Carolinebee999's Journal, 24 September 2014

Your tape measurer is your best friend. The scale is going to stress you out. Remember we did not gain all this weight over night and it will take time to take it all back off. Patience is key in the ketogenic way of eating. In fact, Jimmy says we should celebrate the health benefits from eating this way, while weight loss is something we want, it is going to be slow.  

I agree with C67241 about the tape measure...the cloths tell the story...mine are really bagging out...health is above all other rewards when doing a weight loss. 

Actually, I'm probably one of the rare ones that gained the weight in less time than I'll lose it. Most people take years to gain 20kg, but apart from the first time (which was a gradual slide), both other times I gained 20-30kg, I gained it in around 6 months. So I think I should be able to lose it in 6 months!!! The clothes take some kilograms to show, often, and often it's before that that people get discouraged. I need to lose 10-15kg before I really start to feel it in loose clothes, and that ability to tell that I've lost fat even if the scales don't show weight loss, that kicks in somewhere under 90kg. Before that I'm either fat or fatter and don't seem to notice much difference in a few kg here or there. But then I think it's useful once you have lost 10-15kg to keep wearing the same clothes for a bit. It's great feedback on your success to get around in floppy clothes. That's when I really start to get motivated, because every day I notice my flatter tummy, smaller upper arms, baggy clothes, and it's all so much easier to stay motivated. I agree with you about the tape measure- when I did Weight Watcher's I measured 5 parts regularly, and even when I was getting discouraged with the weight, I found a great sense of achievement from those missing centimetres. However, I still find the scales the best and most accurate feedback, and especially while I'm getting the ketosis working properly, I need to regularly look at what the scales are doing. I didn't lose weight for 3 weeks, but at least I knew something was wrong and kept fiddling until I got my figures right and got back losing weight. At my age, I can't afford to spend years losing the weight because I didn't realise I wasn't losing fat because I wasn't following my progress properly. And I'm not a patient person- if I was told it was going to take years, I wouldn't even start dieting. Ironically, this time it has taken years (so far I have lost 19kg over 22 months, in fits and starts). But I'll be weighing myself regularly from now on, and measuring blood ketones once my monitor arrives, as I don't want anything to stall my progress.