CICO

Sharon909

I have been trying to lose weight since January 22nd. Since then I have lost 10 lbs. Its slow and frustrating. I'm entering my food diary every day and trying to make healthy choices.

For breakfast I usually have 2 hardboiled eggs. Or 1 egg with a piece of fruit. Or one protein shake with a piece of fruit. For lunch I meal prep and usually have 4 oz of grilled chicken with 1/4 cup of rice or couscous and veggies (spinach or zucchini or peppers, etc.) For snack I have a greek yogurt. Dinner last night was one chicken thigh with half a cup of pasta salad. The night before was one cup of mac n cheese made with broccoli, peas and carrots. (So normal dinners but I make my plate like I'm going to serve my 9 year old) and then if I get a treat lately its a Yasso bar.

Every now and then I go 'off script' and have a donut or croissant or a glass of wine...but its never too far out of my calorie goal...I am drinking a minimum of 48 oz of water a day.

I am currently 196. MFP says my calorie goal is 1200 but I also know that is the default. So I did the math and it should be like 995 but seriously I cant do that.
My sister is losing faster than me and we have similar stats. She eats meal replacement shakes and hardly any fruits or veggies. It makes me jaded.
My husband is losing faster than me and he cheats so much more than me.
What kind of advice would you give me to lose faster? Or should I just keep doing what I'm doing?

TavistockToad

5lb a month is a good rate of loss.

Weigh your food instead of using cups.

Oh and, comparrison is the thief of joy...

kimny72

So you're losing 2 lbs per week, which is actually fast. Who cares what other people are doing, is it a contest? You have different height, weight, activity level, etc than other people so of course you will lose weight at a different speed.

Unless you have over 75 lbs to lose, 2 lbs per week is aggressive. Choose a lower goal per week so you get a few more cals, plus log your exercise and eat back some of those calories.

In my personal experience, people who lose fast are less happy with how they look when they reach goal weight, and less prepared to maintain that weight once they get there. And ultimately, your goal is to maintain a healthy weight and look good while you're at it, right?

malibu927

It's not the default. It's the minimum assigned, which usually shows that your goal is too aggressive. You're losing a bit over a pound a week, which isn't slow at all.

apullum

You're losing at a reasonable rate, so you don't need to do anything differently. Eat the number of calories MFP gives you, and be patient. The weight will come off.

MichelleSilverleaf

Faster is not better. Worry about you, not what someone else is doing.

Eat to a goal you can stick to, set yourself up for good long-term habits and do it right the first time. Your sister's method isn't very great anyway.

cwolfman13

Sharon909 wrote: »

I have been trying to lose weight since January 22nd. Since then I have lost 10 lbs. Its slow and frustrating. I'm entering my food diary every day and trying to make healthy choices.

For breakfast I usually have 2 hardboiled eggs. Or 1 egg with a piece of fruit. Or one protein shake with a piece of fruit. For lunch I meal prep and usually have 4 oz of grilled chicken with 1/4 cup of rice or couscous and veggies (spinach or zucchini or peppers, etc.) For snack I have a greek yogurt. Dinner last night was one chicken thigh with half a cup of pasta salad. The night before was one cup of mac n cheese made with broccoli, peas and carrots. (So normal dinners but I make my plate like I'm going to serve my 9 year old) and then if I get a treat lately its a Yasso bar.

Every now and then I go 'off script' and have a donut or croissant or a glass of wine...but its never too far out of my calorie goal...I am drinking a minimum of 48 oz of water a day.

I am currently 196. MFP says my calorie goal is 1200 but I also know that is the default. So I did the math and it should be like 995 but seriously I cant do that.
My sister is losing faster than me and we have similar stats. She eats meal replacement shakes and hardly any fruits or veggies. It makes me jaded.
My husband is losing faster than me and he cheats so much more than me.
What kind of advice would you give me to lose faster? Or should I just keep doing what I'm doing?

Weight loss is a slow process...

And you can't compare yourself to a male as we have much higher calorie requirements...we are bigger and heavier and carry more muscle mass, so we burn more calories in general. I need around 2800-3000 calories per day to maintain which means I can eat around 2000 calories per day and drop a couple pounds every week. Don't get me wrong, I feel it when I do it...but I'm not starving. For my wife to lose at that rate, she'd have to basically starve and she certainly wouldn't be meeting minimum nutritional requirements.

Men also have less hormonal stuff going on which also impacts weight loss...particularly where water weight is concerned which can mask fat loss.

If your friend is just doing meal replacement shakes, my guess would be that her calories are very low...she might be losing faster, but it's not particularly healthy...and she's never going to learn how to actually eat, so I can pretty much guarantee you that any loss she has will be short lived in terms of maintaining it.

You're basically losing on average about 1 Lb per week which is a good, healthy rate of loss. It's a slow process...this isn't "reality" t.v. so expectations need to be adjusted.

laurenbastug

Are you weighing your food? What's your activity level like?

