Just on a slight down

This topic contains 8 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by Kirsten70 9 years, 9 months ago.

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Kirsten70

7:52 pm
19 Jan 15
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Maybe it is simply because it is the end of a fasting day … and I do have this perverse habit of doing lots of food preparation or sorting or shopping when I am fasting (mental note to myself to change that!) …. but feeling a bit down and sorry for myself this evening.

I’m in this for the health benefits. Any weight dropped along the way is a bonus. I remind myself of this each time I get annoyed at the numbers on the scales. But some days are easier than others.

On the plus side, between the fasting and deciding to really cut back on wheat (I know I have a slight reaction to it, along with reactions to other histamine containing foods), I do feel better most days. I am noticing a difference after only 3 weeks. I also saw that I have slimmed down by 2 cm on my waist.
We have a new set of scales which measure body fat and muscle too, and both those figures are starting to move in the right direction.

However, since starting my weight is up 2.7 kg (that’s about 5 lbs). The day after fasting my weight goes UP, and yet my system is pretty much empty. I am normally eating just shy of 500 calories on the fasting days and most other days my input has gone down by 200-400 calories (to a level where a slight drop in weight – say 500-700 g or 1- 1 1/2 lbs should be noticeable over a month).

It is weird.

Like I said, I keep reminding myself that I am in it for the health much, much more than the weight. It just sometimes gets me down when, in theory, the scales should be moving the other direction.

Feeling sorry for myself over. I’ll get myself tucked up in bed with a good book and have an early night.

Rose Ann68

8:01 pm
19 Jan 15
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Kirsten, I’m no expert but I do know that muscle weighs more than fat, and on any diet I would be more pleased with my clothes getting looser than the actual weight on the scales going down. Another thought – why not keep a food diary to seriously keep check of what you eat and drink.

Kirsten70

8:31 pm
19 Jan 15
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Yes Rose Ann68, muscle does weigh more.
I am pleased at the cm gone – especially as the weight aspect is a side bonus.

I think it is just reading how so many people are getting rid of huge amounts of weight … that is not my main objective, but it would be nice too.

I know too that many resources suggest keeping a food diary. I have done that 3 times and have ended up eating up to 1500 calories more a day (yes, like almost 2 days worth of food in one day!) each time I have done it. I have stopped each time within 4 days. I was becoming so focused on the food that it took control. I actually eat a lot less when I ‘ignore’ it – eat when I am hungry and otherwise get on with life.
My family doesn’t appreciate those days though – getting complaints of ‘I’m hungry’ and then me realizing that it is after 2 o’clock and they had breakfast at 8 … 😉

annette52

8:59 pm
19 Jan 15
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A lb of muscle is the same as a lb of fat. The difference is that muscle is more dense and thus takes up less room under the skin.

14 lb of fat is the same 14 lb of muscle. The lbs are equal.

A ton of feathers is exactly the same weight as a ton of steel, it is still a ton.

Purple Vegie Eater

9:30 pm
19 Jan 15
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It’s the old….what would you like to be hit by, a ton of feathers or a ton of steel? 🙂
If you weigh more the day after a fast day, look at the type of food you eat normally and (sensitive topic) ‘transit time’. Fasting can cause your system to slow down, so you have more food in transit. Try drinking a lot more water as we usually get most of our water in food. On fast days our digestive system can easily get dehydrated. Good luck. P

snorks

9:55 pm
19 Jan 15
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Annette – yes a pound of anything weighs the same as a pound of anything. This is true, but it is also utterly meaningless.

This is why humans tend to compare weights per volume or per unit.

It makes no sense to say that a grape weighs the same as a cauliflower. This is an example of comparing weight by unit. A single grape (one unit) weighs less than a single cauliflower. It is true to say that a pound of grapes weighs the same as a pound of cauliflowers, but it does not impart any useful information.

A 100 litre crate of carrots will weigh significantly more than a 100 litre crate of broccoli. So, in this instance it makes sense to say that carrots weigh more than broccoli. This is an example of comparing weight per volume.

