Science, not magic

I read a blog a few days ago that has been nagging at me ever since. The writer said she had been following the P90X plan for six weeks, including the official diet. She was happy with their strength gains, but frustrated at her lack of weight loss. Nothing up to that point bothered me. Many people focus on the scale, rather than how clothes fit, or how they feel.

My problem started when she complained that she jeans were the same size and she still has a muffin top. She elaborated that the P90X trainers were "surprised by her lack of results." That complaint didn't add up for me. If she was truly stronger than when she began, she must have increased her muscle mass. Since her weight remained steady, she must have lost an equal amount of fat mass. Since muscle volume is less than fat, she had to have decreased her volume and measurements should reflect that.



I have been racking my brain to come up to explain her situation without defying scientific fact.
1. She actually does weigh less, but it's not enough for her to consider it a "real" loss.
2. The scale hasn't moved, but she is losing inches, just not enough to make her happy, or in places she considers vital. Maybe her thighs are smaller and she's only considering her waist measurement.

3. She's using a composite measurement like body wrap companies do. Maybe her waist is smaller, but her biceps are larger, offsetting the difference.
4. There were errors in the measurements or scale.

5. She thinks she should be skinny and it should happen immediately and isn't happy that it didn't happen in six weeks.

I see this scenario play out often in how people talk about weight loss. They act as if it's magic and beyond understanding. It's not. It is science. A pound of muscle has a consistent volume from one person to the next. A Calorie is a fixed unit of energy, nothing mysterious. People also get discouraged when the weight comes off a pound a week, not all overnight. The weight didn't show up overnight and it probably was gained more slowly than a pound a week, too.

I am very similar to this blogger. I know that I should be happy that I'm stronger and have visible biceps. I know that I should love that I'm using the smallest notch on my belt. I do love those things. However, they're not enough to get me to stop watching the scale and wishing it would stay below 130 for longer than one day. It's not enough to get me to stop looking at the "baby bumper" and hating that I can't spot burn fat.

Day 18D--Pencentages

I am a big fan of logic. Sadly, this causes me some problems when I encounter the art of medicine. Sometimes, they don't seem to use logic at all.

Take for example the idea that everyone should drink 8 glasses of water a day. This seems pretty simple and innocuous until you realize that a person who weighs 100 pounds is told to drink the same amount of water as someone who weighs 200 or even 300 pounds. Now the randomness of 8 glasses a day makes little sense. It turns out that the real number is 1/2 ounce of water for every pound of weight. Some of this water can come from other beverages and even foods. The figure of 8 glasses applies to a person who is about 125 pounds. I theorize that women who were dieting in the 1950s-1970s were the ones paying attention to the water intake, so the 8 glasses became the standard figure.

I'm starting to theorize that the lose 1-2 pounds a week figure comes from the same dieting demographic. I can't comprehend how my weight loss percentage should be less than 2% a week, but a person who weighs 200 pounds can only lose 1% a week. What if a severly obese person used the same gauge. It could take them several years to get to a healthy weight and they'd only be losing .5% per week. After much searching, I found a few places online that say it's 1% a week, but they aren't reliable sites and don't cite anything for their figure.

If any medical or fitness professionals have a reason for the 1-2 pounds figure or a percentage that should be followed for people of all weights, please let me know. I'm really curious and want to understand the science and logic of it.

Day 28--Weight

I did the scheduled exercise in the 30 day challenge before I weighed in today. My weight still showed a slight weight gain, much to my disappointment and annoyance. I then did 30 minutes worth of activity in Wii fit plus before weighing myself again. My weight was about 1/2 pound less than it had been 30 minutes earlier. Impossible? Maybe. It did lead to the question of where the weight went. I did a quick search and found the answers. Every time you burn energy, the waste products are water and carbon dioxide. If the energy comes from stored fat, there is also heat generated by the body when converting the stored fat into usable energy. That process is called lipolysis.