Need Advice or Just Discuss a Slow Weight Loss

CMNVA

Let me start out by saying, I'm not yet really discouraged or down in the dumps yet about my weight loss but I am wondering if I'm doing anything wrong.

I posted about 2-3 weeks ago about my caloric intake. I was set at 1200 and while I lost an amazing 6 lbs in 10 days, I was feeling very, very tired/lethargic and didn't feel I even had the energy to exercise.

Based on your advice, I increased my calories up to my TDEE level which was 1350 (or something like that). I did feel a lot better immediately and so I then began some mild exercise. I've been doing free streaming videos such as barre workouts, kettlebell, bodyweight stuff (all VERY beginner level). Last week I started the Couch to 5K and completed my first week. During this period, I'm ranging from 1300-1400 calories. Of course the exercise has kicked up my appetite so I am feeling hungry before bed.

So, in the first 10 days I've lost 6 lbs (which I assume was mostly water/bloating from my overeating) and in the last 19 days I've lost what I consider a real pound and that pound was probably lost on day 12. So really, I haven't seen much scale action since then. Now, I don't have a lot to lose. I started at 5'7" and 156 lbs and I'm now at 149 lbs. My clothes fit a lot better and I can feel the difference just about all over my body. So I'm happy. But I am starting too feel like I'm in a maintenance mode at 1400 calories. I definitely notice a difference in the ability to lose weight at age 52 versus what would happen when I was even 40-45.

As for my food tracking, I am logging everything. I use a food scale when possible. I am not weighing my teaspoon of sugar in my tea though, but I am using a teaspoon. I'm sure it's off a bit but I'm usually at work when I having tea with sugar. Some recipes that I cook don't actually give a gram count for calories and use a cup measurement which I know is horribly inaccurate. Sometimes I just don't have it in me to measure out every ingredient before the cooking starts. So in those instances, I do measure by cups carefully and usually overestimate my calories to account for errors. I have been weighing any fruit I eat, rather than log it as "medium apple" or "medium banana." I've started measuring my shredded wheat biscuits. One serving is 40 grams (for 2 biscuits). I've found the weight on two biscuits to always be over 40 grams so I do adjust for that where I can.

Anyway, I was wondering if you had any advice? I'd like to see a 1/2 lb loss per week if I could. A healthy weight for my frame is about 140-142 but I'd be fairly good with maintaining at 145.

Thanks!
Christine

Francl27

It's common to retain water when you start a new workout program. Honestly, I'd give it a few more weeks before changing anything.

But why don't you just weigh the stuff anyway when you make a recipe? It only takes one second to put the food on a scale.

girlinahat

Personally I think given you have very little to lose you might even find a pound a MONTH more likely. Weight loss isn't linear, and you haven't been at this long. I go through weeks with losing nothing, even gaining, then suddenly there it is, a pound gone.

Is 1350 your NET calories? It still sounds very low. I'm under 5' and I have a NET of 1500, mostly because I'd rather feel like being active than lethargic because I'm not eating enough. You shouldn't really be feeling hungry.

I just plugged your stats into fat2fitradio and got a TDEE of 1614. That's for a sedentary female at your height, weight and age. Maybe you need to recalculate? There's no rush, really, you've just started a new activity and as you are finding, your body is changing.

CMNVA

girlinahat wrote: »

Personally I think given you have very little to lose you might even find a pound a MONTH more likely. Weight loss isn't linear, and you haven't been at this long. I go through weeks with losing nothing, even gaining, then suddenly there it is, a pound gone.

Is 1350 your NET calories? It still sounds very low. I'm under 5' and I have a NET of 1500, mostly because I'd rather feel like being active than lethargic because I'm not eating enough. You shouldn't really be feeling hungry.

I just plugged your stats into fat2fitradio and got a TDEE of 1614. That's for a sedentary female at your height, weight and age. Maybe you need to recalculate? There's no rush, really, you've just started a new activity and as you are finding, your body is changing.

Sorry I think I confused my BMR with my TDEE in my first post. I am trying to eat at a deficit of my TDEE which is what you stated above. These days, I'm hitting about 1400 calories.

