I have no idea what I’m doing wrong!

tamiarob

I’ve started a healthier lifestyle 11/27/17 and I’ve been steady at it. No unhealthy carbs, no sugar, mo sweet tea, no fried food, and no juice or soda. If I have soda it’s zero or diet. I have lost 5-7lbs in the matter of 3 weeks. I feel I should have lost more because of my eating habits changing dramatically. Like for me to be suffering without sugar and have only lost 5-7lbs I feel like I could still eat a candy bar and it not effect me. Do I need to drink more water? Do I need to spend more time in the gym? And suggestions?

cmriverside

That's a lot of weight to lose in three weeks. Stay the course and maybe have a candy bar. If you make treat foods something that is once a day or once a week it makes all this a lot easier.

quiksylver296

You need to readjust your expectations. 5-7 lbs in 2 weeks is huge. HUGE.

aeloine

It's all about calories in vs calories out. You can eat a candy bar if it fits into your calories. That being said, 5-7 lbs in 2 weeks is huge! Most people are lucky if they lose that in a MONTH. Slow down, breathe, don't make this an unbearable experience, eat a candy bar and smile!

Make sure you weigh your food and log everything that you eat. It will come in time.

estherdragonbat

Unless you have over 100lbs to lose, you shouldn't be losing more than 2lbs a week and 1lb/week is probably more sustainable.

Unless there's a medical issue (e.g. diabetes), there's no need to cut out sugar and carbs are neither healthy nor unhealthy. It's all about context.

Odds are, you've dropped a lot of water weight in the first couple of weeks.

If you run too steep a calorie deficit and your weight drops too fast, it's likely that you'll be losing muscle as well as fat. Best to slow down and make room for foods you enjoy.

TavistockToad

My suggestion is to find a way of eating that means you lose weight without 'suffering'.

Suffering isn't going to help you make sustainable lifestyle changes

megs_1985

I think that is a good rate. Healthy weight loss is slow. Just watch your portions. Remember fat provides more caloric punch then carbs or protein (4 vs 9). Up your activity a bit more. And yes go have a piece of candy just don't go overboard. So if you lost 5 lbs in 3 weeks then in 3 months you'll be down 20 pounds!!

nutmegoreo

What you're doing wrong is having unrealistic expectations. You can certainly have a treat without it stopping your progress. That's not to say eat nothing but treats, but an occasional treat can help keep you sane along the way. Maximum weight loss is about 1% of your current weight per week. So when people are bigger they can lose more. If you are not that big, then slower weight loss is preferable. Your body can only metabolize so much fat per day into energy, the rest comes from other sources. Steep deficits can deplete your muscles.

MegaMooseEsq

Losing weight and eating healthier is a lot simpler than you're making it - you don't have to cut out anything to lose weight, you just need to cut down your total calories. To eat healthier, make sure you're eating a balanced diet, which can absolutely include "bad" carbs, sugar, sweet tea, and fried food, just in moderation. Remember that there are two goals here: losing weight, and keeping that weight off. You are going to need to eat less than you were eating for the rest of your life in order to maintain any weight loss. Are you prepared to stick with your current diet long-term? Or are you hoping to get this over and done with as quickly as possible and then go back to your old way of eating?

duskyjewel

MegaMooseEsq wrote: »

Losing weight and eating healthier is a lot simpler than you're making it - you don't have to cut out anything to lose weight, you just need to cut down your total calories. To eat healthier, make sure you're eating a balanced diet, which can absolutely include "bad" carbs, sugar, sweet tea, and fried food, just in moderation.

Exactly. OP, what if I told you that I am losing weight while still eating pizza, drinking regular soda and wine, and occasionally indulging in my homemade fried chicken and mac n cheese, fettucine alfredo, etc?

Obviously I'm eating less of these things, but I'm still eating them. Because I refuse to give them up. Calorie deficit is what it's all about. I track what I eat and I eat smaller portions.

Tacklewasher

Was shopping a couple weeks ago. Just picking up a few things (not a full trip).

Looked at the stuff I was buying. It included bacon, bread, Mars Bites, cheese and nacho chips.

Looked at my wife and said "how do you like my diet food?"

Lost 115 lbs eating this stuff. Just in moderation and as part of an overall reasonable diet.

I can do this for the rest of my life. Only thing I gave up completely is non-diet pop.

4legsRbetterthan2

I agree you need to adjust your expectations. Not everyone can achieve "greatest loser" type losses, and those types of plans are not recommended anyways. Set your goals based on what is a healthy rate for YOU, and settle in for the long haul. This post is helpful if you need help setting up a plan:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

MegaMooseEsq

duskyjewel wrote: »

MegaMooseEsq wrote: »

Losing weight and eating healthier is a lot simpler than you're making it - you don't have to cut out anything to lose weight, you just need to cut down your total calories. To eat healthier, make sure you're eating a balanced diet, which can absolutely include "bad" carbs, sugar, sweet tea, and fried food, just in moderation.

Exactly. OP, what if I told you that I am losing weight while still eating pizza, drinking regular soda and wine, and occasionally indulging in my homemade fried chicken and mac n cheese, fettucine alfredo, etc?

Obviously I'm eating less of these things, but I'm still eating them. Because I refuse to give them up. Calorie deficit is what it's all about. I track what I eat and I eat smaller portions.

Yum! The weirdest thing for me has been that since I started eating at a deficit, I'm actually eating sweets more often than before. The difference is that instead of a giant slice o'whatever once or twice a week, I'm having a small piece of whatever every day. It takes time to get used to smaller portions, but once you do it's perfectly normal.

stanmann571

duskyjewel wrote: »

MegaMooseEsq wrote: »

Losing weight and eating healthier is a lot simpler than you're making it - you don't have to cut out anything to lose weight, you just need to cut down your total calories. To eat healthier, make sure you're eating a balanced diet, which can absolutely include "bad" carbs, sugar, sweet tea, and fried food, just in moderation.

Exactly. OP, what if I told you that I am losing weight while still eating pizza, drinking regular soda and wine, and occasionally indulging in my homemade fried chicken and mac n cheese, fettucine alfredo, etc?

Obviously I'm eating less of these things, but I'm still eating them. Because I refuse to give them up. Calorie deficit is what it's all about. I track what I eat and I eat smaller portions.

For me, it's easy to overeat on pizza(so it's a sometimes food), but dinner every night is angus cheeseburgers with lots of cheese(6 slices or so) and a bag of the green giant cheesy broccoli rice(I like broccoli) and a bag of the Birdseye veggies(mixed/corn/peas depending on my mood)

For the record that's about 1600 of my 2800 daily calorie allotment while in a deficit.

tamiarob

You guys are so awesome thank you for all of the helpful insight! I believed to think since I didn’t have those things would help me lose weight faster! I have to be down 60lbs to even be considered by the Air Force. I am willing to do whatever it takes to make this a lifestyle change and keep it for the long haul. I will have chocolate here and there. Thank you guys so much. This is such an effective way for weight loss with information and support. I’m so grateful for you fitness pal community. If y’all don’t mind. I would love you guys Instagram names. I’ll be happy to follow so we can track each other’s progress.

quiksylver296

It's against site rules to post IG names on these threads.

tamiarob

Thank you for that lol. Maybe I need to read more.