First I want to say Hi to everyone. I am Tracy 39 yrs old and currently weigh 228, I started a workout program with a personal trainer 3 days a week we workout for 60 minutes and do crosstraining between cardio and strength training plus once a week he mixes it up with his "rockbody" workout. Then the other 3 days per week I box and kick box the first 45 to 50min is high intensity then we do the core exercises.

So the first week I lost 3#'s 2 inches off my hips 2" off my waist, 1" chest 1" biceps and nothing off of thighs and calf. Next week my weight stayed the same and I lost .25 off of my hips .50 waist 1" chest and .5 biceps once again nothing lost on my legs. This week I am down 1" hips 1" waist nothing on chest and 1" upper arm, 1" off of calves and .25" off of my thighs. PLUS my weight is back up to 228.2. My pants are looser fitting and I can see the difference, other then on the scale. My trainer tells me not to trip on the weight and I am trying not to..........

So what I want to know is how long can I expect my weight to either stay the same or go up? (hoping it dosent go up).

Hey Tracy,

I agree with your trainer, don't take your scale as bible. I'd use the mirror and your measurements as a better measure of success.

For example, look at your last week. You lost some serious inches off of your body but gained weight. I'd guess you either put on some muscle mass or just retained a little water. I'm sure after these couple of weeks you're also seeing some nice changes in the mirror too.

I also think most people don't want to lose weight, but they want to lose FAT! So your goal shouldn't be to lose weight, but to get lean. Realistically you could lose weight and show it on the scale, but that lost weight could be lost muscle, not fat.

I hope that makes sense to you. But to answer your question if you keep working with your trainer and eat right, I'd say you will see your weight go down (from fat loss) very soon!

You might want to check out the scale mentality thread here on the forum.

Longer term trends in weight are what matter most. If after every 2-3 weeks the scale hasn't trended down... you might reexamine your nutrition.

I completely agree, the scale should not be the way you judge your success. In my experience I used to put the weight on the scale above all else and whenever id eat a big(healthy) meal I would feel bad even though it was PRO-weight loss. The scale should definitely be a ballpark way to judge your progress. For example, I weighed myself everyday for the first 12 or so days of my diet. My weight did roughly the following:

232lbs-227lbs-229lbs-231lbs-225lbs-228lbs-230lbs-224lbs-225lbs-228lbs-227lbs-225lbs

After seeing that, and reading "The Scale Mentality", thank you Steve!
I decided that the mirror and the measuring tape were the REAL ways to judge my progress. I suggest you do that to avoid some frustration. Hope this helps!

I am going to read that right now. This is what my weight has done (keep in mind that I went from a 22 to a almost 16(still a little tight) in 1 month which is hard to believe)

Starting point 230 - 227 - 228.2 - 224 and today....................226.8

But like I said I wore a 22 comfortably not tight, not loose now I am wearing a 18 that is ready to fall off, I can pull the waist out a good 3.5" and they are bagging. I can get the 16 on buttoned but they are uncomfortable plus I am uncomfortable with the way my gut hangs over since they are tight.......

Tracy

LOL So I just read the Scale Mentality thread that is soooo meee!! My personal trainer always tells me do not trip on what the scale says. So what does Tracy do? She trips and gets all excited and ticked off!! I know last week was not good as I did not track calories everyday, instead I wrote down what I ate in a journal then entered everything at the same time. I had 3 days I was only at 1000 cal per day (give or take a few).... I was so tired last week and grumpy and now I know why!!

This week is new and I know what I need to do so I am going to do it!! I bookmarked the Scale thread so if I need a reminder I do not have to search for it!!!

Thanks Steve for posting that so many years ago!!

I suggest not to go gaga over what the scale will tell you and instead concentrate on having a healthy lifestyle. If you feel good and healthy then for sure what the scale says will not matter anymore.

There would be times that your weight will go up and down or stay on the same level but don't panic. This is normal.