Tony Ferguson Weightloss Program / Weight Loss Discussion / Tony Ferguson

Water

WoodyB — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 09:06:54 GMT

Water is the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off. It is important to drink 8 - 10 glasses (approximately 2 Litres) a day. You should also increase the amount if you exercise briskly or if the weather is hot and dry. The water should preferably be cold because it absorbs into the system quicker than warm water. If you're not drinking enough water, your body fluids will be thrown off balance and you may experience fluid retention, unexplained weight gain and loss of thirst. Ultimately, when your body gets the water it needs to function at its best, its fluids are perfectly balanced.

WATER SUPRESSES THE APPETITE AND HELPS THE BODY METABOLISE STORED FAT

The kidneys need enough water to function properly. When they aren't receiving enough, some of their workload is dumped onto the liver. the liver's main function is to metabolise stored fat into energy for your body to use. Therefore, if the liver has to do some of the kidney's work, it will not function fully. This results in the metabolism of less fat, therefore, more fat remains stored in the body and weightloss stops.

DRINKING ENOUGH WATER IS GOOD FOR FLUID RETENTION

When your body is not getting enough water it begins to hold on to every drop possible to survive. When this happens water starts to store itself outside cells and this can lead to swollen feet, legs and hands. To prevent this from happening you must drink plenty of water! By doing this you will be releasing the stored water from cells.

AN OVERWEIGHT PERSON NEEDS MORE WATER THAN A THIN PERSON

Larger people have large metabolic loads and since water is essential for fat metabolism it is clear that an overweight person would need a large amount.

WATER HELPS TO MAINTAIN PROPER MUSCLE TONE

By giving the muscles the ability to contract. It also helps to prevent sagging skin that results from weightloss. Water re-hydrates the skin and leaves it clear, healthy and supple!

WATER HELPS TO FLUSH OUT WASTE

When losing weight, the body has a lot of waste or metabolised fat to get rid of and water aides in that process

WATER RELIEVES CONSTIPATION

When your body isn't getting enough water, it takes what it needs from other sources and the colon is a primary source. This results in constipation, however, by drinking enough water, normal bowl function will return.

THINGS TO REMEMBER!

* Your body will not function properly without enough water and can't metabolise stored fat efficiently.

* Retained water shows up as excess weight.

* To get rid of excess waste you must drink more water

* Drinking water is essential to weight loss.

Started TF yesterday and today Im 1.1 kg heavier!!!!!!

Shazam2411 — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:17:31 GMT

So I started my journey at 102.4kg yesterday :w00t: Ive set myself a goal of 10kg by September when my daughter is getting married in Thailand. Yesterday was quite easy I had a shake for breakie, forme yoghurt for MT, Shake and some salad for lunch, and Chicken and Vegies for dinner (No sauces etc) and 2 herbal teas during the day.......then this morning I thought I would just check what one day off junk could do to my weight and I was HORRIFIED! I had gained 1.1kg :w00t::w00t::w00t:
Any idea on how this happened? very disheartening really

Thats the last time I take a sneaky look on the scales ;);)

Suz

What did you eat before TF? And..

aussie20 — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:00:42 GMT

What do you eat now?

For me,

Breakfast: Either cereal (usually a pretty healthy one, such as Just Right) and milk, glass of juice. Or buttered toast, sometimes up to 4 slices, with peanut butter, honey or vegemite.

Morning tea: If I did have MT it was usually something sugary that i'd bought, or a muesli bar

Lunch: Sandwiches or salad roll, sometimes other junk foods like pies or fried rice

Afternoon: As with morning tea

Dinner: Meat, Carbs and vegies

After tea: Anything sweet. I was a terrible binge eater, I would eat a whole block of chocolate at times (usually just before I went to bed), sometimes others things aswell like chips or biscuits.

Drinks: Soft drink, milk, barely any plain water.

I found that if I was in public, I would generally buy something healthier as I was paranoid about being seen as the fat girl buying fat food, lol. Other times I wouldn't care and would buy fried things. When I think about it now, I imagine what I would have looked like and i'm quite embarassed.

