Coping with 1lb a week :/

AmyP619

I'm lucky if I lose 2 lbs a month........
1lb a week is a lot!

Kristi858

Dear Lord EAT MORE! 1200 calories a day is below your BMR so your body is basically holding on to everything it can because it thinks you're starving it to death!! I know when I tried 1200 I actually GAINED weight! Now I eat between 1700 and 1900 a day and the weight is steadily coming off.
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

__Di__

I am trying to remain positive as I have been working out daily (sometimes twice a day) for about 3 months now and have been consistent on losing only about 1 sometimes 2 pounds a week. I am keeping my calories at 1200 goal per day and most days (6 out of 7) am under that goal. I am proud of myself for sticking to the plan and feel my body changing as I now have endurance, strength, and can tell my body is changing but the numbers are not what I hoped for. I wanted to be at my goal of 30 pounds down by now but perhaps this is how it's supposed to be to have "real" change in my health and habits? I know that ideally "they" say it's healthy to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week in order to keep it off but I am mentally having a hard time with it. I am 5'8 and started at 202lbs and am down to 186. I will keep up the work and it has been WORK as I have cried and yelled at the DVDs (body pump and Jillian) it's just a little depressing to not see the numbers go down as fast. My mom is doing the 17 day diet and has already gone from 203 to 189....which has also depressed me a bit. Even though I know her's is likely water weight mostly. Anyways, anyone else dealing with the same type thing or have any suggestions?

1lb to 2lbs per week weightloss is superb, especially if it is consistently every week!

Forget what you mum is losing or anybody else for that matter, what is important is that you losing at a completely steady rate and what would be expected.

vingogly

1-2 pounds is normal weight loss. That's what I lose when I watch my sugar and refined carbs, log everything I eat, and exercise. My suggestion is: put your scale in the closet and haul it out once a month for a weigh-in. Seriously; if it's discouraging you to weigh in frequently, you're not doing yourself any favors. You're making a lifestyle change, not competing in a contest with relatives, friends, the angels, or people here n MFP. Ask yourself: what are you going to do when you've reached your goal weight? What permanent changes are you going to make in your life ... those are the ones you should be working on now, in my opinion. If you kill yourself exercising, are you going to be able to keep that up for the long haul?

I did my first "diet" when I started work at my first job, in 1965. 48 years later, I've been on a lot of "diets" ... and I've regained it all over the years. Conclusion: diets don't work; you can't split your life into a dieting and non-dieting portion, because you'll find yourself looking forward to the time when "you won't have to diet any more". That in any case is how it's always been for me.

Your mom has lost 16 pounds in 17 days? That's nearly a pound a day ... and a pound of fat has 3500 calories in it. The only way to lose fat that quickly is to suck it out ...which means, it's almost all water weight in her case. The following article (linked below) suggest sthat a 38 year old woman who exercises heavily may burn 1888 calories in a day ... if you're taking in 1200 calories, that means you're burning 688 calories in a day. That's a weight loss of (guess what?) about 1.3 pounds/week. At least that's how I read the numbers.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/307927-how-many-calories-does-the-average-female-adult-burn-per-day/

And here's an article on calculating the number of calories you need per day based on the BMR mentioned in a post above:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/541609-is-1-200-calories-enough-for-active-young-women/

Oh, and by the way, not eating is not "being good". A lot of people I see on these forums fall into the trap of seeing food as the enemy, and indulging in a favorite food as a "sin". There's nothing wrong with a bowl of ice cream ... as long as you don't make it a pint a day. There's nothing wrong with a piece of chocolate cake ... as long as you don't have a slice every day. For me, a large part of the process has been learning that it's a matter of eating when I'm hungry, eating what I like and enjoying it, stopping when I'm satisfied. It's not just what I eat, in other words, it's about my relationship to what I eat.

stephgcox

1-2 pounds is normal weight loss. That's what I lose when I watch my sugar and refined carbs, log everything I eat, and exercise. My suggestion is: put your scale in the closet and haul it out once a month for a weigh-in. Seriously; if it's discouraging you to weigh in frequently, you're not doing yourself any favors. You're making a lifestyle change, not competing in a contest with relatives, friends, the angels, or people here n MFP. Ask yourself: what are you going to do when you've reached your goal weight? What permanent changes are you going to make in your life ... those are the ones you should be working on now, in my opinion. If you kill yourself exercising, are you going to be able to keep that up for the long haul?

I did my first "diet" when I started work at my first job, in 1965. 48 years later, I've been on a lot of "diets" ... and I've regained it all over the years. Conclusion: diets don't work; you can't split your life into a dieting and non-dieting portion, because you'll find yourself looking forward to the time when "you won't have to diet any more". That in any case is how it's always been for me.

Your mom has lost 16 pounds in 17 days? That's nearly a pound a day ... and a pound of fat has 3500 calories in it. The only way to lose fat that quickly is to suck it out ...which means, it's almost all water weight in her case. The following article (linked below) suggest sthat a 38 year old woman who exercises heavily may burn 1888 calories in a day ... if you're taking in 1200 calories, that means you're burning 688 calories in a day. That's a weight loss of (guess what?) about 1.3 pounds/week. At least that's how I read the numbers.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/307927-how-many-calories-does-the-average-female-adult-burn-per-day/

And here's an article on calculating the number of calories you need per day based on the BMR mentioned in a post above:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/541609-is-1-200-calories-enough-for-active-young-women/

Oh, and by the way, not eating is not "being good". A lot of people I see on these forums fall into the trap of seeing food as the enemy, and indulging in a favorite food as a "sin". There's nothing wrong with a bowl of ice cream ... as long as you don't make it a pint a day. There's nothing wrong with a piece of chocolate cake ... as long as you don't have a slice every day. For me, a large part of the process has been learning that it's a matter of eating when I'm hungry, eating what I like and enjoying it, stopping when I'm satisfied. It's not just what I eat, in other words, it's about my relationship to what I eat.

Thank you so much for the articles and advice. I need to look at food as fuel not the enemy and that is something I am learning. I have worked very hard to be where I am and am thankful to know that my mom has lost water and I will soon pass her as I don't see her quick fix as something I want (even though it sure would be nice!) as I am looking for a long term fix. I think I'll go reward myself tonight with some Sweet Frog!

A_Fit_Mom

1 pound a week is great. Especially after losing a lot. I started with a 2 pounds or more a week at first. But with this last few weeks or so, I am at 1 pound a week. But I know I am going to keep it off, since it is slow and steady. I have lost 23 pounds now and I started at 185 in March. (My ticker is messed up and not showing my update today ..but it is 23 lost)

Once your body gets use to losing weight, it won't be as fast as before. But you are losing..so that us great. Just think that if you continue at 1 pound a week..in a few months you will be down 12 pounds. You and I are the same height..so you are only 22 pounds away from a normal BMI...which does make it harder to lose..especially after you have already been on a weightloss journey.

Keep at it, you will continue to lose.

Ultragirl2374

1-2 lbs a week sounds like you are doing great!!! Don't give up! Slow and steady wins the race !