I work with a coach, so she helped determined what my deficit calories are but you can play around with a few calculators online to get a rough idea but at the end of the day until you pick a number - track to it consistently and assess if changes are happening - it's hard to say. I don't have any professional experience in this but 1200 does seem quite low.

Find your TDEE and subtract 500 calories and try that as your starting point. Weigh and track what you eat for 2 weeks and adjust accordingly. If you lose at a rate you are happy with (without feeling deprived) then you're in a good place. If the scale isn't budging, try upping your activity level and see if you can further widen your deficit through burning calories. Cutting back on more calories is the next option if you're not seeing movement on the scale/if you aren't able to get in regular exercise.

It's a lot of trial and error when it comes to the exact calorie goal and even then it can become a bit of a moving target. It's best to learn your body and how it responds before making drastic changes. Unfortunately doing this does take time and weight loss is a slow process when done the right, healthy, sustainable way.

Try not to get caught up in the comparisons - it won't help your frustration and it's things that are completely out of control - different sex, genetics, body compositions, metabolisms, etc. all those factor in to our own weight so to try and line up and compare all of that to someone else is pointless.

I know I struggle with patience too, but try and focus on the long term/sustainable approach instead of quick weight loss. Weigh and track everything you eat - it's the best way to truly ensure you are hitting your calorie goals.

ladyhusker39

I'd recommend you aim to lose no more than 1 lb/wk for the reasons people have already mentioned. With a TDEE of 1995 that would be a deficit of 500 calories/day or 1495 calories/day. I get the distinct impression this isn't what you want to hear because you're looking for faster and I'm advising to actually slow down.

darrenbeckworth

Exercise more.... its easier to create a bigger deficit with what you are doing by adding 3-400 exercise calories instead of going below 1000 daily.

Sharon909

TavistockToad wrote: »

5lb a month is a good rate of loss.

Weigh your food instead of using cups.

Oh and, comparrison is the thief of joy...

I do weigh my meats and I use a cup for everything else.

TavistockToad

Sharon909 wrote: »

TavistockToad wrote: »

5lb a month is a good rate of loss.

Weigh your food instead of using cups.

Oh and, comparrison is the thief of joy...

I do weigh my meats and I use a cup for everything else.

Weigh everything

Sharon909

You're basically losing on average about 1 Lb per week which is a good, healthy rate of loss. It's a slow process...this isn't "reality" t.v. so expectations need to be adjusted.[/quote]

Thanks I guess 'reality TV' has me brainwashed.

MegaMooseEsq

Sharon909 wrote: »

Thanks I guess 'reality TV' has me brainwashed.

Remember that a lot (most?) of the reality show people gain it back and then some - don't use them as role models! Think about it, what would you prefer: to lose weight slowly over the course of a year or two and learn how to stay at your awesome lower weight for the rest of your life, or lose weight fast over the course of six months and gain it all back plus ten pounds a year after that? I think people focus way too much on losing, and not enough on how weight management actually works. You can do this, but like others have said, you've got to focus on you and forget about what other people have done or are doing. Good luck!

Also, I've lost 48 pounds over the last 15 months weighing and logging pretty religiously. My husband has lost at least 20 pounds over the same time frame without trying or reigning in his crazy sweet tooth or late night snacking just because we aren't going out to eat as much. He's male and a foot taller than me. So it goes.

Sharon909

Thanks. I'm reviewing my food diary and I am not eating as many veggies as I thought I was so I want to work on that a little, add some consistent exercise and re-evaluate in a few weeks. I know I didn't get fat overnight and its stupid for me to think that I will lose it fast.

gamerbabe14

Sharon909 wrote: »

Thanks. I'm reviewing my food diary and I am not eating as many veggies as I thought I was so I want to work on that a little, add some consistent exercise and re-evaluate in a few weeks. I know I didn't get fat overnight and its stupid for me to think that I will lose it fast.

You really don't need to change anything. Your rate of loss is great! Expectations need to be changed is all.

ladyhusker39

Sharon909 wrote: »

Thanks. I'm reviewing my food diary and I am not eating as many veggies as I thought I was so I want to work on that a little, add some consistent exercise and re-evaluate in a few weeks. I know I didn't get fat overnight and its stupid for me to think that I will lose it fast.

Good for you. While exercise won't allow you to eat like there's no tomorrow, it can certainly give you a few extra calories to work with. And I feel like it needs to be said that you're doing a great job. Give yourself the credit you deserve. All the best.

lujako

TavistockToad wrote: »

Weigh everything

^^^^^ x 10...it made a ton of difference for me.

paperpudding

What you are doing IS working - you have lost 10lb in 2 months so about 1and bit a week which is perfectly good loss rate.

You do not need to change anything, you just need to adjust your expectations to be more realistic.

jludwick78

10 pounds is great. I’ve only lost 2 since Jan 2.

MyEvolvingJourney

Yes, you don't want to lose too fast. You need something sustainable, that you can stick with for life. You don't want to go below 1200 because that's the minimum your body needs. You're doing great!