This going to the gym regularly (and right now, vying for precious gym equipment...what a bunch of treadmill vultures we are at this time of the year!) and eating healthy, nutritious foods in correctly sized portions certainly has it's draw backs.
One of these drawbacks is that I haven't lost a single pound.
Not a one.
In fact, I seem to be gaining them willy-nilly! ('Willy-nilly'. If anyone can tell me where that little phrase derives from I'd be mightily impressed!)
Squinting at the scale out of one eye and hoping that the last 8 is actually a 1 doesn't seem to be working very well for me at all.
Even subtracting the required 10* lbs** to allow for clothing weight doesn't seem to help in the way I wish it would, and I doubt very much that the gym would encourage me to strip down to get a more accurate reading.
(I don't own a bathroom scale. It saves scads of money. Just think of all the money I've saved by not having to continually repair the bathroom window each time I fling the scale through it! Always thinking ahead, I am.)
Anyway, this is annoying and distressful and counter productive and makes me want to throw my hands up in despair but I can't because my arms are sooo stiff and sore from lifting the heavy heavy weights eleventy times in a row.
Also?
My clothes no longer fit me properly. Skirts threaten to slip off...jeans hang in unattractive sags.
Bloody hell! I can't afford a new wardrobe!
(Guess I should have thought of this little side affect before I let Spider Girl drag me to the gym that gray day last November.)
So to sum up:
- I continue to weigh the same, if not more, despite frequent excursions to the torture cham...gym. To the gym.
- Am now financially strapped due to new clothing purchases to fit a body that, while it hasn't lost any weight, seems to be going through some sort of unorganized metamorphosis.
Great.
Oh! And I thought quitting smoking was a good idea too, until I learned that people who smoke are less susceptible to Parkinson's. What if I get Parkinson's!?! Gosh, then I'll regret quitting smoking, won't I!
(Funny, I was never that concerned about Parkinson's before.)
So this is how my future looks, huh?
I'll be this weight forever, dressed in ill-fitting clothes 'cus I can't afford to buy new ones AND I'll be shaking uncontrollably.
And I signed UP for this?
Actually, I don't recall signing anything...not even a waiver. (Really, a gym should make you sign a waiver. They're so susceptible to litigation, don't you think? In fact, I think I feel a definate but undefined training injury caused by facility carelessness coming on right. now.)
I guess I could lapse back into sloth and corpulence. (mmm, corpulence)
But the last drawback of all this damned exercising is that part of me actually feels good about doing it.
Bring on the endorphins...I'm gonna need 'em!
*It is 10lbs, right?
I've been sorely tempted to allow for 12 or even 15lbs as I believe that my running shoes are tragically heavy.
**Yes. I use pounds, despite living in a metric country. I also use inches, feet and miles. Buck the system, I say!
23 comments:
If you're lifting heavy weights you're probably losing fat and replacing it with muscle, which is actually heavier. But you look better. Really, I can see it from here.
Limpy said exactly what I was thinking.
I am working out too, and I would never really say that it is fun...
Scott
willy-nilly?
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/412050.html
The first two OP's are right - if you're only doing weights, then you're just adding muscle.
Best bet, imo, is to do 'some' weights first to get the blood flowing into the major muscles and then do excercises like threadmill-running, -walking, and rowing.
Yeah, the fellas are right about muscle weight. On the bright side, you will be more prepared to punch someone's lights out when they ask you if you lost weight.
Yeah, it might be muscle, or Canada is a bizzarro world where exercise and diets make you gain weight.
I haven't a theory on the clothes yet, but I'm working on it. ^_-
This post made me laugh. I started my health kick, exercising and eating right, again after the first of the year. So far, 4 lbs down but the only thing shrinking seems to be my boobs and I so didn't want that!
Remember, once upon a time, when we invested all of our energy and ingenuity into getting out of gym class? And now, we're paying for the opportunity to sweat.
