normal weight loss in first week

madamrooroo

Hi. I've been on a 1760 calorie intake for my first week as was 14st 1lb. I have been really good sticking to it and logging everything that I ate or drank. Noted down any exercise. Well it was weigh in day this morning, and I am now 13st 7lb! Is it normal to lose so much weight in the first week of a calorie controlled diet? I never went over my daily calories in fact I was always a good 100-150 under. Will I notice a plateau as you might say in the coming weeks? Thanks

CM_73

I lost 8lbs in my first logged week. Most of it is water/excess food etc but it's still a nice little confidence booster!
Yes, you want't see such large losses in the next couple of weeks (nor would you want to!) but it will be "real" weight coming off as well as water then.
Well done, keep it up

dizzieblondeuk

I started at a very similar weight, and lost 6lb in my first two week. After 8 weeks, I've lost 13lb, which is right where I want to be. It's basically mostly water weight in the beginning, and the 'true' weight loss will start after a couple of weeks of this kind of numbers. But it's a good start to any weight loss program, and will certainly continue downwards, at a slightly slower pace, in the foreseeable future, if you keep up your deficit.

Try not to be too far under that calorie amount - it's not a limit, it's a target! You should aim to hit it most days, or eat back anything under target at some point in the week. So you could have an extra 500 calories at the weekend, because you've been at a higher deficit throughout the week. I have to remember this, as keeping weight loss at or under 2lb per week is the key to having a long term sustained weight loss.

Liftng4Lis

Yes, it's normal for your body to initially drop water. It will stable off.

nordlead2005

What happens when most people start counting calories (or dieting in general) is that they go from snacking on all sorts of pre-processsed, high sodium, snacks, to either not snacking, or eating healthy snacks, like fruit. Carb intake also typically drops. The lower electrolyte level means your body can release some of the water it is holding onto. And the lower food intake means less solid waste in your body. Both combine to show a loss of a decent amount of weight right off the bat.

True weight loss does start right off the bat though. If you were targeting 1.5lb/week loss and counted correctly (and you had a spot on estimate), then you probably lost 1.5lb of body mass and the rest of water or solid waste.

You will definitely have days where you lose no weight (or even gain weight). I went 2 weeks fluctuating over a 2lb range. That is just non-body mass weight fluctuations hiding my actual body mass loss, but most people wouldn't call that a real plateau. Most people say they hit a plateau when it is 1 month or more. I'm of the opinion, that if you hit a plateau, all you really did was hit maintenance. You either need to log more accurately, or you need to increase the deficit (eat less or move more). I have never plateaued while properly counting calories.