I CHOOSE

...to love myself.
...to treat myself gently, with patience and respect.
...to accept responsibility for every aspect of my life.

...to be present, awake, aware.
...to be open to possibility.
...to leap with the intention of landing.
...to do amazing things.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Scaled back

I realized that other night that I could be in trouble. When the personal trainer told me that I should expect to gain 4-5 pounds in lean body muscle, I was kind of happy, but kind of freaked out.

I am so focused on the numbers on the scale because I really rely on it to help me maintain my weight and stay on track. I need to have the daily reminder of up or down or the same to keep me in balance. But if the scale number starts to go up, will I freak out like I did over the bunny cake?

How will I handle it -- can I handle it -- when the number is a higher one than what I'm used to seeing? What kind of a tizzy will I be facing?

I wish there was a scale that reported weight not by number but by sound or signal. It could average out my weight over a period of days. If it goes up more than a certain amount, it will flash one color. If it goes does considerably, another color. And it would be cool if I could set a weight range that was tolerable. Say, 2 pound up or down was ok within a certain period. More than that, an alarm sounds.

Maybe I'm dreaming. But if anyone know of something like this, let me know. I want one. And if there isn't one, I call dibs on the patent.

ADDENDUM:

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. My fear is that because I've already lost so much weight, it's relatively stable and my size has been the same for four months now, I'm not going to really see a difference. What if all I have left is sagging skin and withered muscles. What if I do gain muscle weight but have no fat weight left because the extra just ain't going anywhere until it's snipped and tucked?

I'm check out Physics Diet. Thanks for the referral, Lux. I think that will work for me because I do weigh myself everyday. It's my main tool for maintenance. I don't expect weight loss at this point. I just want to be in the same plus/minus four pound range. God save me if it becomes plus 10.

5 comments:

Micehelly said...

That is why I keep a weekly record even though I weigh every day. The two-pound gain here and there doesn't hurt so bad when I look at an overall trend for a month or two months.

Danyele said...

Ok - he said you could gain 5 lbs in muscle. Did he say how many lbs of fat you would lose?? That muscle is going to help you burn some fat, girlfriend. I'm sure you're going to see results that will make the scale seem less and less significant.

Dagny said...

No scale!!! Smaller pants. Get some smaller pants. Something you can just squeeze into now but they're too tight to actually wear. Put 'em on once a week.
Dagny

Lux said...

Physics Diet will smooth your daily weigh-ins for you and display the trend lines, a la the Hacker's Diet. If it's green you're on track, if it's red you need to scale back.

Donna said...

I have the same problem, here's what I do:

- take measurements all the time.

- If you must have a scale, get one that shows the body fat percent. It might not be accurate, but use it's relevance to gauge fat mass loss/gain.

- it takes a while to build up lean muscle mass. Since the surgery I've actually added 8 lbs., and that's working out religiously with a trainer since October (my surgery was in November).

Hope these suggestions help. Overall you will see a change in your body, and it will be nothing short of amazing. The more muscle, the more calories you'll burn. :) Go for it!