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  #1   ^
Old Fri, Jan-23-04, 20:20
Isiar's Avatar
Isiar Isiar is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 744
 
Plan: Atkins, now South Beach
Stats: 165/140.6/129 Female 5,1
BF:
Progress: 68%
Location: Costa Rica
Smile For those who are NOT loosing on the scale

Found this article and seems to me very uplifting and informative. So, I would like to share...

http://stores.yahoo.com/carbsmart/outout.html

OUT OUT DAMN SCALE

By Sonya Tilley, CarbSmart Contributor


Here we go again...

How the hell does your body hold onto weight and still manage to get smaller while you are on your chosen low carb diet?!? You know the scenario: You are on Induction for two weeks, and you haven't cheated even once. You notice that your clothes fit better, that you are stepping a little livelier, and as far as you're concerned, all's right with the world.

But then you step on that evil construction of the Devil himself, the bathroom scale, and you instantly feel betrayed. The stupid thing insists that you have done nothing! Sometimes, it even states you have done less than nothing; it accuses you of cheating because it tells that you haven't lost any weight! Well, there area couple of simple explanations to help you get through this trying time.

First of all, if it is at all possible for you to do so, throw that insipid Monster Scale in the trash. Or at least put it up somewhere that it is really, REALLY inconvenient to get to so that you won't be tempted to ask it's opinion every single day of your life. Face it. If you are feeling better and your clothes are looser, do you really need the scale to tell you that you're on the right track? No! You don't! Why do you think you do it, then? I'll tell you why. The low fat diet demons have a tenacious hold on your brain. That's right, you've been brainwashed. All your life they have told you through doctors, dietitians, newspaper and magazine articles, surgeon generals and the like, that you give up X calories per day and you will lose a pound of fat. They even go on to tell you how much fat you should lose each week. In the process, they've made you dependent on the Monster Scale to gauge your progress!

What a big lie!

Even on the diets that "they" advocate, the Monster Scale does not often cooperate. You go back to the Diet Demons and demand to know why the scale does not reflect the torture you have put yourself through for a month. They immediately start backpedaling on the "give up X calories and lose a pound of fat" story, and start talking to you about water retention and muscle buildup. Sometimes, they even blame it on you with questions like, "Are you sure you counted the calories in everything you ate?" (This is delivered with a knowing little smile that makes you want to rip their knowing little face off.) Being the type that is given to blaming things on yourself, anyway, you cooperate with an answer like, "Well….." They pounce on this with "Ahhhh, well.." Then, they launch into one of their scoldings/lash/encouragement speeches.

So, get off their bandwagon, already!

Then, there's the competitive spirit. You hear about what other people have done on your chosen diet. Yes, Brian went on Atkins a year ago and lost over a hundred pounds. Yes, a hundred pounds in a year is over eight pounds a month, or 2 pounds a week, or .0119 pounds per hour….but, "Hello? You ain't Brian!" And, did Brian ever say that he lost .0119 pounds per hour? No! He said a hundred pounds in a year. This only proves he got on the scale twice; a year ago, and yesterday. Take a hint from Brian. Stay off the scale!

The second solution is to understand what is going on in your body in light of the current state of human affairs. Today, all a person has to have to eat every day is money and transportation to a grocery store or, better yet, a nice restaurant. However, your body's survival instincts have not matured in a million years. Your body still thinks you are a hunter-gatherer. Yes, in spite of a million years of evolution, your body still thinks you are going to have to go out and kill a mammoth to eat. The survival instincts with which you are going to have to come to terms are read-only memory. You can't overwrite them. Deal with it.

That said, let me tell you what happens when you lose a pound of fat. Your body has been saving this fat for that long hunting expedition you're going to have to go on to track, kill, dress and retrieve that huge animal. It keeps the fat in little pillows distributed throughout your body. When you start losing fat, it doesn't trust you to continue whatever insane path you have chosen that is causing the fat to dissipate. So, when the fat comes out of the pillow, it injects water as a "place holder." Sometimes that water actually replaces the weight of the fat it lost. Sometimes it replaces the volume.

Water weighs more than fat just like lead sinkers weigh more than feathers. If you stuff a pillow with a pound of feathers, you'll have a nice big pillow. If you stuff a pillow with a pound of lead sinkers, you'll have a nice (but rather hard and uncomfortable), small pillow. Now, let's say your body removes a pound of fat and replaces the weight with a pound of water. Your weight will stay the same, but you will be smaller. But, if your body decides to replace the lost fat by volume, that is a quite different story. Remember the great big feather pillow as compared to the tiny lead sinker pillow? Well, now think of a gallon of feathers and a gallon of lead sinkers. Try to pick up the gallon of feathers. Piece of (you'll pardon the expression) cake. Now, try to pick up the gallon of lead sinkers. Sucker's heavy, ain't it? So, you will be smaller, but you will have gained weight.

Eventually, your body makes the executive decision that you are not going to replace the fat you lost, and it lets go of the water. In the words of Danny Skaist: "When your body accepts the fact that they are no longer needed, the water will be expelled and the cells closed. This is known as the "whoosh."

