Friday, January 6, 2012

Does The Number Matter?

Seriously? Like, am I really asking that question? Doesn't it get frustrating when you are doing all the right things and the number doesn't change for the better? We all get the same lines:
"You must be gaining muscle"
"Increase workout time or intensity"

They think it's that easy. The skinny ones who eat all the pizzas and still manage to lose a pound (My big sister). If only they knew....

It's strange that even though I have lost inches, it does bother me when the number on the scale does not move in the right direction. Are you with me on this?

Anyways, on the workout front I did another 5k walk last nite. Then I did some back extensions and ab crunches. As far as the food goes, everything is usually great till dinnertime. The quantity of food I consume is alright. It's the timing that bothers me. I get home from the gym at 8pm and eat between then and 8:30pm. That's so wrong, but not for long though.

I've decided to start packing dinner as a late lunch to work. That way I can just sip a hot mug of green tea when I get home and not feel so bad afterwards. And don't worry, I don't have trouble with sleeping after drinking green tea :-).


11 comments:

  1. I pack my diner with my work food. When i was losing I would stop EVERY night for a frozen LF yogurt, now I am burnt out on it, I do a 100 calorie popcorn at night ;)

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  2. Great job finding solutions to your problems! I still have issues with being jealous of my skinny friends. The ones that eat WHATEVER they want and never gain an ounce. But hey, we were given this challenge for a reason!

    Awesome work and I'll look forwrd to reading your blog!

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  3. There is nothing wrong with eating at 8:30pm.. it reduces the possibility of you having an evening snack. I get on the treadmill at home and I love it when, after cooling down, doing stuff in the house and showering, that I see a time past 7pm. What matters is your total daily calories, not when you eat it.

    As to the number on the scale. It is everything to me. I don't care about measurements or that I have lost x inches. I care about one thing and that the number of the scale. I do measure myself, but it is like every 6 weeks. If the number on the scale does not go down as I expect, then I think long and hard about each day and what I did or did not do. Up until now, there has always been a reason. It is just a case of being honest with yourself.

    So far, if I keep my total to under 1,400 GOOD calories and I exercise, I lose weight. When I don't, it is because I wimped out on exercise or I made bad food choices.

    It depends on what your goals are.. if they are to be fit and healthy, then the scale should not matter as much.

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  4. @ Byzbee: I'm an early sleeper. That's why I'm worried. I usually go to be @ 9pm or latest, by 10pm.

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  5. @ Karla: I'm definitely following your footsteps.

    @ KAteRN: I look forward to writing stuff you'd love to read. :-)

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  6. Thanks so much for stopping by! I used to eat really late as well. I have moved it up by an hour and we eat around 7 pm now. It's getting better as I do this.

    One thing you might try is just having a salad for dinner when you get home later. This has been a good go-to dinner for me. In fact, that is what I had last night!

    Have a great day and I look forward to sharing the success in 2012 with you!

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  7. Our society has conditioned us to believe that the number is everything. And not just the number on the scale...but the number that is on the tag in our clothes. NUMBERS. But what is REALLY important is the impact our lifestyles have on our health....our energy......and the way we live!!!!!

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  8. I'm with you to a certain point.. I get tired if there's no change for a while, but not just one weigh-in. Our bodies retain water and what not. It's hard to say why the scale doesn't reflect our effort.. we just have to keep working :D

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  9. Technically NO, the number on the scale shouldn't matter if you are seeing inches lost, but like all of us trying to lose weight that number on the scale means a helluva lot - which sucks. I try to get out of that mindset too, because it's so destructive mentally.

    I don't think eating at 8:30 is too late. They say to not eat 2 hours before bedtime, but I always try to get in a little protein or some apple slices before I go to bed to keep my metabolism up while I'm slumbering :)

    ~Christina

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  10. The number doesn't always matter. I like when my clothes fit better and that I can wear a smaller size, but I still want the number on the scale to move.

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  11. I totally know how you feel! It's been like this for months now and my numbers have remained the same. I just keep telling my self it's gained muscle (hopefully.) I pretty much gave up on the scale determining my weight loss progress. I rely now on how my pants fit.

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