Have you started a new lipedema treatment or lipedema diet and you are wondering if it’s working? This week I share my complicated relationship with the scale and recommend things other than weighing that Sturdy Women can do to track non-scale victories on their journey. As usual you can read or watch, but this week I recommend watching because at the end of the video I do something I never thought I’d do. I share my lipedema before and after pictures.
Has the scale ever given made you feel good about something, Sturdy Woman? Or are you like me, and scales have most reliably made you feel like a failure even when you’re trying really hard? I hadn’t weight myself for nearly six to nine months before starting keto and I didn’t weigh myself at all until three or four months into my journey. I didn’t even own a scale! Like many of you, I believed it was impossible to lose weight with lipedema and I didn’t want to feel like a failure if it “didn’t work”. I knew there were non-scale benefits to keto and I didn’t want a lack of weight loss to discourage me from pursuing those.
What did I do instead? I took pictures about once a month and also used a measuring tape to track changes, particularly in my lipedema legs. Get yourself a cute little notebook and take notes. How do you feel? What does your skin look like? Is your energy level or sleep changing? These things matter! If you don’t have anyone you trust to help you take photos, there are many low-cost options on Amazon. Here’s a tripod and BlueTooth remote option similar to what I use. It might be emotional a first, but looking at your body (and being kind to it while you do that) will go a long way toward learning to befriend her.
If you are on keto, I highly recommend tracking your blood sugar and ketone levels. Make sure you’re in ketosis before you say it isn’t working! Remember that your body is going to want to do some healing before it starts letting go of weight. Don’t rush it. In addition to letting you know if you’re in ketosis, a meter is going to help you learn how different foods affect you and what different blood sugar or ketone levels feel like. For example, when my blood sugar is elevated I feel hungry, cranky, and tired. A quick walk usually snaps me out of it. My favorite meter is the Keto Mojo GK+ which can measure levels of both, syncs to your phone, and only costs about $50 USD. I’ve been using mine regularly for more than two years.
One final thought on weight and BMI… before you get lost chasing a number, you should know that BMI was originally developed with data from white men and was designed to be used for populations not individuals. You can read more about that here and here and by searching on Google Scholar.
If you just have to weigh yourself, no problem. You do you. Give yourself a gift, though, and before you start any new conservative treatment for lipedema, collect multiple data points so you can also track the fantastic non-scale victories you are going to achieve.
If you purchase through an Amazon link in this post I may earn a small commission, but that’s never why I recommend something.
Sturdy Woman 