"No Gain" is a Weight Loss Plus

Have you been disappointed when the number on the scale isn't going down? Everyone has that experience, and is totally bummed out when effort doesn't seem to pay off with reduced poundage.

I'd like to share the single best piece of information I know to fight off negative vibes when the scale doesn't move. It's the one I share with all of my patients when they feel that they're failing in their weight loss effort and tell me, "I didn't lose weight this month."

My response? You didn't gain any weight, either! This phrase is usually first met with some puzzlement, and then a smile, as the light bulb of positive action takes place. "Not gaining weight" is a major weight loss plus.

Staying even requires a lot of effort, and the absence of weight gain on the scale demonstrates that.

The scale can be a great help to staying on track, if you don't measure success only by a constant decline. Just staying even is a plus and demonstrates significant lifestyle work.

Without monitoring both eating and activity, extra pounds easily can "sneak up." Many people report enormous surprise waking up one day, "suddenly" 30 pounds heavier. It is so easy in our environment to experience weight creep which is almost invisible and always lurking.

Just 100 extra calories a day packs on 10 pounds in a year. A bit of mindful eating, cutting 100 calories here and there, and walking 20-30 minutes can offset that with almost no effort. The trick (which is not a trick, but a goal to work towards) is doing this most days.

We can all be weight loss winners, even when the scale doesn't budge. What do you think?

Comments

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I guess what she said could be right,but I'm over weight at 250 and I've lost alot of weight so far but my goal is 199,I do like not gaining but I really want to see the scales move down.I went from 353 to 250 so thats not bad but I want to be 199lbs.I've been 250 for a year now and How do I get off and going down,I really want the scales to move down.

balinda-how awesome for you...down 103 lbs is an amazing accomplishment that you should be proud of even if you have stalled for a year!! I started at 222 in 2/07, and I am currently at 188. My goal weight is 150.

The things I've done so far:
-hypnosis to change the way I think about food (eliminated cravings/hunger pains & stress/boredom eating)
- exercise consistently (started by walking 30 mins/day now taking yoga & cardio classes at a gym)
-eat relatively healthy & in moderation(never "perfect"-I ate fries last nite-& NOT on a diet)
-accepted that I am changing my lifestyle to be at a normal/healthy weight
-read "The Beck Diet Solution"-not a diet book but psychological program to train your brain to think like a thin person
-and most recently, I joined a *free* website that has all of the tools, tips, motivation, & inspiration that I need: http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/register.asp?from=friend&ReferredBy=2027599.

Hope this helps!!

Just thinking about that this AM when the scale didn't go down or up. It's a 'win'.

I was overweight my entire life and in less than a year lost over 110 lbs shrinking from a size 24 to a 4 via on-my-own healthy eating & exercise. My weight loss experience, featured on ABC Extreme Makeover last month, taught me many things. Yes there were good days & bad days -- but I learned how important it was to be an educated consumer. It's critical the scale not define your success...as muscle weighs more than fat! If you are working out more, you are likely building muscle (which more muscle burns more calories). I suggest taking your measurements to also track your success. You can learn more about this and other stuff on my website Heidi Hype, where America is havig fun -- laughing together and losing together! I'd love to know what you all think...it means a lot to help people who like me, didn't believe they had a chance beating the battle against obesity...

Heidi
www.HeidiHype.com

HAVE YOU HEARD OF T-BLAST?

We all have different bone structure and your energy level is one of the best ways to know whether you are carrying around too much weight. When I eat what I know I shouldn't have eaten, then I increase my exercise schedule. With this regime it is easy to stay within your weight range. 66 and holding. I invite Dr.Fernstrom to check out what exercise I do. BEST OF HEALTH!

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First off, I love your blog. I really just started reading it and I love it.

Second off, heck yes. I'm on the way to losing weight myself (trying to go from 220 to 170, which is healthy for my height, 5'9".) And let me tell you what I'm sure countless people in my position know - it's a long, hard process. You have to be patient with it! And if you didn't gain any weight, that's almost as good as a loss! It proves you're doing something right. You can't give up a weight loss plan just a couple of months because you aren't losing weight as fast as you want to. Believe me, if I thought that, I would have given up months ago. But I'm doing the cardio, I'm doing the diet, and I'm sticking with it in hopes that I not only lose weight, but I also get a healthy new lifestyle out of it.

thank you for the info. i'm short about eighteen months ago i decided i need to change before i trun fifty. not relly on a diet just eating better pilaties and now walking. the scale has gone down just over twenty pounds but i have lost three sizes. not as tired and not so much back pain i'm feeling some better, want to lose tirty more pounds but flatten my abs. can't pinch an in as many places yea.

balinda, ladies, listen up! to LOSE weight you must LIFT weight. pick up those barbells, and make them heavy enough (10-15lbs). the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even while at rest. I'm down 31 lbs in 7 mos. and I owe it to diet (Weight Watchers) and alternating 60min weight-lifting days (in my own home) with interval training days (martial arts, heavy bag work, ab work on a ball). I do weights M-W-F and intervals T-TH. Sat I do what I feel like, either of the 2 or yoga, and I take Sun off!
TRUST ME - you do full body weight lifting with heavy enough weights, you WILL firm and tighten your whole body and you WILL BURN FAT! the scale may not move so fast at first, depending on your body type, but soon it will start dropping steadily. and right away (within a month or 2) you will see BIG RESULTS! best of luck to you all!

I agree with Ms. Mercury. Exercise and particularly weight lifting has helped me also. I lost 50 pounds with lap band surgery and have not lost any more in a few months but every time my personal trainer takes my measurements I have lost more inches. And I know the exercise is helping me maintain my weight.

I will like to thank you all for sharing
I had not been weighing myself because I hate the scale.I exercise but had gotten off track, I do a lot off weights
which made a great difference,I lost a lot of inches but the scale didn't move. well I went to the doctor for a checkup and the scale said i had gained 11 pounds since the last time i was there,man that was so upsetting to me, so we must keep track of our weight don't do like me so now, iam back to my exercise and the scale isn't moving but I have not gained or lost.Thank you guys for helping me to see it differently that it's like a lost at least I didn't gain so iam on my way again and hoping to see those pounds come off.

I have found since being post-menopausal, I can only gt down to withing 15 lbs of my ideal weight through returning to a health, portion-controlled diet that in the past would have me at my ideal weight at a rate of dropping 4-5 lbs a month. Now I think I can't get there through diet alone, I have to include a regular and vigorous excercise program into my routine -- something I never had to do when pre-menopausal. I'd lose weight on diet alone withour regular excercise.

thanks... very well

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good.. thanks..

very well..

I have been lifting weights (full-body) for months now. I have not lost weight, but have lost inches on my stomach, which is always nice. :)

Choose a target weight, and if you have had net progress within 3 months, then daily, weekly, and monthly setbacks do not matter. It is the net result that matters as different events can appear to cause setbacks.

I found a great blog article about keeping the weight from coming back after a successful diet. http://weightcontrolinfo.com/2008/05/12/weight-gain-after-weight-loss-diets-how-to-stop-unwanted-weight-gain/