You don’t tend to have units of fat and muscle, so the weight per volume makes most sense in comparisons. As it happens, a pound of fat takes up approximately four times the space taken by a pound of muscle. Therefore, by common convention of English language communication – muscle does indeed weigh more than fat.

That old thing of “which weighs more, a pound of feathers of a pound of bricks?”, that is a trick question. Your brain automatically assumes that you’re talking weight per volume, bricks clearly weigh more per volume (shipping container of bricks weighs more than shipping container of feathers), so you say “BRICKS!” and the person who asked you the question laughs at you. That’s because your brain just assumes the question is what makes sense, when the trick is that it’s actually asking something meaningless – there is no use for comparing weight per weight.

simcoeluv

10:09 pm
19 Jan 15
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Hey Snorks:

What will happen if you weigh out one pound of pure animal fat on a scale, and then weigh out one pound of pure animal muscle on a scale, and then put the fat and muscle on each side of a balance scale?

Are you saying the muscle side of the scale will go down, and the fat side will go up, because the one pound of muscle will weigh more than the one pound of fat?

Are you also saying that if you shift one pound of fat into one pound of muscle with no other changes that you will weigh more than before you shifted the fat to muscle?

Also, what is the conversion factor? If I shift one pound of fat into one pound of muscle, how much more will I weigh as a result of the change in body composition from fat to muscle?

Just curious.

Kirsten70

6:54 am
20 Jan 15
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I was tired when I answered last night. Of course 1 lb of fat weighs the same as 1 lb of muscle. Muscle is denser and takes up less room – so the weight can go up (more muscle) without the body shape changing.

I have to learn to get off the computer earlier before I get too tired!

As for the transit / liquid … On fasting days I have about 1/2-1 litre more than on other days (from 2 litres up to 2.5 or 3 litres). Lunch was a broth with a handful of black beans, broccoli and herbs and spices; dinner was a big plate of salad greens with another handful of black beans and a tomato, herb and lime juice puree dressing (no oils).

On the nice side, keeping with the weighing / measuring in on the morning of the fast and the morning after, for the first time I saw a drop – what a drop! 1.5 kg (3 lbs). The measurements are telling me that I am making progress too.

SIMCOELOVE – I think of your trouser story each time I get frustrated !!

I also keep reminding myself that I chose this for the health. I do want to drop 3-5 kg (7-11 lbs), but had planned to do that by cutting back on sugar and removing one snack a day. I know that that is enough to achieve my goal within a year. Hearing about this system as a double whammy for health and getting rid of unwanted weight fast was a way of speeding the journey up. I have also reminded myself of the sugar and snack. Most days have improved to the level I want – 3 days of last week will be erased from my memory though. 😉

Kirsten70

8:28 am
20 Feb 15
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I came across this again today while looking through the forum topics.

A few weeks further on, one day where I skipped fasting because it felt too challenging on that particular day, and really beginning to enjoy it.

I’ve got more energy overall and am being lured less and less by the unhealthy stuff which was pretty much the main culprit for not following a fully healthy lifestyle (candy bars, doughnuts, cake …). I still have the treats, but less often and in smaller amounts. And I enjoy them fully now too. Rather than about 3 times a week, it is about once a week. I’ve also given up alcohol and candy for Lent, so hope to break the habit completely by Easter.

My only quibble for now is the lack of sleep on the days I fast. Between being really cold – I normally need flannel pjs, 2 winter duvets, socks and a hot water bottle for about 2 hours to warm up so I can sleep – and restlessness from the empty feeling in my stomach, I’m losing 2-3 hours each time. I do go to bed about an hour earlier than usual on fasting days and hope that the cold will ease when the spring comes.

I am really enjoying this journey. Still no weight loss (incredibly), but definite muscle gain (probably explains half of it). I have 3-5 kg to get rid of, but I’m sure that will come with time. 🙂
I had my bone density measured for the first time 5 weeks into the lifestyle and my results were almost off the scale. My doctor said that a woman my age (mid 40s) has such good bone density maybe once every 2 years here in southern Germany. I’m hoping for really good blood results when I get them done in the spring too. 🙂

Happy fasting and living everyone!