How about you? :hehe:

Tony Ferguson is no longer 24/7

Flickky44 — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:03:40 GMT

hi ladies.

last night I was feeling very down and wanted something to make me feel better, sweet food. I had just received the tf desserts that i had ordered that day so thought i would be good and make one up. upon doing so it didnt work, i tried another one focusing on how i did it and it again didnt work...

So knowing that I have a 24/7 tony support team waiting on the computer and phone I went online but again.. chat was unavailable... so I called up, something I know I have done alot of just to ensure i was doing the right thing, or asking about the side effects I had gotten one NIGHT, etc and was very shocked to find that they were closed, i called back a few times to ensure it wasnt an error and again... they were closed, i sent an email and got one back today informing me that they were no longer a 24/7 support and now they are only open 8-8 week days and 8-6 sat& Sun...

this doesnt help me, if i wanted those hours I would see my tony staff in store... it is often after hours that I get these problems occur, this one was why wont my dessert set!! because i really really was trying to be good!! so i ended up waiting a few hours and then found myself with a bar of chocolate... less then ideal!

so i'm wondering who else is going to be disadvantaged because of this current closure... and how many others have taken advantage of the after hours support team!

I tried everything but without success!

anna54 — Wed, 08 May 2013 17:04:19 GMT

Hello from me. For several years I try everything to lose my overweight. I tried different diets and programs, but without result. From my cousin i learned for the product for weight loss lipovon, and I think to use it. Do you know something more about it?

Weightloss Chart

*kazza* — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 07:03:28 GMT

Weightloss chart for those of you that are interested.

To come off one shake a day or keep going with the two shakes a day?

The chocolate addict — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:12:03 GMT

Hey Fergie members!

I have been on the tony ferguson diet since the end of January and I am down 12kg :) At first the weight flew right off me! all I did was a quick half an hour walk in the morning and I kept strictly to the diet, however now each week is a struggle, I am still following the diet guidelines and still excercising but now the weight is coming off very slowly, ~500g loss a week (and sometimes I even manage to gain). I now weigh 68.5 and my goal is to get down to 60kg so I still got more to lose! I signed up for the gym today, Im hoping that I can kick start the weight loss by doing some cardio and weights and maybe even start to tone up a bit. My question to all of you is; do I come off one of my shakes? By doing more exercise a day I will need to eat more right? If I don't eat enough my body won't have the energy to burn off the fat? It gets a bit confusing how all of this works, does anyone have any advice?

Thanks to you all :) and best of luck with your weight loss!!
xxx

'LOVED' meals

Echidna — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:18:06 GMT

Wow, how TF has changed! I noticed this time around (I'm a repeat offender!:D) we're allowed a 'LOVED' meal!

So, what's yours and how often do you eat it? :)

Why am I not Losing Weight

WoodyB — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 12:57:33 GMT

WHY AM I NOT LOSING WEIGHT?

Following are a few points that may help you understand why you may not have lost weight at your last weigh in

* Not drinking at least 2 litres of water

* Having bread, rice, pasta, crackers, breakfast cereals

* Having fruit juice

* Having alcohol

* Mixing shakes with milk rather than water

* Having dairy products eg. milk, etc

* Having more than 2 fruits per day, fruits not on the allowed list or larger servings

* Certain medications

* Having mainly or too many carrots as your veggie requirement

* Having potatoes, or more than the aloowed serves of peas, pumpkin and sweet potato

* Eating to many nuts or seeds (refer to your good fats guide)

* Havings honey or sugar in tea/decaffeinated coffee/shakes

* Having chickpeas, kidney or cannelloni beans

* Consuming too much dressing, sauces, mayo, gravies etc or those with greater than 5g carbs per serve

* Having baked beans

* Too many treat options or having them too often

* Having more than one coffee per day or having more than 3 cups of normal tea per day

* Having lots of tea/decaff coffee with milk so that total milk intake is high

* Having normal soft drinks rather than having diet and caffeine free versions

* Having powdered soups available from supermarket

* Having regular jelly instead of diet jelly

* Skipping meals

* Exercising? - If you exercise a lot, this can increase muscle mass. Muscle weighs more than fat - so you may have lost fat but built muscle, which makes you appear heavier on the scales but you should find that your clothes will feel loser as you go along!!! ( you will need to follow our exercise guidelines)

I hope this helps you guys better understand some of the things that will impact on the amount of weight you lose at the end of each week.

