How long to see any results?

carr3107

I've had the creep of 5 pounds in two successive horrible winters. I really only need to lose about 12 lbs. I've tried to lose weight over and over the last 2 years but I stick to my calories for about 3 weeks and lose at most a pound that then shows up again 2-3 days later. After seenkng no results I get discouraged and stop tracking again. I'm baffled because the laws of thermodynamics say I should be losing weight.

When I was younger I could drop 5 lbs easily, but since I turned 35 it's been a fight for every ounce.

Any suggestions? Does it really take a month or more to see any results?

mitchelsimps

Have you tried gradually decreasing your calories? and if you haven't got much to lose it will take longer.

Graymanstole

Weigh. Your. Food.

Seriously, you'll get more results knowing exactly how much you are putting into your body than you will knowing how much gravity is affecting you on a scale at any particular moment. Most of us underestimate how much we eat, and are taking in way more calories that we think we are.

Damien_Scott

one pound of fat is about 3500 calories. So you need to either eat under your BMI or burn more without eating the extra calories. MFP lets you set to either lose 1 or 2 lbs per week. 1lb is a 500 calorie deficit and 2lbs is a 1000 calorie deficit. I would suggest the 1lb/week rate and be sure to count everything you ingest.

Set your activity to the lowest setting and don't bother using the exercise calculator to add calories.

Your weight will fluctuate several pounds throughout the day/week as well. I lost 13 lbs my first week and then stayed the exact same weight to the decimal for 6 days straight. the next week I lost another 10. Also note that if you start a new exercise routine your muscles will retain a lot more water for a while, causing a gain of 5ish lbs. A full bladder or poo can also throw the scale off a couple pounds.

If you are close to a healthy weight then yoy aren't going to notice it right away. It's going to take several weeks to see the change. And if you ever start eating over your BMI again you will gain it back.

bud08

I am 35 and I hear ya. I haven't lost anything since I started again and I am ending my 4th week of getting serious. My eats are on track and portioned but it is stubborn! I did lose 2 inches this week so it is a good start!

tracyledyard

I am with you! I would not set your weight loss goal for more than .5 lb loss a week. It will take a LONG time unless you do something drastic, which I don't recommend. I am still trying to figure it all out as well, even after 9 months of tracking. Personally, I am slowly lowering my calories from 1600 per day. MFP told me to eat 1270 a day and that is just too drastic. Trying to find the highest calorie intake that will still allow me to lose .5 lbs a week. I would be happy to lose 5 - 10 lbs. It's HARD!!

ncfitbit

carr3107 wrote: »

I've had the creep of 5 pounds in two successive horrible winters. I really only need to lose about 12 lbs. I've tried to lose weight over and over the last 2 years but I stick to my calories for about 3 weeks and lose at most a pound that then shows up again 2-3 days later. After seenkng no results I get discouraged and stop tracking again. I'm baffled because the laws of thermodynamics say I should be losing weight.

When I was younger I could drop 5 lbs easily, but since I turned 35 it's been a fight for every ounce.

Any suggestions? Does it really take a month or more to see any results?

Your slow weight creep suggests you're just eating just a little more than your body needs to maintain so the good news is that if you carefully track all your food (weigh and measure everything) , you can figure out where you might be able to to adjust your eating/activity so that you can keep the weight off over the long term. If you are sure you are eating a a deficit, then those occasional fluctuations up are just that so don't get discouraged if you seem to be on track and then see a blip. That can be caused by things like eating more sodium and carbs than normal for a few meals, hormones, food waste, etc., but if you really didn't overeat by thousands of calories a gain is really unlikely to be a true gain. Just wait it out. If you are truly eating at a deficit, it WILL come off eventually.

DBrooks1979

Also when are you weighing yourself... the best time to weight yourself and this has been proven.. is first thing after you wake up in the morning, right after you empty your bladder.. and naked.... it is the best time to get an accurate account of your weight.. there is no access water in your muscles and your body is naturally relaxed. If your weighting later in the day.. your going to have water weight to account for and that can flucuate tons depending on your activity level and your fitness level.

I have been doing this for 3 weeks today ... and really and truely logging just exactly what I have been eating.. even if for the day it is over what the program says I can have... Then I have also been actually logging my excersise and its not until the last week that I have actually really made sure that I have been trying to eat at a deficate... It does work.. because sine I started at 218... as of this morning.. the day before my weekly weigh-in.. I am down to 215.5 so I can tell you that the program works... but you have to be super diligent and honest about what it is your eating..

