The Scale is Stuck!

You’ve been adhering to your diet and exercise program since January. You’ve been doing everything right! Pounds were just melting away…until now. Why isn’t the scale moving anymore?

If you’ve added weight training to your exercise program, you are replacing body fat with muscle. With only a small amount of weight to lose (because you’ve been such a superstar!), your weight on the scale may actually go up, but you’ll look thinner. This is because muscle is much denser than fat and occupies less space. So, even if the scale is stuck, you’ve probably noticed a change in how your clothes fit.

One way to check your progress, besides getting on the scale, is to measure yourself. Just use a sewing tape measure and measure your chest, waist, hips and one thigh (upper arm and calf, too, if you’d like). This will give you an easy way to chart your progress in inches lost instead of pounds. Do this once a week and you’ll be able to "see" your body shrink.

You may also want to visit your local gym and ask if they will do a body fat analysis (or composition report). Most gyms will do this free for members and may charge a small fee for nonmembers. The body fat analysis will show your current total weight and percentage of body fat (along with the breakdown of water weight and lean muscle). Do this every few months and you will see your body composition change dramatically!

Oh, my aching muscles!

I am so sore! Not crippled, mind you, but my muscles are aching all the way up the back of my legs from my calves to my bum. What prompted this soreness, you ask?

Running.

I. Hate. Running. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate running. I have decided, though, that in order to drop the rest of the weight that I want to lose, that I must run. Not far. Just far enough to jar my body into weight reduction, which does seem to be working. It's been about a month and a half now and I have seen some weight loss... mostly in my face, but it is working it's way down. I just know it!

The soreness comes in because I've just recently graduated from running one minute at a time to running for 20 minutes straight. Yesterday it was 15 minutes, today 20, tomorrow I die! I'm thinking that maybe I've graduated too fast. (I'm asking myself: "How do people run five miles at a time...every day? Does the running get easier? When does it quit hurting?")

At this point you might be thinking that I'm a wimp. I know that I'm a wimp! Anything that induces pain is generally a no, no for me. But, I know that running has worked for me in the past, so I'm willing to give it another try. As they say, "no pain, no gain"- or loss in this case! I think I'll just put up with the discomfort for awhile longer and see where it gets me.

Anyone else going "against their grain" for some desired results?