# February 2010 Weight Loss thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 1, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246 "2010-02-01T15:36:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/41 "2010-02-10T12:29:27Z")
So I’d been pretty good for the Month of January, and with the food I was taking in, I was losing between .5 to .8 lbs a day (remember, I’m coming down from 270, 6’6", so that sounds dramatic, but compared to the rest of me, not so much.) I jumped up 2 lbs with Super Bowl, but last night lost _3_ lbs. I think it’s easy to see a weight gain after something like that and say ‘I’m getting fatter!’, when it’s entirely possible you’ve just got an extra pound of food and drink going through your system and it’s not going to stick around. (and 256.2, down 16 lbs since Xmas) of course…The Wife and I are going out to a steakhouse for Dinner for VDay…so I’m warning y’all ahead of time. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/42 "2010-02-10T16:53:33Z")
Down 3 lbs this week, from 242 to 224 since New Years. Had two good runs this week, hope to keep the momentum going. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lurker\_Above](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Lurker\_Above](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lurker_Above)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/43 "2010-02-10T17:11:47Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > This is exactly why you shouldn’t weigh yourself every day. 🙂 Weighing yourself everyday is fine. The trick is not to care about the actual daily reading, but use it to plot your weight gain/loss. My chart has both the raw data (plotted in tiny points) and a smoothed curve based on a moving 5-day average. If the line is pointed down I’m good; if it starts to level out I know within a 2-3 days that it’s time to be more careful with portion sizes. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/44 "2010-02-12T02:09:37Z")
If you want to add more fiber to oatmeal, throw in some bran–oat or wheat. Wheat bran especially is more or less pure fiber (my husband calls it my “sawdust”). I want to market a scale where you get on it the first time and set your weight as “X”. After that, it gives you your weight as plus or minus X. That way, you can focus on the good bit–what you’ve lost–and not get all depressed about how far you have to go. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/45 "2010-02-12T14:41:30Z")
I’m really getting into my morning runs. For the first time in, well, ever, I’m enjoying getting out there. I cheated a little and weighed myself after the run but I’m now down 20 lbs since New Years. I said don’t weigh yourself every day but **The Lurker Above** has excellent advice. I know that I still weigh myself too often, but only treat my once per week weigh-in at WW as my official one. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/46 "2010-02-12T15:03:48Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I’m really getting into my morning runs. For the first time in, well, ever, I’m enjoying getting out there. I cheated a little and weighed myself after the run but I’m now down 20 lbs since New Years. > > I said don’t weigh yourself every day but **The Lurker Above** has excellent advice. I know that I still weigh myself too often, but only treat my once per week weigh-in at WW as my official one. 20 pounds? That’s great!! The nice thing about a weigh-in at some place like WW (or the doctor’s office) is you can use it to adjust for errors in your home scale as well. I found that my doc’s office weighs 2ish pounds more than my bathroom scale (wearing the same clothing). I’ve got a new scale being delivered today (hopefully) - one of the better Taylor models that someone upthread mentioned - and will “calibrate” that when I see the doc next week. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/47 "2010-02-12T15:08:14Z")
Oh, and I don’t know what my official weight would be now. It was 268 on 1/22 which was when I saw the internist last; the home scale seems to be saying about 260 but a) there’s that error, b) I’m weighing first in the morning and wearing just nightclothes, so I’m guessing it would be more like 265 at the doc. Still 20 pounds less than my all-time high. And my weight in late December was 278, so I had a pretty good loss in January. On Spark People, I put in my target weight (255 by mid-may), and my activity level (couch potato), and it gave me a calorie target range to meet that goal. So far I’m doing a pretty good job of staying on-target even with eating some goodies this week (now that I’m finally allowed to, LOL). ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/48 "2010-02-12T15:38:11Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > 20 pounds? That’s great!! > > The nice thing about a weigh-in at some place like WW (or the doctor’s office) is you can use it to adjust for errors in your home scale as well. I found that my doc’s office weighs 2ish pounds more than my bathroom scale (wearing the same clothing). I’ve got a new scale being delivered today (hopefully) - one of the better Taylor models that someone upthread mentioned - and will “calibrate” that when I see the doc next week. One of the things they teach you in chemlab is that results often cannot be correlated between devices (or at least that was the case back in the analog age.) and that the results are really only accurate to the degree of precision the device measures… If the scale shows 261.4, you can really only depend on the 261 part. Two scales may not agree with each other, but the important part is the change on a scale IS significant. Were I you, I’d keep the weights separate and see if the _net\_changes_ agree. It’s also appropriate to consider WHAT you’re weighing. I weighed 265 lbs at ages 31 and age 40, but at 31, that was ay 18% body fat and at 40, it was 33% body fat. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/49 "2010-02-12T15:53:22Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > One of the things they teach you in chemlab is that results often cannot be correlated between devices (or at least that was the case back in the analog age.) and that the results are really only accurate to the degree of precision the device measures… If the scale shows 261.4, you can really only depend on the 261 part. > > Two scales may not agree with each other, but the important part is the change on a scale IS significant. Were I you, I’d keep the weights separate and see if the _net\_changes_ agree. > > It’s also appropriate to consider WHAT you’re weighing. I weighed 265 lbs at ages 31 and age 40, but at 31, that was ay 18% body fat and at 40, it was 33% body fat. Ah… like me, you’ve gotten “fluffy” 🙂 I remember having a pair of “skinny” jeans in college that fit me when I weight XXX pounds. A couple of years later, after I’d gone up and then back down in weight, so I again weighed XXX - the jeans didn’t fit. I agree that the change in scale is the most significant part. But to avoid the “OMG I GAINED 3 POUNDS IN 2 DAYS” panic, it’s useful to know that when the doc weighs you at YYY weight, but the home scale says YYY - 3, is NOT a cause for celebration at home (or panic at the doc). So it’s useful to know, roughly, the error built into the device. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/50 "2010-02-12T16:43:35Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I agree that the change in scale is the most significant part. But to avoid the “OMG I GAINED 3 POUNDS IN 2 DAYS” panic, it’s useful to know that when the doc weighs you at YYY weight, but the home scale says YYY - 3, is NOT a cause for celebration at home (or panic at the doc). So it’s useful to know, roughly, the error built into the device. I actually use 3 different scales (home, WW, gym) and try to keep tracking them separate. They mostly track each other but I also weigh myself at different times of day in each place. Lots of variables; don’t sweat the details, look at the trends. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/51 "2010-02-12T16:45:51Z")
Also keep in mind you paid $30 for you scale…I’m sure the Doc paid at least ten times that. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/52 "2010-02-12T16:53:14Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Ah… like me, you’ve gotten “fluffy” 🙂 I remember having a pair of “skinny” jeans in college that fit me when I weight XXX pounds. A couple of years later, after I’d gone up and then back down in weight, so I again weighed XXX - the jeans didn’t fit. > \ I’m really finding that. My work-outs are mostly walking to Safeway, which includes a half hour hill on the way home, and biking at home. No big surprise, my legs and butt are getting totally toned, but my scale isn’t showing much difference. I have to go by how my clothes are fitting to see progress at this point. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/53 "2010-02-14T21:01:29Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > 211½, a pound in the wrong direction. Couple of weeks coming up with no going out for dinner or having guests round, which I hope will help or at this rate I’ll never get back below 200. ☹ 207 (_sic_), 4½ down on last week and 7 down in total. A relief after a week or two when it was feeling like I’d never lose any weight again. That nice long walk with the dog this afternoon must have helped more than I thought. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/54 "2010-02-14T21:12:48Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > 207 (_sic_), 4½ down on last week and 7 down in total. A relief after a week or two when it was feeling like I’d never lose any weight again. That nice long walk with the dog this afternoon must have helped more than I thought. 😃 Yay! Those brief upticks can be crazy-making, can’t they! I weighed myself today using the new scale - 260.0. Yesterday it was 258.4. Now, I did have more food than usual yesterday but unless I grossly underestimated the calorie count, I didn’t blow any goals (except for sodium). Well, the sodium would be enough to cause some water weight gain I guess. But I’m chalking it up to random normal fluctuations. And that’s still down 25ish from my all-time high. I weigh in at the doc’s on Friday, it’ll be interesting to see how that measurement compares with 4 weeks earlier. My jeans are about to fall off of me, though. 