If you do all of this.. and use all of this as encouragement and stay active here and log your intake... and then really tighten down... you can do this...

You gotta start some where... so start here and now... make the change.

enigmarm

I can relate with you. For 4 months, I took an early-morning military physical fitness class. It was 3 days a week, for 45-60 minutes. It was torturous! But I felt so good.
I knew that the weight on the scale isn't always an accurate measurement of the progress you made. So I had my body fat measured at a clinic (where they pinch your fat in various places and measure it).
After the end of the 4 months, I had my weight & body fat measured again. I gained weight & FAT. My body fat % had increased! I could understand if I had gained weight by adding muscle, but that wasn't the case.

So I became pretty discouraged. I eventually chalked up the body fat % increase to error at the student health center in using their equipment.
While I hadn't previously measured my waistline/chest/biceps, etc. I knew I was stronger. And my clothes fit a little better. And I had the ability to run for 5 miles straight. I had never done that ever!

My recommendations:

• MFP allows you to enter in custom body measurements (neck, waist, chest, thigh, etc). I'd recommend doing that at the beginning. And then don't check for 4 weeks.
• Measure all of your food. (get a cheap $10-$20 food scale on Amazon.com)
• Exercise!
  I've previously spent weeks/months measuring my food and eating around 1300-1500 calories (MRP estimates I should be eating 2200). You'd think that alone would induce weight lost. Not for me. I only see positive results when doing lots of cardio / interval running.
• Remove unhealthy sugars from your diet!

marsinah1

It actually did take me just about a month before I was able to observe a physical difference. When we see ourselves every day it's normally too difficult for the human eye to register all the teeny tiny changes our bodies are making. When all those little changes have had enough time to add up, then it registers.

As some others have mentioned, periodically taking body measurements helps. As for the scale thing, flux happens. I've watched the scale read one number and then jump up 2-3 lbs a day later, too. Focusing on daily up and down changes can drive some people nuts. Plotting weight to observe monthly or longer term trends works well for quite a few of us.

carr3107

We've had 2 record setting cold winters here, and a tendon injury benched me for several months.

Yes, I weigh myself second thing in the morning with no clothes. I know all the tricks - but unless I'm wildly, wildly off on my calorie count, basic thermodynamics says the scale should move, and it's not moving even a .1 of a pound. I'm not gaining muscle, trust me. It's not that I'm not seeing physical changes - the scale does.not.move.

I may well be undercounting, but I should still see a pound in 2 weeks even if I was off by 30%, and I see zip.

1500 calories is really hard, and sticking to it day after day for weeks and seeing nothing is demoralizing to say the least.

Could my RMR be freakishly low? How would you even be able to measure that?

I've gained just enough weight that I am really uncomfortable in my body. I feel like my tummy gets in my way and it's horrible.

Damien_Scott

If you don't have a digital food scale losing weight is nigh impossible.

socioseguro

carr3107 wrote: »

We've had 2 record setting cold winters here, and a tendon injury benched me for several months.

Yes, I weigh myself second thing in the morning with no clothes. I know all the tricks - but unless I'm wildly, wildly off on my calorie count, basic thermodynamics says the scale should move, and it's not moving even a .1 of a pound. I'm not gaining muscle, trust me. It's not that I'm not seeing physical changes - the scale does.not.move.

I may well be undercounting, but I should still see a pound in 2 weeks even if I was off by 30%, and I see zip.

1500 calories is really hard, and sticking to it day after day for weeks and seeing nothing is demoralizing to say the least.

Could my RMR be freakishly low? How would you even be able to measure that?

I've gained just enough weight that I am really uncomfortable in my body. I feel like my tummy gets in my way and it's horrible.

