Snail-like progress

WendySPWarren

Hey guys,

I'm just curious for some feedback, and to see if anyone has shared my frustration with snail-like progress.

I started on here probably around 8 months ago and was logging food until I reached a point were I felt that I had developed a good feeling for my cal intake (aprox 3-4 months in). Since then I've gotten a bit more relaxed with logging because I know what meals I can eat to reach my goals.

After 4-5 months of tri-weekly exercise (cardio and strength) combined with sustainable dieting I lost *drumroll* 1.5kg and 8cm!
I've gotten a bit lazy with gym because its winter here, but I (luckilly) haven't gained any of those cm back. Weight has dropped slightly, but that's probably due to muscle loss.

Anyhoo, I've been very steadily losing weight and cm this whole time. I've lost 1.5kg and around 8-10cm since starting early this year.
I feel like my progress is frustratingly slow considering the number of changes I have made to my diet this year. I feel like I should be losing around 0.5kg a week. Heck, I'd be ecstatic with half of that!
Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of my little accomplishment so far, but it's just been so outrageously slow!
I feel like just cutting back my cal more, because I'm well aware that my body drops fat faster at that level, but I also know that doing so will make me dizzy/fatigued/slow and I'll probably gain it back after I return to a sustainable cal intake anyway, so it would be totally pointless.

As a side note, I don't have any wild hangups about my body. I know some people will read this as desperation, but it's really just my frustration over the slow progress, and not accomplishing my goals.
Last off, sorry for the giant essay. I promised myself I would keep it short and sweet, but I got carried away (sorry!)

I'll be heading off to bed now, but I'll check comments and reply in the morning.

Boxykins

I am also a fan and victim of the snail-like progress. I lost a reasonable amount of weight in short time (4kg in 3 weeks) when I first made the decision to change my lifestyle. I started going to the gym 5 times a week, and begun the fast diet (also called 5:2 diet). Since then, I can tell I have lost fat, but the scales won't show. I should buy myself a measuring tape to keep track of the inches, but basically: I've been gaining muscle which is good, but doesn't show on the scales.

I know that doing this slowly but for a long time will pay off, as it will be easier to maintain my weight in the future, but I can understand your frustration.

It has been 2 months now, an I'm hoping to get back in the mood to go to the gym regularily. Since I started the diet 2 months ago, I lost a stone (6kgs) which was definitely necessary, but more needs to go.

Good luck with everything!

WendySPWarren

4kg in 3 weeks is damn good!
I know my body will loose weight fast on the 2:5 fasting diet, but I am also well aware of how it can negatively impact my metabolism and short-term heath. I don't really see any form of fasting as a sustainable way to loose weight in my case (as tempting as it is).

By the sounds of things you've defiantly lost fat! Awesome. Get yourself a measuring tape and go by that instead. Scales are silly anyway and don't really show when you're making the best progress (losing fat, gaining muscle).
Congrats on your acolishment so far!
I wish I was making the same progress.

BeachIron

You've lost some weight and size, so that's good.

That said, you decided you had a handle on things and stopped recording, and weighing and measuring your food, so you honestly do not know how much you've been eating. Go back to that, commit to being honest and strict with yourself, and be patient.

I'm 5 years in to committing to change, about 2 years into food logging, and I still weigh and measure everything. Am I pretty good at eyeballing? Yes. Do I know that there is a natural tendency in me to add just a little bit more over time? Yes. There is a program to be followed. Follow it.

Edit: typo

WendySPWarren

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not eye-balling, I havnt eyeballed since starting.
I still check my portion sizes with every meal and make sure it fits with what I know works. I don't snack down on chips or soda, unless its as a treat (eg, going out to the movies, which happens maybe 5 times a year tops). I'm well aware of all of my meals I have, and of my portion sizes. I've never been one to snack out of boredom.
Heck, there's no reason for you to believe me when I say my meals are small, but I'd gladly start uploading photos of my food to my myfitnesspal blog if it'll help with receiving feedback.


I know there is a reason progress has been so slow, but I would be very surprised if its because my portion sizes are too big. I do have a few medical issues due to childhood illness, so I really should talk to a doctor about it just to rule that out as a possible cause.

PikaKnight

If you aren't logging...then no one can really say why progress is slow. If you have a medical condition, then yes, definitely talk to your doctor.

BeachIron

Here is the thing, if you are eating at a calorie deficit then you will lose weight. Put another way, if your total caloric intake is less than your Total Calorie Energy Expenditure (TDEE), you will lose weight. Even if you have a medical condition that slows down your metabolism, the formula will hold though your TDEE will be lower than for healthy people of a similar weight, height, sex, and lean body mass.

So to be able to manage this and understand where things are going wrong, you have to keep a food and exercise diary. And like any other data, it has to be accurate, which is why it is so very important to WEIGH all solids and measure liquids. A food scale is essential. Pictures won't work because ingredients and weight matter.

