Two Sets Of Books For Recording Weight Loss Goals? Or Not?

[Jingthing]

OK. I have interesting "problem" now. I have been steadily losing 3.5 pounds every month so I have made that my goal to continue losing 3.5 pounds every month until I reach my first goal and then after that I expect it will be hard to lose that much every month and plan to probably adjust my monthly expectations lower.

Up till now, it's been like clockwork. 3.5 pounds every month.

I do realize a month may come where it doesn't happen or even a gain is showed.

In any case, that's isn't my issue right now.

It appears that this month the loss will be more like 4.5 pounds.

As this is all part of my long term goals, I don't know how to manage this new number from a psychological/motivation basis.

One idea is to just record the loss as 3.5 pounds meaning I would only need to lose 2.5 pounds the next month to be on track for my long term goals.

I'm afraid if I set the 4.5 loss pounds as the new basis, I might be setting myself up for a perceived failure if I fail to lose 3.5 pounds the next month.

OR I could keep TWO SETS OF RECORDS, one showing the new basis and one showing the long term goals, so that still losing 2.5 the next month could be seen as part of a continuing success, without giving up the motivation to lose a little bit faster.

I will probably do the two sets, but it does make the psychology of this more tricky.

BTW, I know there are arguments for not looking at the numbers so obsessively. I have made those arguments myself before! Right now, I think this focus on numbers has been working for me, so I plan to keep at it as long as it does.

I realize many people would find 3.5 pounds a month slow and would be frustrated at the patience required to keep at it if they have a lot of weight they want to lose, but the way I look at it is 3.5 pounds a month is 42 pounds in a year, and that ain't chopped liver!

Edited April 24, 2013 by Jingthing

[robblok]

3.5 pounds a week is not slow if you can keep it up for a year. However the less you got to loose the harder it will become.

My advice look at your long term goal and only when you see a trend of it really slowing down for a few months change things. In my year of weight loss it went fast.. it stood still and it went slow. Even though i did the same routine and controlled my food... in general weight loss is not linear.

You are also right to look at it on long term so your doing it all right.

Just accept that one month it can be 4.5 and other months 2.5 progress is progress.

[Jingthing]

3.5 pounds a week is not slow if you can keep it up for a year. However the less you got to loose the harder it will become.

My advice look at your long term goal and only when you see a trend of it really slowing down for a few months change things. In my year of weight loss it went fast.. it stood still and it went slow. Even though i did the same routine and controlled my food... in general weight loss is not linear.

You are also right to look at it on long term so your doing it all right.

Just accept that one month it can be 4.5 and other months 2.5 progress is progress.

Thanks for that. Are you saying just record I met the goal this month and treat it as a virtual 2.5 pounds or are you saying yes do keep two sets of books? Obviously there is no right answer for everyone but I don't see your opinion clearly in what you wrote. It has been very motivating to me to see the continuing and consistent progress. I am worried how I might react when the month comes when that doesn't happen.

[robblok]

I am saying aim for the 3.5 and if one month you get more keep those pounds in mind for a month that you do less. However if you see month after month decrease in weight loss you know you have to change something. But variations are ok as long as the average is still 3.5

And you are right the worst things are plateau's i know i hated them but there are ways to break those.

From my experience is that once you breach such a plateau your weight loss will continue again. It is like there are set points for your body (not sure if science supports this). Anyway i must congratulate you on your weight loss and say job well done.. no matter how you did it.

[Jingthing]

Thanks for that. I think you are suggesting don't do two sets of books but rather to record this month as meeting the current goal of 3.5 pounds. I am considering this. It doesn't mean I won't lose weight faster but takes a little pressure off.

BTW, my first level goal is to get from being clinically obese to clinically overweight.

There are definite health risk benefits to being just overweight vs. obese.

After that I think it would make sense to not expect to lose as much 3.5 pounds a month using my current tactics. I haven't decided yet if it is ever going to be realistic in my life to get to a so called ideal weight. If I can make it to just overweight, then I reckon I can start thinking about realistic second stage goals. No point in pushing something that's so abstract at this point.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Jingthing

[Chonburiram]

Just stick to your 3.5 pounds, for this month write down your 4.5 with a smiley face behind. It's a God given (taken) pound and you shall not cheat with it...

[Jingthing]

Just stick to your 3.5 pounds, for this month write down your 4.5 with a smiley face behind. It's a God given (taken) pound and you shall not cheat with it...

Anyway, it's not the end of the month. Who knows, I could have a pizza to set things right. Just kidding.

[robblok]

Just stick to your 3.5 pounds, for this month write down your 4.5 with a smiley face behind. It's a God given (taken) pound and you shall not cheat with it...

Anyway, it's not the end of the month. Who knows, I could have a pizza to set things right. Just kidding.

If one pizza ads a pound of real weight (not temporary weight because of carbs salts ect) it must be giant size

[tropo]

Jingthing, do you weigh yourself once at the end of each month?

IMO you're making too much fuss over a pound (454 grams). I normal size glass of water is 300 grams. I don't know what your total weight is, but as a person weighing around the 100 kg mark I can fluctuate 1 kg or even 2 kg on a daily basis.

I would suggest you weigh yourself at the same time everyday and write it down, then record your end of month weight as the average of the last 7 days. If there are any major fluctuations in that 7 day period, ignore them for the calculation. That's what I do when I want an accurate measure of my bodyweight. I need that when I do a bodyfat calculation... which is also important to determine muscle gain.

Some people fluctuate more than others depending on how rigid their daily water and food consumption is.

Edited April 25, 2013 by tropo

[tropo]

Just stick to your 3.5 pounds, for this month write down your 4.5 with a smiley face behind. It's a God given (taken) pound and you shall not cheat with it...

Anyway, it's not the end of the month. Who knows, I could have a pizza to set things right. Just kidding.

If one pizza ads a pound of real weight (not temporary weight because of carbs salts ect) it must be giant size

It will add a pound of "real weight". Whatever happens to be in the digestive system will determine "real weight". If a person is not having good bowel evacuations for a few days that can add quite a few kilograms of "real weight". Quite a lot of "real weight" can sit in the large intestine.

If you're ever spoken to a serious bodybuilder who has just had a bout of food poisoning, they'll probably complain about how much weight they have lost, thinking it's muscle, when in fact it is just fecal matter. Talk about reverse anorexia - some of these guys stress out to the max if they drop a few kilograms.

[robblok]

Just stick to your 3.5 pounds, for this month write down your 4.5 with a smiley face behind. It's a God given (taken) pound and you shall not cheat with it...

Anyway, it's not the end of the month. Who knows, I could have a pizza to set things right. Just kidding.

If one pizza ads a pound of real weight (not temporary weight because of carbs salts ect) it must be giant size

It will add a pound of "real weight". Whatever happens to be in the digestive system will determine "real weight". If a person is not having good bowel evacuations for a few days that can add quite a few kilograms of "real weight". Quite a lot of "real weight" can sit in the large intestine.

If you're ever spoken to a serious bodybuilder who has just had a bout of food poisoning, they'll probably complain about how much weight they have lost, thinking it's muscle, when in fact it is just fecal matter. Talk about reverse anorexia - some of these guys stress out to the max if they drop a few kilograms.

My mistake.. i was talking fat...

[tropo]

My mistake.. i was talking fat...

I know. I just wanted to point out the grey areas when using a scale. There's always a quantity of undigested food and fecal matter, which can cause big fluctuations.