lot starting it. I had a walk in the morning and after that it has been easier. Just drank miso soup for lunch.

HI
I did a strong fast yesterday, 42 hours from dinner Tuesday to lunch Thursday. It was good, not too hard. I only had coffee and three cups of chicken stock ! cluck cluck cluck the salt really helps me.
Today was a terribly stressful day, but I managed to stay on track so far, just a prosciutto cheese salad for lunch and not sure yet about dinner. I'm proud that the stress didn't make me turn to sugar. Although I've been thinking about it!
Cheers