🙂 Time to dig into the drawers to see if I have a pair that’s just a bit smaller. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/55 "2010-02-14T21:17:54Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m really finding that. My work-outs are mostly walking to Safeway, which includes a half hour hill on the way home, and biking at home. No big surprise, my legs and butt are getting totally toned, but my scale isn’t showing much difference. I have to go by how my clothes are fitting to see progress at this point. 🙂 Cool! You’re getting un-fluffy! Weight sure isn’t the only measure to rely on… a pound of muscle may weigh as much as a pound of blubber but it’s much easier to fit into skinny jeans 🙂 Plus the muscles burn more calories at rest than the fat does. I see an orthopedist tomorrow about shoulder and knee problems. There’s a decent chance I’ll need surgery for one or both; if I don’t, I’ll surely be plunked into physical therapy for them both (and even if I do, I’ll need rehab). Not that I hold out much hope for the PT to help - tried that for a year in the early 90s and spent that year in constant pain… but I had _great_ calf muscles during that year 😃 But anyway, til then I’ve been afraid to do any exercise, since even routine movements hurt. At least with PT, I’ll be moving a bit more. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/56 "2010-02-14T22:06:09Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Cool! You’re getting un-fluffy! \ That’s good way of putting it. 🙂 I can _feel_ that my legs and arms are firmer and leaner. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/57 "2010-02-14T23:35:04Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > That’s good way of putting it. 🙂 I can _feel_ that my legs and arms are firmer and leaner. I am exactly in that spot right now… I can totally feel my body getting stronger (with measurable evidence–I can do 6 full pushups now and a month ago only 1) and I can see my shape changing, but the weight isn’t going anywhere. I burned 2,750 calories exercising this week and have eaten within my calorie range every day, and still progress is slow. It’s cool, though. I’m enjoying the activity, I’m trying to set other goals I can measure (started the 10- Push-Up Challenge this week) and I’m going to try ignoring the scale for a couple of weeks just to focus on the change I can feel and see. We are more than a number! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/58 "2010-02-15T03:22:48Z")
Got in a 5.5 mile run today, my longest run in probably 15 years. It felt good, I see a 10K in my future someday relatively soon. This long weekend has been a pretty good one so far. Eating well and lots of exercise. I’m looking forward to the weigh-in on Tuesday. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/59 "2010-02-15T04:18:04Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I am exactly in that spot right now… I can totally feel my body getting stronger (with measurable evidence–I can do 6 full pushups now and a month ago only 1) and I can see my shape changing, but the weight isn’t going anywhere. I burned 2,750 calories exercising this week and have eaten within my calorie range every day, and still progress is slow. > > It’s cool, though. I’m enjoying the activity, I’m trying to set other goals I can measure (started the 10- Push-Up Challenge this week) and I’m going to try ignoring the scale for a couple of weeks just to focus on the change I can feel and see. > > We are more than a number! I’m starting to enjoy the activity, too - it feels good to get out and stretch my legs walking or get on the bike and just bike while watching tv. It will feel _really_ good to get out and walk once spring comes around. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246/60 "2010-02-15T13:14:49Z")
Last Monday: 243.6 Today: 239.2 :eek:! 4.4 lbs in a week is really shocking me and now I’m in the 230s. I only have to lose one pound a week for the next 7 weeks to hit my (2nd) goal now that I’ve hit my first and I think I’ll surpass it. On Saturday I bought an [exercise bike](http://www.amazon.com/Stamina-1350-Magnetic-Resistance-Recumbent/dp/B001ICPCPW) for home and Bioshock 2 for the Xbox which has made video gaming all the more fun and “healthy”. I also found a great recipe to try that the whole family liked. I tweaked it a bit from the [Jennie-O website](http://www.jennieo.com/recipes/recipe_detail.aspx?Id=4586) to this: [QUOTE=edited to my recipe] 1.25 lbs grilled chicken 1 head of Boston leaf lettuce 1 carrot, peeled and minced 1 clove of garlic, chopped 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced Juice of two limes 2 tsp Sriacha chili sauce 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped 1 bunch green onions, chopped Garnish: 1 red pepper, minced 1/2 jicama 2 tbsp roasted cashews, chopped Calories: 220 [/QUOTE] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/february-2010-weight-loss-thread/527246.md?page=4)