Kind regards,

Tony Ferguson Staff

Emotional eating

Brookie24 — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:04:18 GMT

Hi all,

I have confirmed today what I suspected which is that I am an emotional eater
I was having a rough day today but have not swayed and have stick tight?

Does anyone else do this? And how do you cope/deal with it?

Thanks
Brooke

Tummy pains

Leeann Naubereit — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:44:47 GMT

I have a colon problem, does anyone else get pain from the TF diet? my tummy is really not happy and not sure what I shoud do.

Echidna's progress - 1st week on the program

Echidna — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 18:40:16 GMT

Hi al, day 4 on the program for me...it's going well, no cheating but I am beginning to feel hungry around the 5:30pm mark...we always have dinner at 7pm.
Any ideas for a healthy snack which won't break my hard work? :)

Calories

Emmy-Lou — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 08:22:41 GMT

How many calories are we allowed on TF?

Helpful Hints

sxclaura — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:26:28 GMT

Hi there,

I thought I would post a few things I have learnt that are helping me lose weight. So far I am losing a 1kg a week average. I have been on TF for about 6months now but fell off the wagon. Now I am back on stronger than ever. Here are a few things that are helping me on my journey.

Water - At first it was really hard to drink 2 litres of water every day. I bought a 2L bottle and would try to make sure i drank it by the end of each night. However the size of that bottle is HUGE and used to put me off, now i carry a 600ml bottle and everytime it`s empty I refill it! I am now drinking 3L everyday with ease. Also i like to play with different herbal tea flavours, to mix things up.

Sleep - If I dont get at least 8 hours of sleep each night, not only am I drained, but I find myself searching for that extra energy in the wrong foods. I crave bread and pasta when i am sleepy, and can only put it down to an energy need. If any of you are the same, perhaps this is why.

Snacks - In between breaky lunch and dinner i do find myself searching the cubourds for something to snack on. And so my tastiest snack is grilled veggies. Also helps to boost the intake we need. My favourite veggies are brocolli and cauliflower, which can get very boring. So I steam them so they are cooked but still crunchy, and then sprinkle them with herbs, my favourites at the moment are cracked pepper and garlic, or garlic and cayene pepper, toss the veggies in the mix and then put under the grill until they are crispy. A very tasty snack and you can experiment with all kinds of flavours!

I also seem to be eating a pack of jelly night ! I like to put fruit in the bottom of the bowl first to make it interesting.

Exercise - I have a cross trainer and a weight bench. I was using both on alternitive days, however my weightloss slowed completly even though I was eating an extra serve of fruit etc. Now i walk at a normal pace around my neighbourhood for 30mins every day and I am losing 1 - 1.5kgs a week.

This forum - I used to browse the forums but not take much interest. Now I am on everyday and I learn so much from everybody. An extremley useful and enjoyable outlet!

These are the things I have learnt so far on my TF journey. I hope maybe they can help any newbies that are still finding their feet on the program ;)
I will update more as I discover more :) 7kgs down - 10kg to go !!

Laura x :cool:

PS; TOILET ROLLS!! haha, i have to buy bulk loo rolls now im drinking so much water. Also I have been told to drink cold water as the body absorbes it better ! x

50KG here I come

MidnightPoisonx — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 10:38:25 GMT

So I read that noting stuff down makes one eat healthy and I thought I should try and make it public so if anyone wants can correct me if I am doing anything wrong.

Currently I'm 18 turning 19 soon. I'm 162cm tall and at the moment 68.5KG.
My aim is to lose around 18.5KG in 5 months.

So here I go now :)

Janines food diary and blog

janine62 — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:49:29 GMT

Well here goes....been on the forums and TF for about 5 months now. I started at 71.5kgs and as of last Wednesday I was 58.2kgs.

Ive had many a slip up along the way since about the first 2-3 months where I did not stray from the programme at all.

