Weight loss as a goal getting lost?

#41

Yeah I agree…and also, I think, although I may be fat-adapted, I’m still learning about keto and what works for me. For example I finally figured out recently that I need to eat 3 meals a day instead of literally “whenever I feel like it.” 6 months is a long time to try something that may or may not work for me, but I’m confident it will eventually work. If another 6 months from now, I’m still at the same weight, then I may seriously consider going back to my cookies and chocolate :frowning:

To relate this back to the OP…it may not necessarily be about fixing particular diseases, but fixing the mental things that made us gain weight in the first place. That can take time.

(Lane) #42

My goal is absolutely weight loss, and when I hear about people saying we should throw our scales out or not weight ourselves, it infuriates me a little.

I was diagnosed with fatty liver disease recently. I was originally told I had “a bit of a fatty liver” by a doctor a few years ago who made it sound like no big deal. She didn’t seem worried, so I didn’t worry. Then I stopped seeing her because I realized she was dropping the ball with my care across the board, for all sorts of little things. My gyn sent me for an ultrasound and the results came back as FLD and she sent me to a specialist and I have developed NASH. There is no cure for NASH. The only thing that can help is losing weight.

So you bet your sweet ass I get on the scale every morning and make sure I am headed in the right direction. Also, I have a fitbit scale and I have over five years of my weight data to view, so that’s a super helpful tool that I am taking advantage of.

(Marc Hirsch Md) #43

I feel the same way, totally. I stopped losing weight and just concentrated on ketosis. If I eat every day in a limited few hour window I can maintain my weight. So I have to throw in a few 3day fasts to lower my set weight.

#44

Those of us who say that (and I’m one of them) are not arguing that fat loss isn’t important, just that the scale isn’t a great tool. After reading a year plus of posts on here, I just find that when folks use scale weight as a proxy for health or fat loss, they often get very confused and frustrated. Sometimes fat loss and weight loss track together, but often they don’t.

Tl;dr: fat loss is often very important, and scales aren’t great at measuring fat loss

(Edited for typos…)

(Lane) #45

I’m pretty sure that weight matters, overall. On your joints, on your heart, etc. Whether it’s fat or muscle or you’re carrying a bag of bowling balls, it’s going to have an impact.

We have to have some metric for measuring goals, and I think the scale is an important one.

#46

It’s not that weight doesn’t matter at all; it’s just a relatively poor metric for improvement if your goal is fat loss (especially for women, and especially as we get older).
Dexa scans are great, but measurements - especially if done in many different areas - are a cheap and accurate way to track body changes, and they will fat loss much more accurately than the scale does.

(Jane) #47

I understand your aggravation but nobody ever tells someone happy with their rate of weight loss to “ditch the scales”.

I’ve only seen that said to someone stalled out and wanting to give up.

If taking measurements gives them encouragement and helps keep the eating keto to get over their stall then it is good advice. If it doesn’t apply to you please don’t take it personally!