I immediately thought the same thing: muscle weighs more than fat. And the clothes pounds addition is FOUR pounds, not ten. (If you are weighing yourself in full-length Dolce and Gabbana beaded gowns, you can add 15 pounds.)
As I understand it, 'willy-nilly' was originally will-he, nil-he, as in 'will he, won't he?' In other words, something open ended.
As for smoking as a deterrent to Parkinsons, Michael J. Fox was considered a bad example for youth when he was on his TV series because he was such a chain smoker. So no, don't go back to smoking. Otherwise, my dear, it's just the January blahs weight-gain time. At least it is for me.
cheers,
Ian
"One of these drawbacks is that I haven't lost a single pound. "
It is normal. Ask a nutritionnist. After years of eating bad stuff, the body expect the same thing. When it's not there, it makes more provisions. There are about 2 or 3 months that will be the ajustement period. Long-term benefits.
It is also normal to gain weight. But now, you have muscle to hold up your bones. Instead of bones to hold up your muscles. Long-term benefits.
My clothes no longer fit me properly.
Wait a bit and ajust. Another long term benefit. You'll look even sexier than before - if that's possible.
seems to be going through some sort of unorganized metamorphosis.
It's for the best!
Your future rather looks like this :
Less chances of arthritisis and bone degradation,
Healthy lungs
Healthier heart
better breath
Smelling more things
Tasting more things too
Looking healthier and better.
I think it's a pretty darn good future. But that's just me.
Stick to it!
Be well,
Mat
I work out atleast 5x a week and still stay the same weight. Since Tues when I got my braces on I can't chew anything and have lost 4 pounds..Go figure.
Very soon you will see the numbers drop..Goodluck!
It's not about the weight--it's about where it is and how it feels. And if you're swapping at least some fat for muscle, you're winning. The number means NOTHING!
-- david
I am WITH YOU. I just started working out last summer, a lot. I also don't have a scale at home (but do get on the scale in the women's room stark naked). I too haven't lost a lot of poundage (three pounds last I checked and am too scared to check nowadays since returning from vacation lest I put those three back on if not MORE) but you said it in your post...you're losing inches. Those are results, girlie. Real results. Do not be discouraged! Let's do this together!
I agree with limpy99 & scott. Seriously, how beautiful do you NEED to be??
I tried to comment earlier but was DENIED by the system!
Muscle weighs more than fat.
yes thats a bummer about the clothes not fitting the way they used to, BUT: Having saggy bottoms in your pants is better than , well, having a saggy BOTTOM.
Endurance, strength, stress release are all fantastic side effects of excercising regularly.
Now I feel guilty, you and Spider are going to out run me throughout that whole trip!!!!!
You're re-shaping your body, that's all.
Be careful for what you wish for...etc.
Oh man, I feel this whole post - except I'm a pauper, so I work out in my home, not a gym. Fun, but always easy to break things...
Cxx
And here I was going to ask you to the gym with me when you visit next weekend! :)
"Unorganized metamorphosis": Yeah, I tell you, it's been the same for me in physical reality. However, my workout schedule is very organized on paper taped to the fridge.
That way, I have a sheaf of paper I can clench in my fist and shake melodramatically as I rail to the heavens:"why?! why is this taking so long?!"
I'm not weighing myself again until I have six-pack abs.
I know that everyone is all, "Muscle weighs more than fat, so you're skinnier without losing weight" but I'm with you... I'd rather see the scale numbers drop (with the happy side effect of my clothing numbers dropping, too... if I had money for a new wardrobe or fancy tailoring...)
LOL,I'm a big system bucker too;p
You're doing so good!
I can relate :-) Been doing the same thing, with about the same results. It's heartbreaking... work so hard, eat so darn healthy, and end up not losing weight either! Only my clothes are hanging on me... they are still the same TIGHTNESS as ever. Sheesh. But I'm not giving up yet. Don't you either :-)
An amusing post Tai! I'm with you on the lbs., inches, yards etc! :)
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