Fat. Weight. BMI. Lean muscle vs. fat. Water retention. Bones. Organs. Skin. All combined, it produces a number that stares you back at you on a scale.
But, it's just that; a number. I know, I get it. I'm more interested in being healthy, active, and able to open a jar by myself, than being stick thin. I'm not a slave to the scale, and rarely weigh myself, I go more by how my clothes feel. (there's my disclaimer so that you know I'm not going anywhere unrealistic here...)
Since the beginning of November, I've been tracking my food, keeping an online diary of what I'm eating. I'm doing this for 2 reasons... 1) I want to see how many calories I'm eating in a day and 2) Trying to figure out how many calories I need given the amount of exercise I'm doing. I seem to have plateaued where weight loss is concerned, even though I'm much more active, and am wondering if it's because I'm not eating enough. Slowing down my metabolism? I have some weight to loose, but I assure you that my goals are realistic.
Funny that the battery in my scale dies now as I wanted to measure my progress after a solid week of weight training, monitoring my food, and a new training plan... literally, died. We replaced the battery, still dead. Boooo. It's one of those digital scales that measure weight, body fat (lbs & %), BMI, water and bone weight.
I'm eating breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner, small meals, every few hours. I'm trying to be diligent with drinking my water. I'm eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, choosing whole grain/brown bread and rice any opportunity I can.
Am I the only one that does this? Find out someone's weight, then think of yourself in comparison? I hate to admit this, but I did it again last night; I've done it before, and have ended up in tears!
I'm writing this post not because I'm proud, or because I'm having a pity party. I really just want to understand.
For those of you who watch The Biggest Loser, Rebecca was voted out last night (hope I haven't spoiled it for any of you who may have DVR'd it)! She looks great after 10 weeks on the ranch, and after a make-over; I think it's unbelievable how far these people have pushed themselves, how hard they've worked, and the weight loss they've been able to achieve. She weighs 157.
I then watched her on Jay Leno. Again, I give her all the credit in the world -- she looks fabulous.
But I'm struggling to understand. When I look at myself in the mirror, I don't see me like that. I don't see a 'fat' me. I'm comfortable in my skin. It's just that she's 2 inches taller than I am, and (now) weighs less (no, i won't divulge by how much...lol). Do I just have better mirrors, or shaded glasses that I'm looking through that make me not see something I should?
I know muscle weighs more than fat, and yes, I have thick legs. Thank you years of gymnastics and figure skating as a child. (this is yet another reason why I will never be stick thin, I like what muscles I have), and am continuing to strength train to increase my lean muscle, and tone.
What is it in my body composition that makes me weigh more, when she is even taller than I? Muscle? Water retention? I'm sure it's not my ass since Jay is always complaining I no longer have one since I started running! lol
Any thoughts? What am I missing or doing wrong?