Wednesday, September 8, 2010

A Pound is a Pound

Last Friday night I was driving home from work around 11:30pm after a very long day at the skating rink, and I turned onto our street to a sea of white flowing strands of toilet paper strewn about our yard and trees.  My husband was already starting the clean up process, and we recruited the one daughter that was home to help.  With two teenagers in the house it was bound to happen sometime.

We grabbed trash bags, and pulled the toilet paper off of trees, picked it up off of the ground and unwound it from the swing set.  It took up some time, but we got it done.  When we were finished, I looked at the trash bags with all of the toilet paper wadded up, and stuffed into them.  The toilet paper that had once looked like so much, and took up so much space in our yard now looked very small and compact!   It was the same amount of paper, however, it didn't take up as much space.

I used to think (as many people do) that muscle weighed more than fat.  It's always a nice excuse when you see the scale number go up.  However, one day at my WW meeting I found out that this is a myth. A pound of fat weighs just as much as a pound of muscle.  A pound is a pound.  The difference is how the pound of fat looks compared to the pound of muscle.  Just like the toilet paper that was spread out around the yard looked different than it did in the trash bags.  It was still the same amount of paper.  One more analogy please.  A pound of feathers weighs the same as a one pound brick.  Thanks.

There was a period of time, while I was losing weight, that the scale stalled out.  My clothes felt and fit better.  People were telling me I looked like I was losing weight, but the scale told me they were wrong.  I think it was a time where a lot of toning and shifting were going on in my body.  Zumba is great because it gives you both cardio and toning exercise.  You can lose weight and tone at the same time!

So don't be discouraged when the scale stalls.  Take measurements, and gauge how you feel in your clothes.

3 comments:

  1. This is awesome Amy! I found your blog from the link you posted on Facebook. You have really got a passion for this Zumba thing. It shows in your writing. I've used the whole muscle weighs more than fat excuse myself, but your post put it into perspective for me, thanks!
    I'm not sure I'm up for Zumba, but I'm excited to see your continued success.

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  2. I am always losing the schedule for when you have classes. Could you post that on the sidebar of your blog? It would be an easy place to look and see when the next classes are.
    And the cost too.
    Thanks!

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