Please kindly manage your expectations. It is a slow process. I concur with @tracyledyard to set a 0.5 pounds target loss per week. Do not focus on the scale only , like @enigmarm suggested, measure different parts of your body , log it and repeat in 4 weeks.
Eat at a deficit. Measure all of your liquid food and weigh all the solid food you eat.
You will need discipline, persistence and tons of patience. Slow and steady wins the race
Good luck in your healthy journey

aplhabetacheesecake

agreed with the above suggestions, its not your RMR, its not your body's thermodynamic calorie burning efforts- if you are not weighing or measuring out your food, you are probably not eating at a deficit. There is nothing to blame, stop looking for an excuse or an easy out, I know you are frustrated and feeling discouraged, but its the truth, weighing and measuring is the key

carr3107

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I'm aware of the principles of weight loss. I'll try with the food scale again, but it's so discouraging. Why is this so hard now?

I do appreciate all the encouragement, but I have done all the right things more than once this year. I've truly measured and done an accurate count. I lost 2 pounds one week but it reappeared 2 days later - and i did not eat an extra 7000 calories in 2 days.

Back to my original question - if I do everything perfectly should I be expecting weeks and weeks until I see any loss? I've managed 3 weeks at a time (more than once) of that precision (weighing, etc) and seen nothing. If you're going strictly by thermodynamics, that should be impossible.

A low RMR isn't an "easy" way out. If it is exceptionally low, this is even harder. Trying to lose weight is miserable for me, and if I'm shooting for the wrong target it's an exercise in futility. I'm 5'4" so I don't have a lot of room to cut to start with.

10 years ago (age 27), I could do WW points or a loose calorie count and drop a visible 5 lbs in a month. I weighed less and had less muscle mass but my metabolism was obviously higher. So what's different now?

Is there a way to measure RMR? I might be less frustrated if I knew what my real target was. Right now I'm just banging my head against the wall.

I know from experience I will not see a lot of changes until I lose about 4 pounds.

I hate my body but the idea of starting again when I've failed so many times is overwhelming.

kimny72

With so little to lose - yes, you should expect to wait several weeks for a noticeable change. You should be aiming for 0.5 lbs per week, and your body's water weight can fluctuate several lbs per day, so a 0.5 lb loss per week could easily be hidden by water weight fluctuations for several weeks.

If you haven't been doing progressive strength training, your muscle mass could have declined over those 10 years, and hormones can affect your metabolism as well. Plus, if you aren't using a food scale, you have to keep in mind that our perception of "eating a lot" "eating a little" "trying hard" "being active" can change over time. Maybe eating less was just easier for you 10 years ago due to life circumstances. Maybe your day-to-day lifestyle was a little more active back then, so you were burning a few more calories.

Use a food scale and be patient!

CSARdiver

carr3107 wrote: »

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I'm aware of the principles of weight loss. I'll try with the food scale again, but it's so discouraging. Why is this so hard now?

I do appreciate all the encouragement, but I have done all the right things more than once this year. I've truly measured and done an accurate count. I lost 2 pounds one week but it reappeared 2 days later - and i did not eat an extra 7000 calories in 2 days.

Back to my original question - if I do everything perfectly should I be expecting weeks and weeks until I see any loss? I've managed 3 weeks at a time (more than once) of that precision (weighing, etc) and seen nothing. If you're going strictly by thermodynamics, that should be impossible.

A low RMR isn't an "easy" way out. If it is exceptionally low, this is even harder. Trying to lose weight is miserable for me, and if I'm shooting for the wrong target it's an exercise in futility. I'm 5'4" so I don't have a lot of room to cut to start with.

10 years ago (age 27), I could do WW points or a loose calorie count and drop a visible 5 lbs in a month. I weighed less and had less muscle mass but my metabolism was obviously higher. So what's different now?

Is there a way to measure RMR? I might be less frustrated if I knew what my real target was. Right now I'm just banging my head against the wall.

I know from experience I will not see a lot of changes until I lose about 4 pounds.

I hate my body but the idea of starting again when I've failed so many times is overwhelming.

You're water weight fluctuates greatly throughout the day, so that may be impacting. Don't get discouraged and think long term.

Age has little to do with it, decreased muscle mass has a bit more, but you caloric intake and output are by far the biggest drivers.

...and yes, until you have a medically diagnosed decrease in metabolic rate it is an easy way out. I have hypothyroidism and have lost over 50lbs in the last year, so even with a decreased metabolic rate it is possible. Just be patient, keep logging, develop a plan and stick with it.

I don't take too much from posts as you never know what the writer indented to convey, but I hope you have a better self image and don't hate your body.

