for my fellow grokettes... page

[batty]

...this could also apply to the groks as well, but with today's societal expectations, the women are more susceptible to this. in order to be attractive, or "fit", we all gotta be a size 0 and weigh as close to 100 lbs as possible, dontchya know.

as i'm reading challenge journals, i see lots of things like "i need to lose 10/20/50 lbs" or "i want to get to X weight because i don't look good at Y weight", and it's bugging me so i thought i'd address my issue with its own attention whoring post.

grokettes, i implore you to really, really look at how you view yourself, your body, and your goals while doing this challenge. just losing weight is great, but there is so much more to this lifestyle than just losing weight.

i used to say 'ditch the scale', but i know for people with a lot to lose, sometimes this can be a helpful progress tracking tool. [see: the paper towel theory] however, do NOT base your self worth, progress, IQ, ability to play scrabble, or whatever else, on whatever number that scale tells you. you are not that number. that number going down *can* be good, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

and i'll use myself as an example here, because hi, attention whore:



on the left is a photo of me from 8 years ago. i wore a size 14. on the right, a pic taken a couple of months ago. i'm a size 6.

you know what doesn't differ in these photos? my weight. i weigh almost exactly the same now as i did back then.

muscle is good. you want muscle. build it. please remember, also, that muscle is denser than fat:



which means as you shrink, you just might - gasp - gain some weight in the process as you build the good stuff. i am seeing way too many females around here freaking out over gaining a pound or two over a few days and then cutting their food intake drastically in fear that they are losing progress. you cut back calories and the weight starts going down again. then you have to do it again. and again. and then you end up jacking your metabolism, so you're stuck at eating only 500 calories a day for the rest of your life. do you *really* want to do that, or do you really want to enjoy your food?

i love food. food is awesome. i like to eat it.

it's hard, i know it is - especially when you are bombarded by all the CW crap about females having to be skinny, and the only way to look good is to weigh as little as possible.

it's crap.

i ask that y'all *really* think about your goals and how you measure your progress. use the scale, sure - but find something else to complement that. take measurements with a tape measure, or buy some body fat calipers online - they're cheap. or, just find a pair of pants and track how they fit from week to week.

focus on being *lean* and *strong*, not just weighing less. weight is not the only measurement of improvement. if you were told you could get a bod a la linda hamilton in t2:

but had to weigh 10 lbs more than what you do now, i bet most of you would go for it.

being a size 2 and 108 lbs doesn't mean crap if you are still 36% bodyfat.



that's still unhealthy.

focus on the PB principles. eat your food. lift heavy things. build muscle. don't worry about the scale so much. everything else will fall into place.

[superdeluxe]

Great, great post. Love your photos. I know I've seen such a difference in how my clothes fit since June although I'm only down by about 7 pounds. Alas, my arms just keep getting bigger and bigger--I'm getting even more muscle (I started out with a lot up top) and the fat is not coming off from there!

Forget about the scale. I think when we see big changes in a short period of time on the scale, we're often losing as much lean body mass as we are fat, which is not helpful in the long run.

[Unamused Mouse]

Yeah, scales just give people a complex. I go by how my clothes fit!

[batty]

Great, great post. Love your photos. I know I've seen such a difference in how my clothes fit since June although I'm only down by about 7 pounds. Alas, my arms just keep getting bigger and bigger--I'm getting even more muscle (I started out with a lot up top) and the fat is not coming off from there!

Forget about the scale. I think when we see big changes in a short period of time on the scale, we're often losing as much lean body mass as we are fat, which is not helpful in the long run.

indeed. the size 6 is starting to sag on me and my weight hasn't fluxuated all that much in the past few months. plus, pinching yourself with calipers is fun.

[skyscraper light]

awesome post, batty. i often get fixated on that scale when i know that in reality--along with the many variables that can affect your weight at any given time--there are other, much better ways to measure general health and wellbeing.

oh and btw--you look GREAT

[dragonmamma]

I just betcha if I showed this post to my husband, he'd think the BEFORE was hotter! (But I'm not going to show it to him, or else I'll be looking at you as the desktop pic for the next month.)

[Ali]

Great post. I didn't weigh myself when I started this challenge (or for about 6 months before) because I agree with you, that the scale isn't the true indicator of success. My goals do include specific weight loss in pounds because I am absolutely certain that I will lose some fat pounds in this process and eventually I will step on the scale - moreso for curiosity and having another form of analyzing the results. I will not weigh myself until I'm ready, and that might not be for a few more months.

Being able to fit my thin clothes, and having the strength to do a pull up, and advancing in the PBF categories really are the ultimate goals (and rewards!) for me!

[alexa85]

thanks for the reminder batty! i get hung up on the scale number too often even though it isn't the best measurement for my goal - body comp change. i acutally just asked my trainer/friend if he had the calipers to perform the pinch test on me - a much more accurate measurement for my goal. when you are trying to lose real pounds seeing the numbers on the scale decrease every other day can be addicting. but, when you get closer and closer to your goal and that steady decrease stops it's frustrating as all get out and eating less is just not an option for me i love food too!

[amazonmagic]

You Rock lady! Inspire people much? I think you do!

[MeatMe216]

Hero.




That is all.