What am I really losing?

brittanywilson96

I have always been pretty big, never eat healthy and especially put on some weight while I was pregnant. My baby is almost 6 months old and I’m at (was) the highest I’ve ever been. 271.6lbs and I was ready for a change. I’ve been keeping a strict diet of 1200 a day and doing at least 30-40 mins of cardio a day and 10-15 mins of weight lifting. Tomorrow will be a week since I’ve started and I stepped on the scale today to find myself exactly 9 pounds lighter. I really hope this is actual fat coming off but can’t help but feel like it’s too good to be true... I know I probably won’t get the same results every week but I’m afraid the weight might come back for some reason. Anyone else have a similar experience and what happened in the following weeks?

quiksylver296

The first week is going to be quite a bit of water weight and less food in your digestive system, not to burst your bubble. You will likely not lose as much next week, or maybe not at all. Don’t let that freak you out.

You’re doing well. Keep it up.

Your calories are really low, so if you find yourself starving, consider raising your daily calories. I don’t know how tall you are, but at your current weight you can likely still lose well at 1500-1600 calories.

RAinWA

I started at 257 and am around 5"1'. I lost around 9 pounds the first week, around 7 the second and then leveled off to slightly more than 2 pounds a week. You should level off in a week or so but it sure does feel good to get the big loss right away! And you might see a gain at some point, it happens but as long as your weight is trending down you are good.

That said, you don't say how tall you are but 1200 a day is pretty low especially if you are exercising. Are you eating any of your exercise calories back? What does MFP give you for 2 pounds a week loss?

RunnerGrl1982

Hey Brittany. First off, congrats on making the decision to get healthy! Good for you! As to your questions, if you lost 9lbs in one week, the majority of that weight loss will probably be some water weight. You won't necessarily get the same results each week. Weight fluctuates too frequently on a daily basis, and generally after the initial period of having that quick drop on the scale, you will eventually see what you are actually losing week to week as time goes on. One week of tracking is not enough time to dictate what your consistent rate of loss will be.

A few quick questions to tack on:

Do you need to be on 1200 calories a day? Was that what MFP gave you after selecting a 2lb weight loss/week (I'm assuming you chose 2lbs/week). Generally, I've seen a lot of people who don't need to go that low right off the bat, as 1200 is the bare minimum for a woman to consume.

With that said, be sure to take a peek at the stickies at the top of the forums. They have a lot of good information for you! I wish you the very best on your journey!