...and failure - that's nothing more than a learning process to success.

carr3107

I just want to scream because it's freaking 12 pounds. People manage to lose 100 with less of a struggle than this has been.

I USED the food scale when I was counting with futility. I've done this 3 times (3 weeks at a time) this year. I get so discouraged at that point I just give up. I have to muster the energy to try again. Every time I get more and more frustrated.

If it's been a bust 3 seperate times, either the scale was wrong or my target was wrong.

Going below 1500 calories is very hard. (I'm 5'4", lightly active according to my fitbit but I use sedentary in the calculation .5 lbs a week loss gives me 1473). I suppose my alternative is to try for 1300 calories a day and see if that works.

I totally get that I have to suck it up for months and months to lose 12 freaking pounds while none of my clothes fit or I have to live in this my body, but I'd really like to know if my target calories are way off.

I lift weights now, so I know I have more muscle mass. I worked 80 hours a week back then -definitely not more active. The difference between the calculated RMR for this weight at age 27 and at 37 is 50 calories.

editorgrrl

carr3107 wrote: »

Going below 1500 calories is very hard. (I'm 5'4", lightly active according to my fitbit but I use sedentary in the calculation .5 lbs a week loss gives me 1473). I suppose my alternative is to try for 1300 calories a day and see if that works.

I'd really like to know if my target calories are way off.

Your Fitbit burn is TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), the calories necessary to maintain your current weight. If you follow these instructions, your goal will be TDEE minus a reasonable deficit for your size:

Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/fitbit

Set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

In the MFP app, go to More > Steps and choose Fitbit.

Ignore your Fitbit calorie goal and follow MFP's, eating back your adjustments. No need to log any step-based activity—your Fitbit is tracking it for you. Log non-step exercise (like swimming or biking) either in Fitbit or in MFP—never both. Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time.

You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

CSARdiver

carr3107 wrote: »

I just want to scream because it's freaking 12 pounds. People manage to lose 100 with less of a struggle than this has been.

I USED the food scale when I was counting with futility. I've done this 3 times (3 weeks at a time) this year. I get so discouraged at that point I just give up. I have to muster the energy to try again. Every time I get more and more frustrated.

If it's been a bust 3 separate times, either the scale was wrong or my target was wrong.

Going below 1500 calories is very hard. (I'm 5'4", lightly active according to my fitbit but I use sedentary in the calculation .5 lbs a week loss gives me 1473). I suppose my alternative is to try for 1300 calories a day and see if that works.

I totally get that I have to suck it up for months and months to lose 12 freaking pounds while none of my clothes fit or I have to live in this my body, but I'd really like to know if my target calories are way off.

I lift weights now, so I know I have more muscle mass. I worked 80 hours a week back then -definitely not more active. The difference between the calculated RMR for this weight at age 27 and at 37 is 50 calories.

Hang in there and stay positive. Are you seeing any other positive gains - increase in stamina, endurance, strength, etc?

You didn't put the weight on in 3 weeks, so set a more realistic goal - anywhere from 12-24 weeks.

Bodies don't react immediately, so this will take some time. With your increase in muscle mass you will start seeing some gains in the future.

carr3107

I've been lifting weights for several years, so just incremental gains at this point.

I've had no improvement on anything at all. Intense cardio is problematic for me as I have (permanent) tendon dysfunction in both feet. My clothes still don't fit, I'm uncomfortable in my body to say the least and I alternate between intense frustration and feeling like a failure.

I'm short, so 12 extra pounds sent me into the "women's" department and those clothes don't fit well.

I'm sorry I'm spewing. 12 years ago, I gained 15 lbs after a death in the family. I was able to lose it in about 4 months and it wasn't half as difficult as now. I know the weight loss drill, and what should be working isn't. I've gained and lost +/- 5 lbs here and there relatively easily my entire adult life, but I've fought every ounce these last few years.

I ordered a food scale for my office too so I can weigh fruit or didn't weigh my lunch before I left home.

It turns out the local community college does RMR testing cheaply. I can do that in a couple of weeks so I at least know what my target is.

babybluentexas

Maybe it's what you are eating. I don't lose if I eat less calories from fast food places or eat prepackaged meals. As soon as I started eating cleaner, and cooking most of my meals with fresh ingredients, I could count on the scale moving down...

atiyausman84

Damien_Scott wrote: »

If you don't have a digital food scale losing weight is nigh impossible.