Ive lost 17cms from my waist, going from 92cms to 75cms.

Ive decided to not eat strictly TF friendly , but try to maintain the low G.I , no carbs after 2-3pm and still drink at least 2lts of water per day.

My calorie intake will be between 1200-1500 per day, all going to plan.;)

Today I have had the following.

1 Tea CALORIES

TF shake and fibre 220

1 Banana 100

1 Munch bar 220

2 slices Burgen toast w- dry fried eggs First eggs my chickens have ever laid, so I had to try them :D 380

Homemade Zucchini and leek soup 130

Rubarb and apple (stewed w- sweetener) and 1/2 tub diet yoghurt 110

TOTAL for day

1160 approx

Day isnt over yet lol, so will edit later if need be

Cheers Janine

Moods

Sammysnails — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:59:26 GMT

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced bad mood swings? I started Tony Ferguson about a week ago now and I've just been so moody and feeling less energetic sometimes. Could it be cause my body is detoxing from so much crap?

Thanks in advance :D

Weight loss on scales but no visible changes

AyoB — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 07:18:28 GMT

Hey everyone!

I lost 4kg in my first week and I am having my second weigh-in on Friday. So far I have been very faithful to the diet (just been having a little more fruit as I am own with the flu). The scales say that my body fat has dropped as well but I do not see any physical changes. Is it too soon? Or in something wrong? Please help!! Because I am already getting discouraged :crying:

Thank you

Chromium does it work or is it just a placebo?

Eleven — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 19:07:09 GMT

I thought i would do everything right this time and do TF exactly as prescribed anyway its been over two weeks i have rejoined and somedays i forget to take chromium or whatever its called and i still not getting any mad cravings but if i miss that multivitamin i feel like a like a wilting tulip for most of the day .

Whats peoples opinion on Chromium?

Missing fruit snacks

Mama fish — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 20:45:13 GMT

Hi :)
I've just started TF and keep forgetting to take my fruit snacks with me to work.
I've never been a "snacker" so it's something a bit weird to *have* to eat something.
So if I forget to have a snack am I meant to add it in somewhere else or just skip over it and try to remember the next one?

NO Headache

butterfly kisses 1 — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:53:24 GMT

I notice that most people suffer from headaches in the first few days. I haven't had one at all and im on day three. Did everyone suffer these ??

First timer - my journey!

LaurenCT — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 06:33:53 GMT

Hi all,

After scouring these great posts for days, I thought that adding a topic would provide some added motivation to keep going! It's my first day today, and I've been surprisingly full all day! Is that strange?

I think during the day today went well, but I feel like I've already cheated with dinner - 1 day in :(

Had a banana shake for breakfast (Yum! Tastes like Banana Super M), but then realised half way through that I hadn't added fibre, and then added 2tsps to the last bit of shake - it was horrific! Does anyone have any other tips on how to get the fibre down, as I really don't like the thick consistency it gives the shake. Had strawberries for snack, and then Mocha shake & stir-fry veg for lunch, with some Jelly and and an apple in the afternoon. For dinner, I made notatoes, and had this with steamed veg & gemsquash, and (here's the problem), I made fresh meatballs that I got from Woolies. Only 3g of carbs per 100g, but I think they may have been a bit oily. I think I'll stick to super lean proteins from now on - especially the first few week! I think the notatoes are actually okay, but they taste so good that it feels like it should be unhealthy...

First weigh in is in a week - obvious worst fears of not losing (or worse, gaining!). Also have our Christmas party coming up on Thursday - not an ideal time of the year to begin, but here's hoping I can pull through. May have to go for a long walk/jog tomorrow (and another million times this week!) for my sins.

Let me know if you have any great tips, or if you're new on the program - would be great to get in touch!

X

Weight loss supplements/pills

ElishaD — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 17:25:39 GMT

Hi just wondering if anyone has come across a good fat burner when you hit a plateau.. Tried cutting out the fruit, Drinking more water, exercising more, just can't seem to budge the last 5 kgs ta.

