Ups and downs… in weight
As my weight has gone up and down over the years, I’ve noticed how differently I’ve taken it off and put it back on (ha!) each time.
Now, I know this is extremely unhealthy, and it is something I am trying to get away from (aren’t we all?), but I thought I would share.
When I first tried to lose weight, in 2004, I just ate less. I got the skinniest I had ever been, and it didn’t take that long, but it didn’t last that long either. Later on, I dabbled in exercise a bit, and lost weight, but was never really committed. However, when I started to really dedicate time to exercising and eating healthier in summer of 2008, I noticed that the weight came off faster, and I got to a smaller size sooner than I had when I was just eating less. And as my weight has gone up and down since then, I have always been able to fit in smaller sizes, at higher weights than ever before. It makes me wonder if I am retaining muscle and am a bit smaller at a higher weight, or if the sizes have just gotten bigger over the past few years (or if I have really, really stretched my clothes out).
This time around, besides running a few times a week, I am also doing weight training. It’s weird, because I am sore in places I have never been sore. It makes me wonder how my body will react to the weight training. Will I get smaller, quicker? Will it take longer? Will my weight stay high because I gain muscle?
This is all extremely vain, I know. I just wondered – have you experienced anything like this?
Gosh, what I would LOVE to get to a goal weight/size/comfort level and just MAINTAIN it. Maybe that will be one of my goals for 2010.
Themocracy
I have noticed that as my weight changed around recently I fit into my clothes exactly the same with a 10 pound difference in weight. I am positive I now weigh less because I lost muscle. I have been eating normal and not exercising at all, so that must be what is going on. My clothes fit normal but I’m sure if the break from exercise is too much longer they won’t. I don’t think I would be overweight, but I defintiely think I would need to go up a size.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Magical Phones =-.
I have pretty much maintained the same weight for the last 5 years but I have noticed that the sizes have changed on clothing. I am now a small in most things while previously i was a medium. I feel like they are making the sizes bigger but still calling them “smalls”.
I’ve tried different things to lose weight over the years. My current method is more of a complete lifestyle shift rather than an exercise in denial which means it is sustainable. I’m not sure I will ever understand the hows and whys of my body but I am certainly going to seek to find balance.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Growing a Backbone Where My Wishbone Was =-.
I found that weight training was the best thing for me as far as feeling like I looked better in my clothes, but then when I started running I slacked off on the weights and haven’t yet found the right balance.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Get ready…the blog is blowing up today! =-.
Vanity sizing definitely exists. Although from one year to a next, a size 8 is likely very close … over a number of years (5-10), a size 8 fits a larger person now than it did years ago. I hate the fashion industry. Don’t ever judge your progress based on them … they’re a sketchy crowd who overuse Photoshop and underfed models.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Choice =-.
My best route to losing weight has always been through cardio + diet and then once I get to my goal weight, or close to it, I add in strength training. I have noticed that since I lost the bulk of my weight about two years ago, I’ve been able to fit into different types of clothes than before. The way it all works is a mystery to me, but it’s fine with me as well =)
.-= Author’s last blog post… Running Love =-.
I THINK I have found my “happy” weight. Whatever that means…right? I wish there was some kind of test we could take to figure out what it really is.
I think it is SO interesting how people respond to exercise differently…like, I know some people who start running and will say it makes their thighs larger, while for other people, it slims them down. Same with strength training. I guess that’s why we all like different things!
Ugh….avocado is a fruit! Fail! I’m so bad – I have tomatoes down as a fruit (right?) but didn’t know about the ‘cados. 🙂
.-= Author’s last blog post… New Goals and Pumpkin Muffins =-.
i tend to weigh MORE when i’m working out regularly, due to increased muscle (but conversely, i fit better in my clothes). it’s weird that i hate “losing” weight when i stop working out, but it’s because it’s NOT really losing weight.. it’s losing muscle and replacing it with a squishy muffin top. just because it weighs less does NOT mean i want it 🙂
.-= Author’s last blog post… europe in pictures (ok, and a few words) =-.
I always feel better about the way I look when I work out than when I don’t work out, even if I’m at the same weight/size. My waist gets smaller and I firm up all over. I think even that is worth the price of admission.
.-= Author’s last blog post… The Biggest Loser Week 6: You Can Go Home Again…Maybe =-.
Interesting that you posted this today…after I posted about losing 10 pounds in 6 months, I looked back over my exercise logs, and I have kept up the cardio with running…but guessed what I stopped doing in April? WEIGHTS.
I have got to get that back into my routine, which probably means I am going to have to buy a car since the gym is not on a bus route.
.-= Author’s last blog post… so my MOM moved here =-.
I hate to be so vague about my answer, but it all depends on how committed you stay to the routine. Katie and I have lost weight doing a similar routine, but gained it back when we stopped or plateau’d when we didn’t do it enough and the muscle piled on faster than the fat was lost. It’s a mad roller coaster. It really is. Pisses me off.
.-= Author’s last blog post… It all started with a big bang… =-.
I deal with this everyday (I’m writing this while eating jelly beans; how ironic)… it’s a hard struggle. Some days it’s easy, but most days it’s a really difficult battle. I think both of us will figure it out (one day)
I’ve noticed that while I am a pound or two heavier than when I was when Tyler and I first starting dating (I got a little complacent for awhile…oops, but I’m back there now), I am in much better shape because I lost the weight through a combo of diet and exercise, and the clothes that I have from when we first started dating fit better than they did then. So I’m noticing similar things to you, that similar numbers are not always reflective of size.
Weight is such a battle, esp. in stressful times!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Tyler arrives tomorrow! =-.
My weight kind of bounces around in the same 5 lb range, even though my workouts have changed dramatically. I definitely am not as fit now that I’m not doing weight training. My normally comfy pants are getting tight in the belly again. Plus, article after article says that weight training burns more calories b/c it continues to burn them long after you’re done…where as cardio is just a short burst of calorie torching.
My body changed a lot, too, when I started doing yoga more–just in terms of where there is muscle and how things are shaped (my calves are super muscular now, which I was not expecting!).
I try to stick to the BMI charts b/c it seems to give me a bit more leeway. And even those are imperfect!
Yeah, I’ve had some ups and downs in the last few years, mostly with a downward trend due to random attempts at changing my eating habits. However, now, I’m on an upswing (thanks marathon training and subsequent week+ off for tendinitis!). Boo, I need to really take a long, hard look at what I’m eating (Ugh, baked goods from college roommate) and cut it out. Bahhhhh.
We should make a lose and maintain goal for 2010…with some falafel included.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Monochrome eating and foot news =-.