Nearly 3 weeks into a calorie deficit and no change... if anything my pants are tighter

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abbynormalartist
abbynormalartist Posts: 318 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Tomorrow it will be a full three weeks that I've been eating at a deficit but my weight and waistline haven't budged. Honestly my pants are feeling tighter than usual. I know three weeks is a very short period of time but I went from eating an extra 600-800 calories of chocolate a day (I know!!) to cutting it out completely. Now I'm eating a total of 1200 to 1300 a day. I'm a 34 woman and 125lbs. Any suggestions? Is three weeks just not long enough to see a change?

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  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    How tall are you? How much are you trying to lose? Most importantly, how are you measuring your intake?
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    You're already fairly light, so you should probably be aiming for a small weekly loss that could easily be hidden behind water weight fluctuations. When I was losing my last 10 lbs I would see nothing for 3-4 weeks at a time, then drop a lb all of a sudden.

    Are you using a food scale? When you don't have many calories to play with, being as accurate as possible unfortunately becomes even more important.

    Hang in there!
  • cahphoenix
    cahphoenix Posts: 1 Member
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    1. Make sure you are logging everything to make sure you are calculating the 1200-1300 calories properly.
    2. For you, 1300-1450 calories is probably close to losing 0.5lbs a week. If so, you have probably only lost 1-3 lbs in 3 weeks time. Like the other poster said...this is not really enough to notice a difference.

    Keep at it and check again in another month or so. You should be noticing a difference then.
  • abbynormalartist
    abbynormalartist Posts: 318 Member
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    I'm 5'5 and wanting to lose about 5-10 lbs. I've been this weight nearly all of my adult life but I've also always had a pouchy belly. I'm measuring my intake mostly with measuring cups but honestly my breakfast, lunch and snacks are pretty fool proof for measuring (a container of yogurt, a graham cracker, a cheese stick, etc). I have started using a food scale for dinner but I eat pretty simple meals, not a big casserole that I have to figure out serving sizes.
  • abbynormalartist
    abbynormalartist Posts: 318 Member
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    Does 1200 calories sound like a good place to start? I feel like I'm eating a lot less than I used to but I'm not miserable or anything. As long as I plan my food the day before I can make sure to be satisfied.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    I'm 5'5 130 lbs not all that active and I could never go down to 1200. I ate @ 1500 cals when I was trying to lose. Until I started using a food scale I thought I was eating 1400 but wasn't losing. Got a food scale, realized I was actually eating 1700, used the scale to really eat 1500 and lost around 1 lb per month.

    I eat simple foods too, but just because the package says a 40 gram serving is one stick, or one roll, etc doesnt mean it is.

    There is no reason based on your stats you should need to eat that low unless you have a medical condition, which is why everyone is suggesting more accurate logging. Use the food scale more often and double check you are using correct entries in the database. And patience - as I said in my first reply, you shouldn't be expecting more than half a lb per week, and that can be easily masked by water weight. If after 6- 8 weeks you haven't lost anything, you are eating at maintenance and need to eat less or burn more.
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,449 Member
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    Where are you in your monthly cycle. Time of month can wreck havoc on water weight then all come off in a great walop
  • Luna3386
    Luna3386 Posts: 888 Member
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    I also highly recommend recomping. You don't need to lose any weight per session.

    If not, put in 1/2 pounds to lose a week in mfp. Use a food scale for everything.
  • kimothy38
    kimothy38 Posts: 840 Member
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    Have faith. Scales and measurements didn't budget for nearly 3 weeks which was very disheartening. Then I lost 1.5kg - it just took a while.
  • nightcoresurpreme
    nightcoresurpreme Posts: 1 Member
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    I think you should give it a little more time and don't be disheartened. I'm 17 and have been on a deficit for about 2 months and have only dropped a couple of kg's. I think you are also eating way too little for your age i think about 1350-1400 calories would be best. Remember change takes time :)
  • abbynormalartist
    abbynormalartist Posts: 318 Member
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    Thank you all! My periods haven't been regular yet since my son stopped nursing so I"m not sure where I am in my cycle. I'm guessing probably a week or so out. That could be some of it. Recomping sounds interesting but I'm not sure I understand how to do it yet. I'll look more into that. Thank you!!

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