Part 6 - Beware the Fatypus!!!

Beware the Fatypus!!!

 

     That somewhat rotund fellow standing proudly upon the scale is the deceivingly cuddly Fatypus, and he can be down right destructive but you would never know it.  Confused?  I don't doubt it, but never fear, I will clear it all up by the end of this week's post.  

     First, as usual, let me give you all the numbers.  As of this week, I have weighed in at...drum roll please...(insert drum roll in your mind)...

     Yes indeed, that says 565 lbs.!  That means that I have lost another 3 lbs. for a total of 109 lbs. since my journey has begun.  It makes me smile to know that that small person I mentioned losing last week is getting bigger.  So, this week has been a much, much better week all around from last week.  I actually walked 1/2 of a mile in 17 minutes and 54 seconds.  Not too shabby for a man who, just a handful of months ago, could not walk from room to room without taking a break to catch his breath.  5K here I come!  I would like to show you all a couple of awards I received from my Weight Watchers group this week.

      First is my certificate of accomplishment for breaking through the 100 lbs. lost barrier.

      Second is my key chain.  This is to mark another milestone in my journey.  This shows that I have lost more than 10% of my total weight.  I have to say that I am rather proud of my awards and they are serving as a great motivation for me. 

     Now, allow me to shed some light on the ever-dangerous Fatypus.  Throughout my interactions this week revolving around my blog and weight loss, there has been a reoccurring theme that has risen up in conversation.  "Why am I losing weight much slower than before or actually gaining weight?  I am being a faithful follower of my diet/eating plan as well as I am working out multiple times a week."  These words are words that I have heard on several occasions this week.  I have also thought these thoughts a time or two myself.  I pondered how I wanted to address these questions and came up with this.  We have all heard the old cliché answer given that muscle weighs more than fat.  This is a personal favorite of mine because I too have used this to try to explain it to others.  In actuality, a pound of muscle weighs as much as a pound of fat.  Wild right?  I know.  Well, I figured that I would actually provide some facts about this phenomenon of weighing more after dieting and exercise.  I would like to show you all a small comparison of fat to muscle.

     On the left, as you can see, is 1 lb. of both fat and muscle and on the right is 5 lbs. of both.  As you can clearly see, they weigh the same but the fat takes up almost twice as much space.  So here is some of the science behind it.  Muscle is about 18% denser than fat.  A pound of muscle has a lot less MASS than a pound of fat. So, where a pound of fat might fit into a soup can, it may take TWO pounds of muscle to fill the exact same can.  Therefore, we all may be losing the fat pounds but gaining the muscle pounds.  We have to look at other factors for measuring our success.  Do our clothes fit more loosely?  Do we find we have more stamina and energy?  Do we feel better?  How does any of this have ANYTHING to do with the Fatypus?  Wait for it...it is coming, I promise.  I have also found, during my research, that increasing muscle mass may not be the only culprit in why our scales are going the wrong way.  The human body weight will fluctuate day to day and that is how it should be.  There are many factors that cause this.  Needless to say, for women, the time of month can cause fluid retention, which will push the scale up, but did you know that too much sodium and normal exercise could cause fluid retention as well.  The sodium is an obvious fact but I learned that when we exercise, our muscles hold on to water to help repair themselves.  We have to break down our muscles to build them up and they need water for repairs.  On days that we are more active with our exercise, we need to take special care to make sure we provide plenty of water to our muscles.  All of these things can cause the scale to give us a deceiving result.  So here it comes...why must we BEWARE THE FATYPUS?!?!  The Fatypus is what I have started to call my scale.  I would like you to please take a look at these two cuddly pics...

These two adorable fellows make you just want to snuggle them, don't they?  To the left, from the land down under, is the adorable duck-billed Platypus and to the right, just because I loved him, is the wide-eyed Slow Loris.  Still not clear how these boys and the Fatypus have anything to do with each other let alone weight loss or my personal journey?  THEY ARE ALL THINGS THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO PLAY WITH EVERYDAY BUT THEY WILL MESS YOU UP!!  I know, I get it, you all think I have lost my mind but NO...I am golden!  Let me explain further.  These two cute mammals are VENOMOUS!  Oh yeah, I said it.  Pick these boys up for a cuddle and they could mess you up but good.  So, am I trying to say I have a venomous scale named the Fatypus??  No, don't be silly, but...using your scale everyday while you are working on losing weight and changing you lifestyle can be just as dangerous.  We can get so focused on what number our scale says each day that when we see no change or an increase, it can be damaging mentally.  Again, not to beat a dead horse, our weight changes constantly; fluctuations in that number on the scale every day, or even in the same day, are normal.  Spending too much time worrying about how you've changed from one weigh-in to the next and any slight increase can be demoralizing and can turn a good day into a bad one.  So I have dubbed my scale THE FATYPUS!! to remind me that perhaps I should "handle with care".  I am even going to print out the pic from the top and tape it to my scale so I see him every time I think of stepping on.  I will then know to BEWARE THE FATYPUS!!!  

     To wrap up this crazy ride I say this, work hard, stay committed, and remember, not all success can be measured by a simple number.  Not everything that appears innocent is so take caution.  Encourage each other and those around you in whatever they are trying to overcome.  You have all been a massive encouragement to me and I could not have made it this far without all of your support.  I may not know you all personally, but I love you all and I thank you for showing me so much love.  The Fat Revolution is picking up a head of steam and rolling on strong.  As usual, I ask that you all share on your pages and with anybody who might need some inspiration or have some inspiration to share.  I am convinced that we are starting to change the world one pound at a time.  I hope you all were able to hang with the wild ride that is my mind this week...lol.  God bless you all.   To be continued...