Well, I've been frustrated with the fact that since the end of last summer I'd gained ten pounds. My weight at the end of the summer was 215, and by September it had shot up to as high as 225!

What's worse is that this weight has been stubborn to lose again. After six months, I'm back down to 219, despite doing cardio every day, going to the gym five days a week for weights, and being mindful of my food. The frustrating thing is that I was at 219 on the same day in November, so I'm just treading water!

But it turns out that that's not entirely the whole picture. I use the scale at the gym, which measures body fat and skeletal muscle percentage. It's pretty accurate, so I usually just pay attention to the weight numbers and ignore the BF% and so on. Yesterday I actually wrote down my body fat and muscle percentages, and compared them to November. When I looked at the numbers and did the math, things looked much better.

My body fat percentage dropped from 24.2% in November to 22.7% yesterday. My skeletal muscle rose from 35.5% to 36.3% during the same time period. I did the math, and that means that since November 18, I've lost about 3 lbs of fat and gained about 2 lbs of muscle. So even though my WEIGHT didn't change, my body composition has changed significantly from fat to muscular. And the nice thing is that that change will synergize; more muscle will make it easier to burn more fat, etc.

So, the moral of the story is, I guess, don't just look at the numbers on the scale (or your BMI, which is really just based upon your height and those same scale numbers). If you're not measuring body fat percentage with something like an electroresistive scale or (better) a dunk tank, you may actually be doing better than you think!

Congratulations! You're in that final stretch where things aren't always as they appear. Like you, I've struggled to lose anything since November. Part of my issue is training for a high-mileage race that required me to push carbs. I've only lost three pounds since November. But, like you, I looked at an alternate measurement than just the scale. For me, it was the tape measure. Although I've only lost two pounds I dropped two inches in my waist, hips and chest and another inch off each thigh. That tells me I must've gained some muscle while losing fat. I'll take it!

Keep up those awesome workouts and the body fat will keep disappearing.

Amanda

That is awesome news!!! congrats!

As usual your posts makes soooo much sense. ouroborous, you defo think outside the box!

Funny, as since Nov I've lost nothing, gained 4lb over christmas and only shed 2 of those... but this week I have had a lot of people asking me how much more weight I have lost...When I say that I haven't they are, shocked! Perhaps the gym is doing more good that I realise?

I would love to get an accurate test for body composition but I ain't sure where to start in the UK!