Dieters Beware: I Gained 3 Pounds in One Hour Eating Like This

Your physical body is not capable of putting on a pound of flesh in a day, nor is it capable of losing a pound of flesh or fat in a day. Yet it is possible to drink a 32 oz soda and eat a 16 oz steak with 6 oz baked potato, plus the trimmings. That food alone adds up to 3 pounds 6 ounces. If you ingest three or four pounds of food and beverages where does the weight of that food all go? Does it just disappear into thin air while you chew, or does it go straight into your body?

Your scale will weigh what is there, but it is not an accurate depiction of your state of health, fitness or fatness. You can't gain three pounds in a couple hours, but your body can weigh three pounds more in that time.

Remember the scales are not a good gauge for weight loss. Find other evidence using your senses such as sight, touch and sound. Daily and monthly (for women) fluctuations, muscle gain, fat loss, are all difficult to see from a number on the scale. If you want to use the scales allow at least a five pound variation before you think you've gained or lost weight. So if you've lost three pounds and suddenly find the scale up by three pounds, don't be alarmed, and do not suddenly decide your efforts are wasted. It could be you ate salty food the day before and are retaining water. It could be it is your "time of the month" and you are retaining water.

Real weight loss occurs in tiny, incremental amounts. Day-to-day measurements are best used to keep an eye on the situation but not to determine whether your efforts for a day or week have been successful. Tape measurements are somewhat more reliable, although the measurement will also increase by 1/2 to 1 full inch depending on water retention, and other factors.

Watch the scale if you must, measure yourself if you like, but about every 90 days get your body fat measured. You'll have a much more accurate gauge of progress in addition to your daily assessment of how you feel, and how you look. Are you healthy? Happy? Are your clothes feeling looser? The pursuit of the perfect body can be achieved (look at bodybuilders) but do you really want to put that much effort into the task or do you just want to achieve a more healthy size?

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