I weigh in every Saturday. My pattern is the lowest weight at the lst week and I have increases and decreases for the next three weeks. On the 4th weeks, I usually show a lower weight than the lst week. then I start all over again. Gets pretty depressing over the month to see myself heavier but by weighing in regularly I know my pattern and I don't allow myself to get too down. What about all of you. What is your pattern? Doddie

In the beginning, I could never lose 3 weeks in a row. I'd lose 2 weeks, gain 1 week then lose big for the next 2 weeks then gain again. I have always weighed weekly but I take my month over month weight as my actual progress and that way I don't get discouraged. Sometimes the smaller measurements are a good way to stay on track but the bigger picture is the way to stay motivated and not get discouraged. As long as I always have a month over month loss, I'm happy.

Yes this is my point. So many posts show individuals that are defeated because of weight gain after strenuous exercise, low food intake and yet they show gains. People trying to loose weight have to know their bodies and how the weight is lost. When they know what occurs then they won't get discouraged.

Here's my pattern, check it out for yourself:

3/8/06 284.0

3/15/06 272.0

3/22/06 269.5

3/29/06 269.0

4/5/06 269.0

4/12/06 264.0

4/19/06 259.4

4/26/06 260.0

5/3/06 257.0

5/10/06 257.0

5/17/06 257.0

5/24/06 256.6

5/31/06 254.6

6/7/06 253.4

6/14/06 252.0

6/21/06 249.6

6/28/06 247.6

7/5/06 246.2

7/12/06 245.6

7/19/06 246.0

7/26/06 243.4

8/2/06 242.2

8/9/06 241.6

8/16/06 242.0

8/23/06 233.6

8/30/06 231.4

9/6/06 229.0

9/13/06 225.4

9/20/06 220.8

9/27/06 217.8

10/4/06 215.8

10/11/06 214.2

10/18/06 210.0

10/25/06 206.4

11/1/06 205.0

11/8/06 204.0

11/15/06 201.0

11/22/06 198.6

11/29/06 198.6

12/6/06 196.4

12/13/06 196.6

12/20/06 195.4

12/27/06 189.6

1/3/07 189.6

1/10/07 188.2

1/17/07 188.6

1/24/07 185.0

1/31/07 184.8

2/7/07 185.6

2/14/07 181.6

2/21/07 185.0

2/28/07 187.0

3/7/07 185.0

3/14/07 181.4

3/21/07 181.8

3/28/07 181.2

4/4/07 179.6

4/11/07 178.6

4/18/07 179.0

4/25/07 177.6

5/2/07 176.8

5/9/07 175.0

5/16/07 173.0

5/23/07 173.0

5/30/07 171.0

6/6/07 170.8

6/13/07 168.4

6/20/07 170.8

6/27/07 169.0

7/4/07 169.0

7/11/07 169.0

7/18/07 169.0

7/25/07 165.0

8/1/07 166.0

8/8/07 162.0

8/15/07 161.0

8/22/07 161.0

8/29/07 161.0

9/5/07 163.0

9/12/07 161.2

9/19/07 160.2

9/26/07 157.8

10/3/07 155.6

10/10/07 155.6

10/17/07 155.8

10/24/07 153.2

10/31/07 151.2

11/7/07 150.6

11/14/07 148.0

11/21/07 146.0

11/28/07 146.0

12/5/07 146.0

12/12/07 144.0

12/19/07 145.0

12/26/07 145.0

1/2/08 154.0

never makes any freakin' sense to me. I think I've done soooo horribly, will definitely have gained, and POOF, I lose.

Just had to say, your progress is amazing! Way to go :welldoneclap:

Proof is in the puddin. Keeping records shows you that uneven weight loss gain eventually ends up a plus. Well done.

Doddie, my approach to this project was quite different. I stopped weighing myself when I was 25 years old which was a long, long time ago. I knew that I was getting fat only by the fact that I was needing to buy bigger and bigger clothes and by looking at myself in the mirror. The first time I weighed myself after all these years was the morning of my band operation. I discovered that I weighed 200lbs.

After I was banded I never did bother to buy a scale. I was still kinda phobic about the notion of weighing myself. But everytime I went in for a fill I did request an official weigh-in on TLBC's high-tech scale and I found that I was losing weight. At home I relied on NSVs and I had many positive NSVs throughout this journey. Dropping clothes sizes was a gas and having my mate telling me that I was losing weight in my face or on my stomach sure was nice. After awhile my weight loss became sufficiently noticeable that folks in the neighbourhood began to comment and that, too, was kind of cool.

I am inclined to think that we should all understand that the healthiest weight loss is that which comes slowly; a weight loss of this nature permits our bodies to gradually readjust to lower setpoints.

But the truth is that miracle weight loss is what we all want, do we not? For close to a year before I had myself banded I would find myself still awake at 3 AM, unable to fall asleep, grabbing up great handfuls of my belly flesh, and feeling choked by a dreadful sense of self-loathing and powerlessness to do anything about controlling the continuing creep of lard. In brief, I was very, very f/messed up about this biz of fattiness. It is always terrifying for us, is it not, for we are like everyone else - except that our bodies have gone spinning out of our control.

The band has definitely saved my arse and it has shaved a bunch of inches of it, too. It occurs to me that too much weighing might be a bad thing. I have heard that many folks have experienced significant loss of inches during their plateau periods. This is an indication that the body is readjusting itself, I figure.

And as for those of us who are hitting the gym biz in a big way, it is important to remember that muscle weighs much more than fat and yet it takes up way less space in your body. Of interest is the fact that muscles, even when they are at rest, burn up more energy (calories) than does anything else. This is why men tend to gain weight less easily than women and lose it with less trouble.

And thus my advice: don't allow yourself to get overly hung up on the results of your scale; this may be counter productive. There are a raft of NSVs to which you might wish pay more attention, attach more significance.

Hi Doddie:

I'm having the same issues. I will lose 3-4 lbs in one week and then plateau for a couple of weeks and then start all over again. I decided not to use my scale because I would step on it and lose 3 lbs and the next I showed gaining 5. I think my scale has PMS. Therefore I now rely on the scale at TLBC for my accurate readings.

Hi Marcar 35 Yes, I use Dr. W.'s scale as the officail weight, but I am addicted to the scales. I have tried to stay off them but I get into a real lather is I don't weigh. At least now though, I know my pattern and I don't get discouraged. You are really do well, congratulations. Doddie

I try only to get on the scales weekly, if I climb on too often, I get discouraged because I gain throughout the week. I lose and then I go up and down. I find when I am at this plateau, my body is adjusting because I keep going down in clothes sizes. It is a mystery.