weight loss and feeling inpatient page

[jeneves]

Hi, I am relatively new to the primal/paleo way of eating. I started initially as a weight loss tool but was curious to see if all the other health benefits that are sited held true for me as well.

So far I have found this experience to be life changing. I started out at 168lbs on Oct 18th and in that time I have lost 16lbs. And literally every GI problem I have ever experienced has disappeared. I no longer experience any IBS like symptoms and I feel great. My appetite has stabilized and I am no longer constantly hungry.

My questions/concern is…the weight loss seems to have completely stopped. I have not lost a pound in over 2 weeks now. Is this normal? To loose 16lbs so quickly was wonderful and unexpected and I knew it wouldn't continue on at that rate but it seems to have stopped just as quickly as it started. I have been very committed to eating right and have not deviated at all with any foods outside the primal blueprint. I’ve started to more carefully watch my carb intake but even trying to stay under a 100 a day doesn’t seem to be doing much. Having said that…I still lost another inch around my waist in the last week or so even though my weight remained unchanged. Should I just stop worrying (and stop weighing myself) and give it more time? Am I just being inpatient? Any tips or hints or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks for your help!

[peril]

Relax. While you're losing inches, you're getting healthier

[Damiana]

Are you exercising too? If so, you might be building more muscle and that's not going to result in a lower scale number, you'll have to gauge your progress by measuring inches. You might also need to reevaluate your food. What might be a deficit that's sufficient for you to lose weight as a heavier person might be just enough to keep you at a maintenance weight now. I know on primal people say not to bother with calorie counting, but I think it's important to be aware of your intake if you are trying to lose or if you're a hard loser.

[trekfan]

Just keep doing what you're doing, you're doing great. You may not be losing weight on the scale but you've already lost an inch, which means it's still working. I would recommend ditching the scale for a few days and just focusing on doing Primal right.

[Him]

I sometimes wish weight wasn't so easy to measure.

I started a regular (primal-compatible) exercise program about...9 or 10 weeks ago I guess. I started avoiding grains and droping my fat avoidance (since my diet was otherwise fairly primal-compatible) about 6-7 weeks in. All of that together has me down in weight from my starting point. Not very much, not even 1lbs per week, but down.

On the other hand.... my resting heart rate is rougly 12BPM lower. My heart rate when going on a particular 2 mile walk at a standard speed is also significantly lower. That's not a number that is easy to measure or understand but I suspect it is far more important than total weight. My general strength is higher, my clothes are looser, I'm more flexible, and I'm more active. Of course a lot of that comes from exercise more than the diet, but it works together.

When I step on a scale and it hasn't moved much, or has moved the wrong direction, it's easy to be frustrated and impatient. Unfortunately, stepping on a scale is easy, so I end up doing that to myself every morning. When I look other measures...well, I was pretty pleased with myself when I compared heart rates during a recent walk to heart rate on a walk early in the process. Unfortunately, most people don't have those numbers and it's a pain to collect them.

Sounds like you are in a similar situation....so my advice to you is the advice I'm giving myself: Ignore the scale, keep doing what is obviously working by other measures, and try to remember the big picture.