Hi everyone

rachelb84 — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 10:26:14 GMT

Hi everyone, im rachel, im not really new here, did tony 3 years ago got great results but my hubby left so i gained alot of weight due to stress, im starting again.. I just wanted to come in here quickly while im at work and find out, i have a new job and have found myself snacking at my desk, is it ok to eat cherries?? if so how many can we have per day.. thanks.. ill be on tonight to introduce myself properly lol :)

Do you get stomach issues?

stouflette — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:15:50 GMT

Hello,

I was just wandering if other people get stomach pain while on the diet? It feels like my stomach is contracted all the time. Really not pleasant.

Thanks a mill' !

Hi, new and excited!

DaniBear — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:05:33 GMT

Hi everyone,

I'm new to TF and pretty excited. I started last Thursday after signing up with Vicky in Shellharbour store. I haven't had any issue with the program so far, am enjoying the shake flavours, all but the Mango.

Anyway, I want to have my weigh in day on a Monday so I popped in to the store to weigh this morning so that from next week it's a weekly thing... to my surprise I have lost 2.4kgs in the space of 4 days! How fantastic is that, I've not had any other program work as fast in such a short amount of time. I have done them all, fingers crossed I just hadn't found the right one until now. I am hoping I can lose around 20-25kgs and am not to worried how long it takes me.

I am 34 years old, am a mother of 2 young children aged 5 and 3 and am caring for my mother (along side my father) who has recently had a brain tumor removed and diagnosed as Glioblastoma. It's hard going and maybe not the right time to attempt to lose weight but I need to do something to keep me focused and busy instead of constantly worrying about others.

Drop me a message if you fancy a chat, I am at my laptop on and off during my busy day as a Mum and always keen to get some hints and tips.

Thanks guys

Dani

Will the Ab Circle Pro help me lose 15kg within 3 weeks?

Lady Jovial — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 12:56:03 GMT

Hi..

I have an Ab Circle Pro at home and I have just started using it yesterday.. Christmas and the Summer holidays are coming up and I need to lose 15kg within 3 weeks..
I am 25 years old and I am a young mother of 3 my eldest is 9 and my youngest is 7months.. (do the math, hence young mum) People say I am not over weight but I feel I am and I have a double chin that I hate and I want to get rid of it ASAP!!!!..

I have had a good think about it and I have realised I need to take care of myself more as well as my family..Yesterday I started a steady diet and I am only eating small healthy meals during the day and I am working out more.
I have also come up with 3 Major Health and Fitness rules which are:

1. SUCK IN, BREATH OUT. Means suck in my tummy and breath out all day..
2. MOVE MORE, EAT LESS. Means workout more and eat less..
3. SLEEP EARLY, WAKE EARLY. Means have an early night ready and refreshed for the day ahead..

I just need to know am I doing it right? Are my Rules Realistic? And will this work if I work hard enough??
Please give me some advise, tips, words of encouragement, anything just help me, Please!!

Kind Regards
Lady Jovial.

New Start VS Old Program

TakingControl — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:17:31 GMT

Hi there
just wondering if anyone is still on the old program or is everyone now doing new start? in 2009 on the old program i lost 27kg and am hesitant to do the new program only because knowing myself I need the boundaries of the old program and not introducing all the yummy food i love because i then go overboard (does this make sense?) can we still do the old program?
Thanks in advance :)

Nosp's Weight-loss Journey

nosy — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 18:41:45 GMT

[b]Hi everyone, I’ve decided I’m going to start blogging about my weight-loss Journey.
Growing up I was very skinny and ate a lot not knowing that it was going to catch up with me one day. In high school I started gaining weight. I have 2 sisters who are skinny and I was always the biggest one out of all my friends at school, so you can imagine how low my self esteem was. And then after school I went to tertiary and my weight stayed then same, and then I started working 2007 that was when all hell broke loose! I gained and gained and gained and gained because I had my own money, I could buy what ever I wanted with it. I was in charge now.

2008 I realized that I was gaining so I decided to join a local weight-loss group in my area and around that time I weighed 68kg. Well it didn’t last at all and I gained more weight. 2010 I got engaged and wanted to loose weight desperately; my friend and I decided to do the cabbage soup diet which did work. 2011 March I got married my wedding dress was 12.

