Please give me a boost

righty_tighty

I'm on week 7 of a diet/workout regimen and I'm stalled...and I shouldn't be because tha booty is big. Like, my goals are losing 60 pounds big.

I'm eating at a deficit- my BMR is 1850, I'm eating 1250-1500 daily. I do have the odd high-sodium day, but calories are alright. I weigh and measure food, Drink 100 ounces of water daily, I workout 4-6 times a week, cardio AND weights. I do 25-30 minutes of HIIT on the elliptical and work up a decent sweat, I do a weight circuit and lift high, I try to get 2-3 reps of 10 at each station... simple process of elimination says I'm building muscle, but dammit! The scale isn't budging! I'm down 13 pounds, but the past week has been gaining and losing the same 2-3 pounds back and forth.

Am I doing too much? On the odd occasions I haven't been able to go to the gym, I drop 1-2 pounds overnight. I'm big enough that I should be losing faster with a caloric deficit, but I'm not.

Advice? Suggestions?

jacksonpt

How long have you been stalled? Weight loss isn't linear, and often times doesn't line up with the oversimplified math we like to use regarding cals in/cals out. If you're honest with yourself about your diet and exercise, and you feel good about what you're doing, then you probably just need to give it more time.

righty_tighty

Seven days. And, okay, in admitting that I can acknowledge that I seem to be impatient...but I feel like I'm doing a lot of work for zero results. Could it actually be that I'm building muscle? I mean, could it work that rapidly? I guess I had this idea that I'd slim down before I started adding muscle.

jacksonpt

Could you be building muscle? Possibly, but not enough of it, or fast enough, to be counteracting weight loss. People routinely see significant loss early, then a stretch of little to no loss, then a slower but more consistent (relatively speaking) loss.

Lots of work for little results is a common feeling, especially when you're just starting out. There is a fairly significant learning curve for a lot of people in how much work it takes and the patience that are required to lose weight. Stick with it... it's worth it in the end.

righty_tighty

Thanks, I appreciate the advice.

MFP says I should be eating 1900 calories a day; frankly, I feel like that's a lot, even on workout days, considering how much I have to lose. Am I sabotaging myself if I eat lower?