Digital food scale means?

editorgrrl

atiyausman84 wrote: »

Digital food scale means?

A kitchen scale with which you weigh your food. You can buy one for approximate US$15.

Every food label says something like "one serving (100g) = x calories." If you weigh the item and it's actually 125g, you need to log 1.25 servings.

sheldonklein

Your BMR d/n meaningfully slow between ages 27 and 35. As I read your posts, you know the rules and vagaries of weight loss, but you are allowing those vagaries to defeat you. You know the scale will tick up a pound or two, but you're allowing yourself to be crushed when it does. Stick to the fundamentals, be patient and keep your faith in science.

Mezzie1024

We have a similar number to lose, I'm a couple years older than you, and I'm halfway to my goal, so maybe I can help you out with what's worked for me.

1. I keep my deficit small so I can stick with it. Most weeks my goal is 0.5 loss, but sometimes I manually adjust to 0.25. Some weeks I take a break and eat at maintenance, usually because of a social event.

2. Because I keep my deficit small, weighing my food is essential. I weigh all my food, estimate a bit high when I eat out, and eat back all my exercise calories.

3. I have to be patient. I've been on MFP for years, usually from May-September as I lose the two to five pounds I gained over holiday eating. That's kept me in check for the most part. This year I'm losing more because last summer I injured myself and didn't run through my usual cycle of loss. This year I started in April, but I took a couple months off accurate tracking as I traveled, so that's why I'm only halfway. Had I been consistent, I would have hit my goal already. That's okay with me, but it might not be with people more in a rush. Consistent 0.5/week loss will have you hitting your goal in five or six months, but you won't see 0.5 drop every week. I often stay the same weight for a couple weeks and then drop a pound, then stay the same weight for a few weeks and drop half a pound then a few days later another pound. When you get used to it not being regular, you don't get disappointed when the scale doesn't move for a while.

4. I am aware of natural fluctuations in weight. I weigh daily, so I know my patterns pretty well. I ate salty snacks at an event yesterday, so of course my weight didn't drop today. The week going into my period, I generally have a slow steady climb of weight that will drop off (and if I stay at my deficit, along with some extra weight) a few days after it's over. I know if I've taken even a short break from exercise, especially lifting, my first day back I'll retain a good chunk of water and see either an increase or stall on the scale. None of those have anything to do with fat loss, so I record them, learn how my body reacts to things, and move on.

5. I have a realistic and flexible goal. At my current rate of loss and with no traveling or major social events coming up, I should hit my goal sometime in mid-September. I tell myself I'll probably hit it by October because I'd much rather be pleasantly surprised than disappointed.

6. I have confidence in the process. Because I have always been successful losing my small winter gains, I know this works. This year I have bigger challenges for medical reasons, but the basic math hasn't changed. My absolute confidence in the CICO calculations and my ability to accurately track mean I don't give up even though I do take occasional, intentional breaks from being at a deficit. My scale always does what my deficit (or lack thereof) says it should do, even though sometimes it does so a bit later than one would expect.

I hope something in the above is helpful to you.

ericGold15

Mezzie1024 wrote: »

I hope something in the above is helpful to you.

I enjoyed this post immensely. Thanks!

Tamlyngo

Graymanstole wrote: »

Weigh. Your. Food.

Seriously, you'll get more results knowing exactly how much you are putting into your body than you will knowing how much gravity is affecting you on a scale at any particular moment. Most of us underestimate how much we eat, and are taking in way more calories that we think we are.

This

skadoosh33

Yep, you need to know exactly how many calories you consume. It might be hard at first to weigh everything and look it up but you will see results faster if you are more accurate. 4-6 weeks of proper diet and exercise will show results.

carr3107

I HAVE been weighing ALL of my food and logging it. I'm not sure why everyone keeps assuming I'm not. I had one day where I was down a pound and a half and then the scale came right back up. It has moved around from day to day, but except the one blip, I'm not losing. I wear a fitbit so my activity counts are accurate. My daily goal is 1580 for a .5 pound loss. I came in at 2300 under that last week and this week should be better than that. Zip.

Under these facts - accurate and measured calorie and activity accounts, what is wrong?

editorgrrl

carr3107 wrote: »

Under these facts - accurate and measured calorie and activity accounts, what is wrong?