What makes your body decide to replace by weight or replace by volume? I dunno. But I do know that it does not seem consistent to the casual observer. What makes your body decide that you are seriously not going to replace the fat you lost? I dunno. But now you know why it's so important to drink your water, huh? Loss of fat is inextricably related to water intake. It's more than a little foolish to go on a diet that facilitates the removal of fat and then refuse to give your body the tools it needs to do so.

Bottom Line: Stop getting on the scale and drink your water. If you stick to your plan and wait for the "whoosh,"

Last edited by Kristine : Mon, Feb-23-04 at 09:59. Reason: Added a link to the original article. :-)
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  #2   ^
Old Fri, Jan-23-04, 20:29
Lori H's Avatar
Lori H Lori H is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,412
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 202/128/125 Female 5'3"
BF:
Progress: 96%
Location: Tennessee
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Very interesting and soooo true. Thanks for sharing!
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  #3   ^
Old Fri, Jan-23-04, 20:33
Foody Foody is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 137
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 200/195/150 Female 5'6.5"
BF:
Progress: 10%
Location: Texas
Default

Thanks Dora. I'll never question why the scale is not
moving again! I posted earlier today because I was
freaked about it.

Foody
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  #4   ^
Old Fri, Jan-23-04, 23:33
TanyaC TanyaC is offline
New Member
Posts: 18
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 156/148/125 Female 5.3
BF:
Progress: 26%
Location: Colorado USA
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me too...how cool is this...Wonderfull article ( and I drank a a full 34 oz of water while reading it !)
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  #5   ^
Old Mon, Feb-23-04, 09:30
ellen4621's Avatar
ellen4621 ellen4621 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 5,844
 
Plan: THM
Stats: 182/154/130 Female 5'3"
BF:00/00/00
Progress: 54%
Location: Upper Michigan
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Awesome article,Dora!!! And VERY timely...my friend & I were just talking about the "Monster Scale" yesterday (both are on Atkins), so I'm going to send a copy of this article to her.....right after I move my "Monster Scale" into my closet!

Thanks again!
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  #6   ^
Old Mon, Feb-23-04, 20:34
idontno idontno is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 332
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 225/173/180 Male 71 inches
BF:
Progress: 116%
Location: ne texas
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dora thanks i needed that damn scales
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  #7   ^
Old Tue, Feb-24-04, 12:27
Masterdman's Avatar
Masterdman Masterdman is offline
New Member
Posts: 8
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 240/220/190 Male 69
BF:???
Progress: 40%
Location: Omaha, NE.
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I concur. Before I broke my shoulder I was on BFL, it worked great but I was always hungry. Thus the switch to Atkins. Anyway.. After about 6 weeks, I had lost a whole staggering 10 pounds or so.. but I had shrunk from a 40' to a 36'.
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  #8   ^
Old Tue, Feb-24-04, 12:34
AFwife's Avatar
AFwife AFwife is offline
PuertoRican Princess
Posts: 16,809
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 299/236/135 Female 5'3
BF:
Progress: 38%
Location: South Carolina
Thumbs up

Bravo, wonderful articel......thank you....

It all makes sense now. I loved it!

Thank you thank you!

Lily....waiting patiently for my body to realize the Fat ain't coming back, so release the damn water already!
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  #9   ^
Old Thu, Feb-26-04, 13:39
Jetgirl01's Avatar
Jetgirl01 Jetgirl01 is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 33
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 177/154.0/130 Female 64 inches
BF:
Progress: 49%
Location: Calgary
Default

Thank you! I had a great first week on induction and then this week nada and I exactly the same as I did last week. I was just beginnig to freak out when I read your post so thank you thank you thank you....I will stay dilligent and avoid the scale!
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  #10   ^
Old Fri, Feb-27-04, 09:18
sunshine2 sunshine2 is offline
OSU Cowboy Fan
Posts: 3,384
 
Plan: Lapband/low carb
Stats: 248/169/145 Female 5'6"
BF:42/29/25
Progress: 77%
Location: OKlahoma USA
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I just had to comment on a wonderful article. I've been so down in the dumps about the damned scales, and now I don't even have to worry about them any more.....

Thanks for sharring.
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  #11   ^
Old Fri, Feb-27-04, 20:01
Tinamarie6 Tinamarie6 is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 66
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 148/135/125 Female 5'1
BF:
Progress:
Default

Hey Dora what a great article!!!! I threw my scale away a long time ago. Thanks for the info. Tina
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  #12   ^
Old Fri, Feb-27-04, 21:46
box948545 box948545 is offline
New Member
Posts: 12
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 215/205/170 Male 5'11
BF:
Progress:
Default

Ohhhhh, I get it! If I'm loosing fat and building muscle, and muscle tissue weighs more than fat... dang, this is good stuff!
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  #13   ^
Old Sun, Feb-29-04, 13:14
devil03's Avatar
devil03 devil03 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 138
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 200.5/192.5/150 Female 5'6
BF:?/?/?
Progress: 16%
Location: brantford Ontario
Default

i too was freaking was a bit, buuuut.....i feel like my issue is different i have been back on for almost 3 weeks and lost 5lbs now how can this be , shouldnt I move a little bit?????? any suggestions
devil
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