here2bhealthy's Journal, 29 Aug 15

what you need is a set of scale that record fa, muscle mass as a percentage, they can be bought at places like argos etc and not over the top price wise 

I try not to take much notice of the scales, though it is difficult. I was 66.2kg, I've just shot up to 66.8kg. But I've lost an inch from my waist and hips. :-/ 

Hey thats good, i bet your a happy teddy bear. Must admit I am not really bothered what I start at, its what the difference is between weigh ins that i look at, That and how tight my jeans are, clothes are a great way of letting you know how you are doing. 

I've just weighed myself again. Which is a waste of time because I'm fully dressed and just had breakfast.67.3kg now. I've seen people talk about how much their weight changes and they're weighing themselves nearly every day. When I read that for the first time my first thought was "Stop weighing yourself so often then". But that's exactly what I've just done :-D But I have much more faith in the tape measure than the scales. I think I'm going to weigh myself once a fortnight. Just use a tape measure in between. My push ups didn't go well today. I need to build up some strength in my arms first. It was sobering. I tried an easier type of push up when you're on your knees, ankles crossed and elevated. I can do 15 in a test so I think that's the way for me to go for the moment. 

#Here2bhealthy thanks for the buddy request. Just having a look at the article on losing inches....... 

Sparxx43, I'm with you. Daily weighing does not work for me. I weigh in once a week on a Saturday before drinking any water and after my body is emptied. I also have a pair of very cheap plastic callipers to measure fat loss. I am doing my best to focus on changes there. I think daily weigh-ins might be an interesting way to see how much one's weight fluctuates over the course of a day because of water retention, or because one just finished a big meal, or because of where a woman might be in her monthly cycle. I think your focus on the tape measure and number of push ups completed are an excellent way monitor progress. If you improve with your push-ups, that means you are getting stronger. If you are getting stronger, that means you are gaining muscle. And that's what it's all about, right? Getting fit. The rest probably falls in place after that. I wish you the best!!! Happy Monday. 

Dog147, thanks for your encouragement. I agree with you, too. It's not how you start, it's about starting the journey. Hopefully the destination is where you want to end up. Happy Monday. 

I don't think I do as much exercise as I sound like I do :-D I don't know what you took from that article but I've read it to say get off your backside and do some exercise Emma it probably fall into place. Guess time will tell. As far as weight fluctuations go, when I'm on my monthly I gain so much weight I have "period jeans". I can't get my normal ones on . Certainly won't be weighing in that week ha ha...... 

#Sparxx43, period jeans. that is too funny but also very true for me, too. I posted that article for myself really because I lost then gained then lost the same weight again. I got discouraged. Then I took my measurements and those had come down so that helped me stay on track and not pay attention to the scale that much anymore. Crazy that FatSecret is driven by those numbers on the scale. Most of us want to lose fat. At present, the site cannot offer a method for us to track that. But that's OK. Most of all, I value what I'm learning from everyone about food and exercise and the encouragement that is here. That counts for A LOT! 

people get so hung upon weight and weighing themselves. I think I have mentioned this a few times over various other peoples comments but scales set us up to fail, they should only be used as a rough guide, body shape changes as muscles start toning with exercise, this may then cause you weight to remain the same but actually your are getting fitter, gettting healthier and looking better because of the new shape, its the same as looking a in mirror, you cant see the change but other people can because they or a piece of string but be realistic, don't try it everyday, make it every 2 to 3 weeks before you measure again. The areas should be calf, widest part of thigh. hip, waist, chest and neck. 

I forgot to add do the measuring before any training, and at the same time everytime 

for here2bheahlthy. Calipers are really good way to measure fat folds, however you must make sure that you that you easure in exactly the right places, there are 5 measurements that you take, do you have the table that gives you are a score 

for sparxx43. Have you tried standing up press ups???? 

I did try that but I found they were too easy. They took too much of the resistance away. I tried lots of different types actually. I found on my knees with my ankles crossed and elevated is the best way for me personally. It takes roughly half my weight which is just right. It hurts my wrists by the third set but I don't seem to be able to avoid that. Maybe it'll improve as I get stronger. 

try doing some execercises that will strengthen the wrist. A good one is just use a ball squeeze, start with a hard ball (like a tennis ball) and then reduce the density slowly until you are using a foam ball, this will help strengthen the forearms, and the grip, there are a few other were you can use a towel have a look on you tube