Confused about what to do

KCGgirl1

I joined MFP 3 weeks ago (today is the first day of week 4). The first week, I lost 4.1 pounds, the second week I lost 2.3 pounds and last week I only lost 1.3 pounds. I eat the daily number of calories (1220) that I have been given and once in a while, I will eat back SOME of my exercise calories. I have been exercising 5 or 6 days a week for at least 30 minutes a day. I am not understanding why my weight loss has dropped by half every week. I am listed as sedentary right now, but am wondering if I should change to lightly active. I am afraid to eat more and then end up gaining weight. Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated!

sunandstars2

i believe you're in the same boat as most other new users... getting used to how all of this works. it's a process! first of all, anything over a pound or 2 per week would be considered a lot of weight to lose on a week to week basis, unless you are very heavy. it sounds like you are using the site correctly .. eating what it tells you (not less) and adding your exercize calories back in. that's exactly what you should be doing! for anyone to offer you more advice, you might share your age, currrent weight, goal weight, what types of exercize you're doing, etc.

marm1962

If you haven't been eating all that healthy and drinking plenty of fluids, then most likely that first week 1/2 of your weight loss was water weight

blankiefinder

If you're not losing at your expected rate at your current calorie deficit, you wouldn't want to change your activity level upward.

Are you weighing your food with a food scale? This is probably the single most important step to keeping under your calorie limit.

Lots of helpful posts stickied at the top of the various forums, here is one:
Logging Accuracy, Consistency, and You're Probably Eating More than you Think

Ready2Rock206

Normal to lose a large amount quickly and then taper off to a more realistic number. Sounds like you're doing just fine. 1.3 pounds is a great loss.

999tigger

Because you always lose some water weight at the beginning. Those are great losses. Weight loss isnt linear and weight loss is going to be more in the range of 1-2 on a good week. Stay at sedentary you are doing nothing to indicate why you think you should increase to lightly active. the exercise doesnt count for activity settings.

rhondamitchellrealestate

What the others are saying makes sense. I'm also wondering if your exercise might be building muscle (muscle weighs more than fat, so you very well could be shaping) up but not necessarily seeing the pounds come off).

vs161l5

Add me if u want

omegaoutlaw

Finding a balance of a good caloric intake and workout combo takes awhile! Everyone is different. Just make sure to eat enough, not eating enough will not help you out and you'll break down. I personally know this from experience when I first started out. If you have some time and money I recommend finding a gym/health coach that can do a body analysis and create a roadmap to success for you! Good luck!

KCGgirl1

Thank you everyone! The reason I was considering raising my activity level I have a friend who is also on MFP and she has been telling me that she loses better at a higher calorie level even though her lifestyle is similar to mine. Will just breathe and see what happens.

Childfree1991

Same thing happened to me when I lost weight. What happens is when you lose weight, your BMR (basal metabolic rate) decreases. Your BMR is how many calories your body automatically burns on a daily basis (not counting exercise). The more weight you lose, the more your BMR drops, therefor the less calories your body automatically burns on a daily basis, which will result to slower weight loss. It also has to do with your ideal weight. The closer you get to your ideal weight, the harder it becomes to lose weight. Think of a deflating balloon. The first few seconds of air come out fast and in large amounts, then slowly the remaining air releases (a few small "puffs"). For the record, slow weight loss is healthier than fast weight loss.

ndj1979

you have lost eight pounds in just about four weeks which is about two pounds a week average….

not really sure what the issue is here….

blankiefinder

Childfree1991 wrote: »

Same thing happened to me when I lost weight. What happens is when you lose weight, your BMR (basal metabolic rate) decreases. Your BMR is how many calories your body automatically burns on a daily basis (not counting exercise). The more weight you lose, the more your BMR drops, therefor the less calories your body automatically burns on a daily basis, which will result to slower weight loss. It also has to do with your ideal weight. The closer you get to your ideal weight, the harder it becomes to lose weight. Think of a deflating balloon. The first few seconds of air come out fast and in large amounts, then slowly the remaining air releases (a few small "puffs"). For the record, slow weight loss is healthier than fast weight loss.

She's only lost 8 pounds. Her calorie limit will have dropped about 6 calories, not going to make a difference.

Be happy with an average of 2 lbs per week, weigh your food, log, and be patient.

KCGgirl1

Been thinking that perhaps I wasn't exactly clear as to what my concern was. I am happy with the nearly 8 pound weight loss in 3 weeks. My concern was that each week, my weight loss has dropped by half. If it continues to do so, within 2 weeks, I will no longer be losing anything. I guess I was looking for someone to tell me that it is perfectly normal to have a decrease in weight loss during the first 3 weeks - which I don't feel it is. I still have 82 pounds left to lose, so it is not like trying to lose the "last 10".
Does everyone eat back all of their exercise calories everyday? Because for the most part, I try to stay within my daily limit and not eat back the calories I have burned through exercise. A friend has told me that perhaps my weight loss has slowed because I am not eating enough. Any thoughts?

Childfree1991

It might be because you are not eating enough but...what type of exercises are you doing? If you do cardio, I suggest resistance training (aka muscle building). Muscle feeds on calories and burns fat even at rest. The more muscle you have, the more calories you can eat while slimming down. You will need a good amount of protein in your daily diet though. I used to count calories as well and it didn't turn out too well so I stopped counting and did resistance training, lifting weights, etc. Have lost over 60 pounds and almost half my body fat. I eat well over 1500 calories a day (for sure). I suggest you give resistance training a try.

blankiefinder

chefk2012 wrote: »

Been thinking that perhaps I wasn't exactly clear as to what my concern was. I am happy with the nearly 8 pound weight loss in 3 weeks. My concern was that each week, my weight loss has dropped by half. If it continues to do so, within 2 weeks, I will no longer be losing anything. I guess I was looking for someone to tell me that it is perfectly normal to have a decrease in weight loss during the first 3 weeks - which I don't feel it is. I still have 82 pounds left to lose, so it is not like trying to lose the "last 10".
Does everyone eat back all of their exercise calories everyday? Because for the most part, I try to stay within my daily limit and not eat back the calories I have burned through exercise. A friend has told me that perhaps my weight loss has slowed because I am not eating enough. Any thoughts?

It is definitely normal to drop a lot more weight the first week or two. Water and glycogen stores, plus fat and muscle loss.

I would include some strength training to minimize muscle loss, eat at least .8 g of protein per pound of lean muscle mass, use a food scale to weigh all of your food and eat back 50% of your cardio calories if you're using a food scale and logging accurately.

That is what I did and I lost 1.5 pounds a week every week for 5 months. Faster than my goal probably because of the 50% plus logging accurately but I prefer to keep the margin of error and lose faster than expected than lose slower.

blankiefinder

Though if you plan to lose weight aggressively and have your calories set at 1200 you might have to eat back more than 50%

s005

Chefk, dont get discouraged, I started the same way and even have weeks where I don't lose. The main thing is don't stop if you are creating better habits, thats going to help. I've lost 35 so far and the same principle has kept me going. Sure, it will get harder but you should be proud of where you are at week 3! And even if its 1.3 per week, thats good. Slow is not bad.

prgirl39mfp

I think your weight loss is going great so far. I have had to make adjustments depending on my exercise level. I have noticed that bringing my protein intake up a notch has helped me loose and also adding an extra 30 minutes to my work out. It is a learning process and you will eventually figure it out. Slow progress is still progress. Do not let that discourage you. Eat right and move your body. That is what works. Add me If you like.