Weight loss advice please?

halieb91

Hi there. So I have been dieting and doing light exersize for the last 20 days and haven't seen to much change yet. I work full time and am a mother of 3 so making time for any activity to help my weight loss has been a challenge for me. I do walk quite a lot to and from work everyday. I also have been a strict vegetarian for the last 12 years so my diet does not consist of a lot of fats or processed foods. Usually when I diet I lose weight quickly, but this time I have noticed my weight fluctuating day to day. When I started I was at 180lb and the last week my weight has fluxiated between 174lb and 1761bs. This is only my 20th day on my diet...Am I making enough progress? Or should I have lost more then that by now?

3dogsrunning

In 3 weeks you have lost4-6 lbs. That is very good progress. You can't realistically expect more based on your weight.

elivelez62

My recommendation is to keep a journal of the foods you eat. Bar code scanning is convenient. You must keep track of carbohydrates and sugars since you are a vegetarian. I am on day 20 as well and have lost 6 pounds. This is normal and healthy.

TeaBea

174 to 171 in 20 days? Heck, yeah that's great progress.

Weight loss won't be linear it will fluctuate due to water weight (sodium, sore muscles) hormones (TOM) waste, etc.

These are realistic numbers:
Pound per week goals
75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range

Slower weight loss is more likely to stay off....lifestyle changes will help you keep it off.

fitdaisygrrl

Yes, great progress! Keep at it and expect 0.5 to 2 lbs a week. It may seem slow, but it will keep coming off. I like to chart my weight loss and then when I feel like "ack, I haven't lost anything" I look back and realize things like "oh, this is averaging out to 1.5 lbs a week- that's kind of, perfect."

And reassurance too that weight loss really is more about food- so don't worry that you don't have time to be active- keep focusing on food choices and tracking.

Ninkyou

6 lbs in 20 days is a good and healthy progress.

Readjust and lower your expectations. Weight loss isn't supposed to be fast.

zyxst

You're doing fine.

Danny_Boy13

I think you are doing fine. It just takes time and consistency.

zerojunk

You work full time and have 3 kids and lost 4-6 pounds in 3 weeks. Work and 3 kids with no live in nanny = weight gain for me. Your results sound great.

TeaBea

elivelez62 wrote: »

My recommendation is to keep a journal of the foods you eat. Bar code scanning is convenient. You must keep track of carbohydrates and sugars since you are a vegetarian. I am on day 20 as well and have lost 6 pounds. This is normal and healthy.

Tracking carbs and sugars may be necessary if you have medical issues. I'm not sure why it would be important for a vegetarian. Getting enough PROTEIN (multiple sources to get complete proteins) is important for a vegetarian.

If you are low carbing - then 6 pounds in 20 days is "normal & healthy" because you've lost a lot of water weight.

OP - it's your schedule, it's your weight loss journey. Direct comparisons to others aren't important.

missblondi2u

You've lost over a pound a week, which is great for healthy, sustainable weight loss.

You say that you usually lose weight quickly when you diet. While those diets may have resulted in quick losses, they probably did little to change your basic eating and activity habits, which is why you're back at it again. Taking the time to lose weight at a nice, steady pace may be the key to stop all the dieting and just make the real lifestyle change that I think most of us really want.

halieb91

Thanks so much everyone. I think I just like to worry myself a little to much. In the past I wasn't very healthy in the way I would lose weight and this time around I am trying to do it the right way. So this has been a big change for me. I do have one more question however... I had my goal set to 2lbs a week and found I still felt a bit hungry after the day had ended so I switched it to 1.5 a week and since then I have seen a bit more fluxuating in my weight then what I did before. Should I switch it back or will it really not matter much?

zerojunk

TeaBea wrote: »

174 to 171 in 20 days? Heck, yeah that's great progress.

Weight loss won't be linear it will fluctuate due to water weight (sodium, sore muscles) hormones (TOM) waste, etc.

These are realistic numbers:
Pound per week goals
75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range

Slower weight loss is more likely to stay off....lifestyle changes will help you keep it off.

These sound like realistic numbers to me as well. But in the end, all that matters in my mind is can I function at -2lbs a week? If so, that is where the thing is going till I meet my goal. That was to answer your last post about going back to -2lbs.

danacondah

zyxst wrote: »

You're doing fine.

This ^^^

You've made great progress so far. Stay positive and more importantly stay consistent. I'd also recommend taking progress photos. I had a tough time seeing progress in the mirror... but when I compared photos of myself that were 4,8,12 weeks apart... MIND BLOWN. Good luck to you

Ninkyou

halieb91 wrote: »

Thanks so much everyone. I think I just like to worry myself a little to much. In the past I wasn't very healthy in the way I would lose weight and this time around I am trying to do it the right way. So this has been a big change for me. I do have one more question however... I had my goal set to 2lbs a week and found I still felt a bit hungry after the day had ended so I switched it to 1.5 a week and since then I have seen a bit more fluxuating in my weight then what I did before. Should I switch it back or will it really not matter much?

Keep it where it is. The fluctuations could just be from salts or hormones... anything really.

missblondi2u

halieb91 wrote: »

Thanks so much everyone. I think I just like to worry myself a little to much. In the past I wasn't very healthy in the way I would lose weight and this time around I am trying to do it the right way. So this has been a big change for me. I do have one more question however... I had my goal set to 2lbs a week and found I still felt a bit hungry after the day had ended so I switched it to 1.5 a week and since then I have seen a bit more fluxuating in my weight then what I did before. Should I switch it back or will it really not matter much?

The simple fact that you have more food in your belly can result in wider fluctuations. Your weight is constantly changing all day based on so many factors. If you're not doing it already, I suggest you weigh yourself at the same time and under the same conditions (for me its naked, in the morning, before eating or drinking anything, but after I use the facilities), and track it using an app like Libra or Happy Scale to see the overall trend. Whether you weight everyday or once a week is up to you, but if you weight daily you will need to get used to those fluctuations, because they are inevitable, especially during TOM.

FWIW, I think 1.5 or even 1 lb/week is what you should shoot for.