Weight loss is starting off slow – similar experiences?

ejw2cc

Hi there – I’m a female in my mid-twenties, I started at 260 lbs. and am 5’4”. I am writing to see if anyone has had a similar experience to me. I started doing meal plans and lowering my calories at the beginning of July, 2017. I am currently hovering at 1500 calories a day, rarely exceeding it (maybe twice I have exceeded my limit and I have remained under 2000). I have only lost between 15 and 16 pound so far (in two months). I eat mostly vegetarian but take in a good amount of protein. I am not going out of my way to exercise more, but I do get 30 mins of exercise in on my commute (per my apple watch). I have read elsewhere that 10 lbs. a month is extremely doable for my current weight and I would think I should be meeting that goal. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Or does anyone have any insight on if this is a normal pace?

malibu927

That's about two pounds a week, which is by no means slow. Good job!

janejellyroll

That's about 2 pounds a week, which is a fantastic rate of loss. While it's true that some people lose more quickly at the beginning, it isn't true for everyone.

If you do expect to be losing faster, it might be worth double-checking your logging. Your diary is closed, but here are some things to consider: Are you weighing solid food? Have you double-checked your commonly used database entries? Are you avoiding "generic" and "homemade" entries created by others and building your own recipes in the Recipe Builder?

MegaMooseEsq

After an initial drop, I took several months to lose the next ten pounds and only just hit that mythical 2 lbs a week rate this month, eight months after starting to build my deficit. If I were you, I would pat myself on the back and then make sure that what I was doing was sustainable.

cheryldumais

2 pounds a week is awesome! You are at a good rate of loss. Trust me if you continue at that rate you will learn new behavior that will make it possible for you to maintain the weight loss later. Losing fast rarely ever results in permanent weight loss. I've finally lost weight and although it took a while it was well worth the time. I'm down about 100 pounds (18 lost pre MFP) and I've not been this low since high school (I'm 60 years old). It took me a year and a half to get here but it was well worth the time.

pragmatsmfp

You're doing great! I will add though that the Apple Watch is very misleading in terms of calculating exercise. I have a commute with a lot of walking and my Apple Watch counts it as exercise. But it's part of my regular, everyday activity, so it really shouldn't be 'exercise.' Seeing this overstated 30 minutes of exercise on my Apple Watch doesn't help me because I then don't feel the need to do more or get incremental exercise in. Just a thought. I have stopped counting steps and exercise minutes, and only look at my workouts. It's made a big difference to how I think of doing exercise now.

ejw2cc

This is all very reassuring – thank you for your insight and kind encouragement. This is my first real endeavor to actually track my dieting and weight loss so I’m a bit clueless. I’ll keep doing what I’m doing!

To clarify in case anyone reads this in a similar situation later:

@pragmatsmfp I haven’t been counting my exercise (as shown on apple watch) as a factor in my calorie counting but have let MFP count my steps as exercise so it normally amounts to 100 calories or so a day. I’ll be more careful with that though, thanks for the insight. And for the encouragement! I really appreciate it and it’s nice to just know that this is normal, haha.

@janejellyroll good thought, thanks for bringing this up. I do tend to use the same listings over and over. I know of a few that are “generic”. Maybe I should look at those a bit more carefully. Thanks for the well wishes and encouragement!

@megamoosesq I’m glad we’re on similar paths and can relate. It sounds like you’re doing awesome! Maintaining these kind of diets has been my downfall in the past (it’s tricky for everyone, I know) so I’m incorporating more cheat meals this time and otherwise taking it easy on my body (sleeping as much as I can, not doing strenuous exercise for these first few months). I’ll make sure to keep that a priority. Thanks for your advice and encouragement.

@Cheryldumais wow – that is incredible! Congratulations! Your will power must be amazing. Thank you for the encouragement and letting me know this rate is normal.

@malibu927 thank you so much! I’m just happy to know it’s relatively normal and there’s probably not some bigger issue at hand.

Again, I can’t emphasize enough how much I appreciate your encouragement. What a great community!

kenyonhaff

You likely did not gain the weight at a rate of 2 pounds a week so it certainly won't come off that quickly!

Quick dramatic loss actually is NOT so good for long term success. The slower you go generally the more likely you are to continue to lose and keep it off.