2011 June I found out I was pregnant I gained a lot of weight during my pregnancy. I gave birth to a beautiful baby gal and I weighed 85 kg, well I thought I was at least going to go back to my normal weight which was 70 kg, instead I gained even more. I didn’t like going shopping anymore; none of my clothes fitted me anymore, I was depressed, embarrassed to go out in public. I weighed 93.6 kg. A friend of my told me about TF, we both joined so that we can support each other. I’ve been on TF for 3 weeks already and I’ve lost 2.6 kg. Looking forward to the lower numbers LOL I can’t wait to weigh 60 kg again.[/b]

Just started..Im starving??? HELP

Kirb — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 12:55:55 GMT

I only started TF 2 weeks ago and I have lost just over 1kg but I am starving..is this how I should feel?? Could people please give me a look at an estimated daily food routine from breakfast to dessert so I can figure out wether Im on the right track or not?? Please help me:(

Week one done - any tips to help improve weight loss

Mitch26a — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:46:01 GMT

Hello,

Well I have done my first week and have lost 4lb/1.8Kgs. I am VERY happy to have lost this but am fully aware that you normally loose the most in the first week so have kind of hoped for a pound or two more. I know I should just be grateful to have lost some weight so I do feel a bit bad for complaining.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any tips? I am also concerned that I might be eating too much!! Below is a typical day, have I missed the point?

Tropical Cereal
1 Apple
Shake
½ Jelly
Beef in Red wine from the TF cook book (tastes really good) with loads of veg (courgette, grilled tomatoes, Broccoli)
10 Strawberries and 10 Grapes (this is half a portion of each as far as I am aware)
2L of water
Possible have some mushrooms or tomatoes in the day if feel like need a snack.

I thought all of this was ok but it does seem like a lot of food, the diet almost seems too easy!!!

So if anyone can help I will be grateful of any tips. I can increase my exercise so I am going to try that this week anyway.

As a side note just want to warn anyone who has not tried this and might be tempted. Today I added hot water to my milkshake to see if hot water dissolved the powder better. It seems that hot water makes the shake react strange and my shaker exploded and spat shake all over me!! I won’t be doing that again.

Look forward to hearing from you

Michelle

Help

Shaissy — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 14:11:17 GMT

Hi everyone I've just started again after a few yrs and its changed ALOT first week I lost 2.7 then I weighed in today and only lost 700grams I must admit I'm
Feeling very disheartened last time it fell off and this time is proving to be a lot more difficult I'm having a 2 sake or bars 2 peices of fruit and my protien meal at dinner and 2ltr of water I don't know where I'm goin. Wrong I don't have the book with free foods in it as money's tight ATM just trying to remember from b4 any ideas thanks :-)

Bread...

KateLou — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 11:06:10 GMT

Can someone please tell me how often i can have bread? I bought some pumkin seed/grain bread & had a slice yesterday with my soup...can i have a slice everyday or only a few times a week?

Hoping to get an answer before lunch!!

Thanks :)

Snack bars

Doreens — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 16:06:12 GMT

Are the Tony ferguson Snack bars 25g meal replacment. Oops just ate the Berry Delite maybe I should not have eaten it. It was yummy thou ??

Why The Scales Lie

MommaPug — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 11:58:32 GMT

WHY THE SCALES LIE :exclamationmark::D

We’ve been told over an over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can’t resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can’t bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence it’s readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale.

Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body’s water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don’t understand what’s happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto it’s water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water.

Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. A single teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium. Generally, we should only eat between 1,000 and 3,000 mg of sodium a day, so it’s easy to go overboard. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn’t have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts, 460 mg in the pudding versus 123 mg in the nuts. The more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content. That’s why, when it comes to eating, it’s wise to stick mainly to the basics: fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, and whole grains. Be sure to read the labels on canned foods, boxed mixes, and frozen dinners.

Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum.

Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and it’s packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it’s stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates. As the glycogen supply shrinks you will experience a small imperceptible increase in appetite and your body will restore this fuel reserve along with it’s associated water. It’s normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you’re prone to obsessing over the number on the scale.

Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it’s wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different than putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It’s the actual weight of everything you’ve had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you’ve finished digesting it.

Exercise physiologists tell us that in order to store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than your body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store the above dinner as 5 pounds of fat, it would have to contain a whopping 17,500 calories. This is not likely, in fact it’s not humanly possible. So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, it’s likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner. Keep in mind that the 3,500 calorie rule works in reverse also. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Generally, it’s only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it’s physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you’re really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle.

This brings us to the scale’s sneakiest attribute. It doesn’t just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose "weight," that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you’ve lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you’re just sitting around. That’s one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue.

Robin Landis, author of "Body Fueling," compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn’t differentiate between the two. It can’t tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat. There are several other measuring techniques that can accomplish this, although they vary in convenience, accuracy, and cost. Skin-fold calipers pinch and measure fat folds at various locations on the body, hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing involves exhaling all of the air from your lungs before being lowered into a tank of water, and bioelectrical impedance measures the degree to which your body fat impedes a mild electrical current.

If the thought of being pinched, dunked, or gently zapped just doesn’t appeal to you, don’t worry. The best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don’t be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride. It’s a matter of mind over scale.

Bit disappointed :(

mrslovetobe — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 20:31:28 GMT

I'm a bit disappointed, my fiances mother is in hospital at the moment and every single time we go in to see her we all come back ill, either with a chest infection or whatever...this time we all came back with Diahorrea and Vomiting. It was my first week on the Tony Ferguson weightloss programme and because I was sick I had to go back to eating normal food again instead of the shakes to allow my body to heal itself. Thing is I am a bit gutted because I know I wont have lost as much as I could have. I know it doesn't matter because I can obviously start again next week but for once in my life I was looking forward to getting on those scales knowing I had done really well, only now it wont be a true reflection of that.

I guess the easiest way to explain how I am feeling is, I am disheartened as I have really stuck to the plan when I didn't think I would be able to do it, only to be forced back to my old ways because of this stupid bug!!!

I'm frustrated!!!!

Newbie first time thoughts

Laurenp — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 20:07:06 GMT

I can actually wait for the 12th of October 2012, that's when I start. The thought of getting rid of bad habits and losing 10kg to be my normal weight is not allot but just thinking about replacing meals... OMW!!!! This is my last week enjoying FATTY and UNHEALTHY meals. I'm just going to enjoy this while it lasts, hopefully it doesn't kill me. LOL!

Till next weeks post will let every know i it went. :D

Your Newbie
Lauren :pinch:

Need some Help

lana232012 — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 19:59:54 GMT

Hey all , I have recently Started the tony feruson and have been on it for a week now but prior to it for 5 weeks i was having a low carb shake and walking everyday for 40 mintues pretty much eating what tony ferguson has and i felt fine .. but since going on tony ferguson i have had , dizziness , headaches like a pressure build up in my head and nausiated feeling , I have Polycystic ovary syndrome . The tony ferguson staff made my diet into that category and i still feel terrbile , I also had my weigh in and i have only lost 1 kg yet in the whole week i have walked 19 km .. What is going on can anyone offer some help please ?;)

How much have you lost?

grace24 — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 08:39:47 GMT

Hi everyone,

I was wondering how much weight you have lost so far ? I find it very motivating :D

I'm on day 3 and I have already lost 1.6 kg and 1% body fat!

help first week weigh in and gained? why?

sunshneabbie — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 14:57:23 GMT

Hi everyone this is my first week on TF and I have followed it too the letter, even weighing my meat portions and measuring everything that goes in my mouth. I was so excited to go to weigh in this morning and dressed in the exact same cloths as last. I stood on the sale and GAINED 400 grams??? I was devastated! Has this happened to anyone else and if so why is this, i have go through the fourm and found some postings that have points of reasons but i have tick them all..

My starting weight was 110.1 and my weigh in today was 110.4 it was even the exact same time of day, early morning... feeling very disheartened especially when I read that on other posts there is huge first week losses.

Any help would be great. thanks in advance...