I Never Noticed This Before

[Guest sleeping chrysalid]

Now that I have a reason to care about my weight and something to look forward to, I've been weighing myself more and I haven't been eating to excess like I used to. Before I didn't care because being fit wouldn't have made me feel any better about myself anyway and I just caught as it was starting to spiral. When I first visited the doctor and realized I had gained seven pounds since last time which was a sudden acceleration it shook the original thought in my mind that my weight was continously and gradually increasing. It got worse.

Now I looked on the scale three times recently and I just saw the first up and down pattern of my life. Now it's starting to fluctuate. It went up from 186 pounds to 192 and back down to 185. Maybe it's that I never measured a second time so soon after the first but I'm starting to notice that it's changing all the time and very quickly instead of slowly and gradually like I thought it did before.

I thought it was a glacier. I thought it was moving up a pound every several months but it's crazier than that. I'm not sure if this is normal and I worry that I might be unwittingly starting a dangerous pattern but I have no idea what's going on. My whole attitude is changing now that I don't feel so hopeless anymore. Feeling like I can one day be happy with myself has changed my psychological eating habits and I don't know what to expect. I might have the same obsession other woman have. I can feel that. It sounds very likely.

There's something new over the horizon and I don't know where I'm going.

[Guest Emily Ray]

Your varying weight is within normal bounds at this time based on my experience. The fact that you are concerned with your weight now that you are transitioning. In fact it is quite common for MTF's to develop anorexia or bulimia. It is important that weight loss is done by eating healthy smaller portions and moving more. Everything in moderation is a good thing to remember. Try not toweigh yourself so much as it can feed into an unhealthy obsesion.

Huggs

Emily

[Guest Ann Onymous]

Are you using a household scale or a real medical-type scale? A lot of cheap household scales are noted for being inaccurate.

I do a check of my weight each time I go to the gym (about every other day)...I'm not sure I would agree that frequent checks feed into unhealthy obsessions. Many people who are looking to lose weight perform regular checks. In my case, I know where I was many years ago before having surgery and I know where I felt comfortable...I have a vested interest in trying to get at least remotely close to that point. The downward movement on the scale has a lot to do with how I elect to vary my routine and whether I add or substract reps or cardio time.

Are there moments of frustration? Sure. I know I was a little down when I realized I put back on three pounds after going out to the Left Coast for a week and being away from the gym for close to two weeks total...of course the petit filet I had for dinner before going to the gym on the night I checked the weight ALSO probably did not help matters. But as long as one is not displaying signs of either anorexic or bulimic behavior, then checking weight regularly should not be viewed as a bad thing...

[Guest Julie T]

SC

I don't think you need to worry much. You are probably weighing in more so you are suddenly aware of how our weight normally fluctuates. I had one day I weighed six pounds more in the evening than in the morning, which is impossible. When Sally moved in, she had another scale, so we now have two digital types and I can weigh on both of them, calibrate them the same, and in a day or to they have different readings. Home scales are just not accurate.

I weigh in the morning , after I do my business, and about once or twice a week now. We can gain sudden weight from water retention, and on HRT it can really fluctuate. As long as your eating patterns are good, with no snacking and bingeing/starving, you should be okay.

When trying to lose weight, it is best to ease back gradually, stay with the regimen, and wait out plateaus, without giving up. It takes your body about two weeks to realize you are not starving and to get your metabolism equalized.

Julie