This all can be a very hard lesson to learn for many people. It does work though.

WendySPWarren

Aiiiiighty, I've been hesitant in lowering my deficit any further than it already is because of the numerous warnings about doing so, but pretty much what you're saying is that it's fine, as long as my metabolism is already lower than a person of a similar age, weight, height, sex. If I'm currently sitting around -0.1kg per week on average, how many cal would you recommend removing from my current net deficit in order to achieve around -0.5kg per week?

WendySPWarren

Aiiiiighty, I've been hesitant in lowering my deficit any further than it already is because of the numerous warnings about doing so, but pretty much what you're saying is that it's fine, as long as my metabolism is already lower than a person of a similar age, weight, height, sex. If I'm currently sitting around -0.1kg per week on average, how many cal would you recommend removing from my current net deficit in order to achieve around -0.5kg per week?

Some more info:
- Female
- 23 years
- 164cm (5"4')
- 57.7 kg (127 lb)
- 72cm waist. (28 inch)

candifeola

I have fallen into the same thing just keep working

WendySPWarren

Thanks for the encouragement. It's nice to know I'm not the only one.

zensugi

I find interesting that you lost 8cm of waist for only 1.5 kg of mass loss. It sounds to me like a substantial reduction per unit of mass.

WendySPWarren

It's probably because I was gaining muscel weight on my legs and arms at the same time as losing that fat around my waist. My net weight loss was -1.5kg, but if I isolated only fat loss it would probably be a bit more than that due to being offset by the weight I gained from muscel.

keep2it

You got it - if it had been just fat alone then you might have seen the scales move more BUT you might not have seen such a good loss off your waist. That muscle is what's helped you lose so many cm for a 1.5 kg loss overall.

The other thing to remember is that many people find that the closer they get to a healthy weight, the smaller the amount they are able to lose each week. I plugged your stats into a BMI calculator and based on your current weight you are smack-bang in the middle of the healthy weight range.

If you were happy with your progress (in inches, strength etc) before you stepped back on the scale then perhaps focus on that and put the scale away again. It's not always the best indicator of progress.

melcpia

Hey guys,

I'm just curious for some feedback, and to see if anyone has shared my frustration with snail-like progress.
.

Don't stress over the slow and steady snail pace. I lost 30kgs In the first 12 months. then in the last 8 months Ive only lost 6kgs. BUT I'm not worried. I haven't gained it back and that's the best incentive to keep going.

I log every single day and I don't log for any one else except me...it keeps me on track I I know that eventually I will get to goal. Just slowly..

I have logged in for 625 in a row as of today. I am proud of that.

If you need a buddy send me a FR.

Mel

onandoff

Snail-progress here too. Well, that is, in what the scale says.... I've been around 58-59kg since I started here, almost a year ago. But the measurements show the real progress. Also the mirror.

BeachIron

It is absolutely critical that you weigh your food as it can make a massive difference in calories with certain foods such as oil and peanut butter. Condiments matter. I'm emphasizing this because of how important it is.

I am not suggesting that you lower your calories. What is your age, weight, height? These will help us all give more specific advice, but without logging and weighing, I guarantee that you're eating more than you think.

WendySPWarren

It is absolutely critical that you weigh your food as it can make a massive difference in calories with certain foods such as oil and peanut butter. Condiments matter. I'm emphasizing this because of how important it is.

I am not suggesting that you lower your calories. What is your age, weight, height? These will help us all give more specific advice, but without logging and weighing, I guarantee that you're eating more than you think.

As I said earlier, I never stopped weighing my food. I like to keep my portion sizes to a standard. I usually aim to just be content, if not slightly hungry still. Again, I have gone back to logging my food and can confirm that my net cal intake has decreased since I stopped logging, rather than increased.

I measure my high-cal condiments such as vegetable oil, dressings and spreads, which I use sparingly. I do not bother measuring garlic, salt and pepper because the collective cal in a days worth of cooking is typically less than 10cal. I would need to be going through a months worth of garlic each day for it to have any significant influence on my overall net cal.

So, you are suggesting that I should decease my portion sizes, but not decrease my cal intake? I am confused. Wouldn't a decrease in portion size also ultimately decrease my cal intake as well? Could you explain what you mean with that, cheers.

I posted my age, height, weight, measurements all in an earlier comment. They are also on my profile

WendySPWarren

Onandoff

melcpia

keep2it

Haha, thanks guys.
It's nice to see I'm not alone with the slow progress, and it's good to have it confirmed that it may be due to muscle gain. My legs have gotten much more muscular since starting, and my waist-to-hip ratio is down to 0.76, so I should be proud of that fact. I think I'm just getting a little bit impatient, because my bigger girlfriends are all losing so much each week and I feel like I've barely made any progress at all compared to them.

Thanks everyone, I'll keep my chin up and try to focus more on the positives.