33 year old female, new to MFP - one week and no progress

JGriffs722

Good morning everyone! My name is Jaimie. I am 33 years old. Below I will tell you a little bit about my history. If you don't feel like reading, you can scroll to the bottom to read my question (marked by *** ).

Years ago, in college, I got tired of how I felt from all the binge drinking and late-night pizza (I am 5'3 and weighed about 140 lbs at the time), so I started working out and eating better. Pretty soon I was hooked, and I became a fitness enthusiast who was very into healthy living. Within about a year, I got down to my lowest weight of 112 and felt great.

After graduating, I met a guy, we started dating, moved in together, and eventually got married. My very strict lifestyle gave way to dinners out, sharing snacks while watching tv, drinking beer and wine, traveling, etc. Before I knew it, I put back on 15 pounds. I still tried to eat as healthy as possible and workout as much as I could (I was very into running, ran a number of half marathons, and even ran my first full marathon), but I also tried to balance that with enjoying my relationship and other experiences which often included food and drinks.

Unfortunately, the relationship didn't work out, and two years ago I got a divorce. This took a toll on my self-esteem and sent me into a deep depression. I didn't have the energy to work out, nor did I care about being healthy. I put on about 10 more pounds.

Then, I was given the opportunity to run the Boston Marathon last year, and I decided enough was enough. It had always been a dream of mine to run, so I said yes. I trained so hard and felt great. It was one of my greatest accomplishments. Unfortunately, when it was over, my depression returned worse than ever, as I no longer had something to focus my energy on. Since then (and the quarantine hasn't helped either), my weight has ballooned to 160 lbs which is my heaviest weight ever.

A week and a half ago I decided I was done feeling this way. I threw out everything unhealthy, made a shopping list, went to the store, and started on my plan. Fast forward to now.

***For the past week, I have logged every single bit of food that has gone into my mouth, and my daily calories have hovered between 1200 and 1500. I have eaten as many whole foods as possible and limited processed foods to a minimum. I completely cut out alcohol (and have to admit that I was drinking quite a bit during quarantine, so I thought this would have a much bigger effect on my body than it has). I have started working out, alternating between body-weight strength workouts in my living room and walks or jogs outside for cardio. I also started taking vitamins and have been working on getting myself back onto a normal sleep schedule. An example of a day of eating for me might include 2 hardboiled eggs and 2 strips of turkey bacon for breakfast, fresh green juice (kale, celery, cucumber, pineapple, green apple, banana, and almond milk) for a snack, turkey-roll ups for lunch (deli turkey rolled up with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mustard), a rice cake for a snack, and broiled salmon with sweet potatoes and roasted squash for dinner. I drink tons of water and unsweetened tea throughout the day.

Somehow, my weight hasn't budged since day one and I can't understand how that's possible. If nothing else, I expected to at least lose some water weight thanks to giving up alcohol and all the processed food (e.g., takeout pizza, Chinese, boxed pasta, etc.), but nothing is happening. I was SO motivated and felt like I was regaining control of my life, but now that I am not seeing results, I am starting to get discouraged and can feel my depression creeping back in. I am getting the sense of "what is the point of it all" if nothing is going to change.

Has anyone else experienced this? No weight loss at all in the first week? (I feel like people always have a decent loss the first week). Have you stuck with it? Did you eventually see results, and if so, when and what were they like? Did you change anything to begin seeing results or do you have any advice for me?

Thanks in advance. I am looking for any help I can get. I live alone and don't have anyone to share in this experience with or to motivate me, so I am looking for support where I can get it.***

Jaimie

BritmaninNZ

Hi Jaime,

First of all good on you for deciding to take control of everything 👍🏻 it takes a strong person to look at themselves and decide to make positive changes.

Since the beginning of February 2020 until now 3 months, I have lost 11kgs (24.4 pounds) I still want to loose another 7kgs (15.4 pounds). What really help me was a book I read by this lady who lost 22kgs without any exercise! Yep 👍🏻 you heard right no exercise, it’s all about Sugar and cutting it out: https://amandatiffen.com
Personally I would highly recommend this book, it’s helped me loose 11kgs without any real exercise 👍🏻 after the lockdown and I go to the gym, just think of the gains that will be possible then.

Hope the above helps.

Dave (New Zealand)

georgiagreeneyes

Howdy @JDonaghey22! So much of your story resonated with me (and also way to go on completing the Boston Marathon that’s a huge accomplishment)! I too am getting back on the band-wagon after letting myself spiral. Like you, I once was so health focused when it came to my nutrition and exercise and somehow got so very far from that.

First off, congratulations on taking steps to focus on rebuilding a healthy lifestyle. Regardless of what the scale says that’s a huge accomplishment not to be overshadowing by not having the weight loss you were hoping for. Especially if you’re working out again and hadn’t been for some time inflammation alone could be causing you to retain more water. Try to focus on other positives apart from the scale. The weight loss will come!! So many people, myself included, place most of our emphasis on the scale alone. When really we need to heal in other ways to prevent ourselves from the destructive habits that lead to the weight gain in the first place.

I told myself today enough is enough. Last week I half heartedly “started” and got exactly what I put into it. I’m starting today with a goal of a 30-pound weight loss. I know I’ll have plenty of ups and downs along the way, but I’m confident if I change my mindset and thinking, the rest will follow. Here’s to healing from the inside out! If you’re looking for an accountability buddy I’m happy to help in whatever way I can!

Amanda-Lynn 💚

lycheepoptarts

Do you measure your body fat and water weight? Do you think that you are exercising enough to build muscle? You COULD be losing fat and breaking even due to muscle gain. Just a thought.....

mmapags

lycheepoptarts wrote: »

Do you measure your body fat and water weight? Do you think that you are exercising enough to build muscle? You COULD be losing fat and breaking even due to muscle gain. Just a thought.....

Building muscle in a week?? Not likely.

OP, you've just started and 1 week is too short a time too worry. You also started a new exercise program. If I were a betting man, I'd guess that you are retaining fluid for muscle repair from the new exercise and that is masking any fat loss. Also, where are you in your monthly cycle? Women can fluctuate several pounds over the course of a month.

The primary advice I would give you is settle back. Keep doing what you are doing with an eye towards accuracy. Eat back at least a portion of your exercise calories as MFP intends for you to do and give it 6 weeks. Not eating back some of you exercise calories can also cause some stress to the body and water retention.

Many feel that the exercise burns on MFP are inflated. Start at 50% or 75% and adjust after 6 weeks. I would strongly suggest a weight trending app. Weigh each day under the exact same conditions. First thing in the morning, after toilet and naked or with minimal clothing. Log it without emotion as a data point. See where you are in 6 weeks. I guarantee the trend line will be up and down but the important thing is that the overall trend moves downward over time. Weight loss is not linear.

Buff_Man

Yep as said above, it takes time. For me, my weight would only drop every 2 weeks or so. So you need at least a month of consistency until you may see the scale move. But in the meantime you'll feel a lot better and that's also part of your progress! Don't drop your cals too low, aim for maximum 2lbs/week loss

naveedr77

Move forward
Fall forward
Its ok
Life is still a beautifull thing
You have everything
Sit and think about your life your mistakes your learnings then move on