People ask me on a regular basis how much weight I've lost. Truthfully...that's a tough question to ask. Through this workout program, I've stepped on the scale every day. I learned, early on, that the number on the scale is very temporary and will fluctuate greatly in a day or two...hence the title of this post. Many times throughout my life when I've endeavored to lose a bit of weight, the rule of thumb was to step on the scale weekly, not daily. I understand this completely because we, of the "biggins" variety, tend to need to see positive change. It is better to step on the scale weekly than to do it daily and risk seeing a gain. In fact, when I did the Weight Watchers thing, we were encouraged NOT to exercise until we lost some weight first...I think once we got to the 10% of your body weight goal, we could add in exercise. This was a while ago and I don't think Weight Watchers takes that position now...but back then, it was weird to be told NOT to exercise. I've always understood the concept that muscle mass weighs more than fat. You could lose fat, gain muscle, and register a gain on the scale while, in all reality, getting more fit. This could certainly be disconcerting for the person that really needs to start seeing some changes. The scale is the easiest way to do that early on.
What I'm most concerned with is the pattern of lower numbers vs. higher numbers on the scale. I'm going to start an experiment where I log how the weight registers daily and compare that to the workout the day before. If I were to come up with a hypothesis, I'd guess that the day or two after a strength training workout, I'll see a gain. The day after a "rest" day, will register as a loss on the scale. I don't know how long it takes for the body to rebuild, but this seems logical to me. Also, I'm going to consider the size of the muscles in each muscle group being worked. For example...if I destroy my legs in the "Legs and Back" workout, I suspect there will be more weight gained than when I'm working the "Chest and Back". Not sure how this will end up, but it seems like fun to me.
Ultimately...the "10 day" numbers seem to register a loss fairly consistently so that's a good thing. Comparing body shape....8 years ago, before my wedding day, I weighed in at 239. I still have the same belt I used during that weight loss session which was the Atkins diet with no exercise. I now weigh in at 260.8 and am only 1 belt loop away from when I weighted 239. That has to be the result of muscle mass development.
OK....well, enough for tonight...I'll be back on soon...hang in there! Keep reading!
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