CMNVA

Francl27 wrote: »

But why don't you just weigh the stuff anyway when you make a recipe? It only takes one second to put the food on a scale.

If I'm making something with just a few ingredients, I definitely do that. But last week I made a slow cooker beef minestrone soup/stew. The recipe indicated that it was 360 calories for 1.75 cups. It had probably 15 or more ingredients in it. Some of those ingredients were pre-prepped at the store such as my miropoux mix and my minestrone vegetables, which consisted of pototoes, carrots, celery, etc., all thrown in one container. Of course, the beef I could actually weigh out. On top of it all, I was trying to put it together at 5AM before work and I don't have the time to sit down and figure out how to weight something like that. I'm sure it can be done, but I do have my limits!! Fortunately, I don't cook like that often. Earlier this week, I made a pasta dish that basically just had chicken sausage/pasta in it. I was able to pull apart the ingredients after cooked and weigh them. Same with a chicken cacciatore dish I made.

Gena575

There are so many things that could be affecting your loss rate. If you still get your monthly, that can cause water retention at both ovulation and shark week. Your increased exercise can cause it as your body works to repair and strengthen muscle. Even the soup could have due to canned stock and sodium counts.

I HIGHLY suggest a weight trending app such as Happy Scale (iOS), or Libra (android). And another big spoonful of patience lol. A lb in 19 days, which sounds like nothing, is not a bad rate at all as close as you are to goal. Keep on what you're doing for at least 3-4 more weeks. The average your weight loss over the entire period. I'll bet you'll be shocked.

Lounmoun

If you lost a pound in 19 days and you want to lose .5 lb per week aren't you on track?
Just keep doing what you are doing. Understand the scale won't show a loss every week. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

DebSozo

CMNVA wrote: »

girlinahat wrote: »

Personally I think given you have very little to lose you might even find a pound a MONTH more likely. Weight loss isn't linear, and you haven't been at this long. I go through weeks with losing nothing, even gaining, then suddenly there it is, a pound gone.

Is 1350 your NET calories? It still sounds very low. I'm under 5' and I have a NET of 1500, mostly because I'd rather feel like being active than lethargic because I'm not eating enough. You shouldn't really be feeling hungry.

I just plugged your stats into fat2fitradio and got a TDEE of 1614. That's for a sedentary female at your height, weight and age. Maybe you need to recalculate? There's no rush, really, you've just started a new activity and as you are finding, your body is changing.

Sorry I think I confused my BMR with my TDEE in my first post. I am trying to eat at a deficit of my TDEE which is what you stated above. These days, I'm hitting about 1400 calories.

Since you lost weight have you recalculated your TDEE? TDEE is your maintenance amount. You will have to drop 250 calories off of TDEE to lose 0.5 pounds a week. If your TDEE is 1650 for instance then you should lose 1/2 pound a week at 1400. I would say stick with it because sometimes there is water retention. Also log and weigh carefully to prevent "calorie creep".

GottaBurnEmAll

When I first started C25K, I stalled for a while. It also increased my appetite for a bit.

Don't worry about it. Both the hunger and the stall will pass.

dragon_girl26

girlinahat wrote: »

Personally I think given you have very little to lose you might even find a pound a MONTH more likely. Weight loss isn't linear, and you haven't been at this long. I go through weeks with losing nothing, even gaining, then suddenly there it is, a pound gone.

^^This.

Unfortunately, the less you have to lose, the slower the weight will come off. I've also tried for 1/2 a week, but it's been more like 1 lb a month for me lately, if even that. It's going to take a lot of patience on your part at this point. Weight loss generally doesn't happen each week like clockwork..the 1/2 lb/wk is just an average. Hormones,etc, dictate when the weight actually comes off. My weight losses, for instance, generally appear about once a month, usually after my ToM. As long as you maintain your calorie deficit, it will happen...just realize that it won't always be as soon as you want it.

Good luck!

nutmegoreo

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

When I first started C25K, I stalled for a while. It also increased my appetite for a bit.

Don't worry about it. Both the hunger and the stall will pass.

Agreed! New exercise routines will cause some water retention for repair. This masks the losses you are having. Give it a couple more weeks.