Calorie deficit but only 0.2 of a pound lost in 7 days?

leviathan14077

I'm bewildered with what went wrong this week
I'd dropped 5 pounds last week but this week only 0.2 of a pound which is bizarre.
I've been eating between 1000 and 1200 cal a day. Only whole foods and grains and drinking 3liters of water.
I have been exercising (10 mins on bike, 12 mins butt and Abs app daily) but no shift.
Could this be muscle gain or am I leveling off already? I'm only on day 14 hmm.

Food macros alternate between fat/protein as the highest percentage
I'm 5'8 and 185 pounds

sijomial

You lost 5.2lbs in two weeks - not seeing the problem apart from:
Aiming for too low a calorie allowance.
Unreasonable expectations that weight loss is linear.
Impatience, you are only 14 days in!

paperpudding

Highly unlikely to be muscle gain - more like just normal fluctuations. Nothing went wrong. Nothing bizarre about it.

Sometimes you lose fair bit first week but this isnt ongoing - other weeks you will lose at varying rates, including sometimes nothing and even slight gain.

as long as your average, over time, is round about the amount you want.

as an aside - you don't have to eat only whole foods and grains, nor drink 3 liters per day and you should, depending on your stats, be eating at least 1200 per day, probably more.

Assuming that is accurate logging.

LunaTheFatCat

It's normal! Annoying but normal. Next week you may lose a bit more again and then you might not lose any for 3 weeks.
I definitely think you should eat a bit more though, especially when you're exercising. You may not be able to keep these low calories up long term and just throw in the towel. But yet, as said, make sure you log accurately - so use a food scale for starters, if you aren't doing this now.

tinkerbellang83

It's not bizarre at all, as mentioned above, weight loss isn't linear. Your weight fluctuates constantly.

Muscle gain, particularly in women is very difficult, well actually near impossible when in a large deficit, it requires a progressive lifting programme, on point protein intake and generally a tiny calorie deficit or eating at maintenance/above.

The 5lbs you lost in your first week is not all fat, the vast majority will be water weight, a normal average rate of loss (i.e. over 4-6 weeks plus if consistent) is 1-2lbs per week for most people who are overweight. The second week you may have been experiencing water retention.

The scale doesn't always show the loss you're expecting because there are a number of factors that affect your scale weight that have nothing to do with fat loss.

See - https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

Also as others have said, eating below 1200 is not advised, it's very difficult to get adequate nutrition below that number, it's also not necessary for the vast majority to eat that low, unless you are particularly short and/or are older and sedentary.

leviathan14077

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll add some calories by snacking this week as im satisfied after meal times.
I've never changed my diet for this long so to meet a brick wall so quickly was really disheartening!
At lest I'm enjoying all the colourful meals im eating now so im definatly not turning back.
To put it as weight loss isn't linear is great. Makes sense. I may now try to weigh in every 4 weeks. Im sure the temptation to step on will be horrific :

SouthWestLondon

I had a similar panic yesterday when I weighed in and lost 1lb but had a calorie deficit over the prior week where I would expect at least a 2lb loss.

Lots of very reassuring posters pointed out all the variables that could be affecting the number on the scale - for me I concluded that since I had a lot of salty food over the weekend, perhaps I had retained a bit more water than usual.

Anyway, stepped on the scales this morning (I weigh every morning but on record on Mondays) - and I'm down another 1lb. Now, I don't think I magically lost 1lb overnight, but presumably whatever was slowing my progress on Monday resolved itself a bit.

It may well be that the next time you weigh yourself you're down by more than you expect as your scales catch up to what's happening in your body.

yirara

Oh, and if not mentioned yet: What is your calorie goal, what your current weight, height, age and gender, and what rate of loss did you chose?

the lowest MFP will give women is always 1200 (1500 for men), as less calories than that are unhealthy. If your chosen deficit is too big then you'll still get 1200 calories but will not reach the weekly loss you've chosen. That's important to note

leviathan14077

My calorie goal is 1510, I weigh 185lbs, age 30 and female.
I've been at home with 2 children under 4 since I first became pregnant so its piled on quickly.
Id chosen sedentary as I'm cooped up in a flat. Especially now with a total lockdown.
I've borrowed an exercise bike and am following some fitness apps daily so theres some form of movement going on.
My kids will both be in preschool this spring so I'm aiming to just get used to a routine for exercise before taking the plunge with a PT.
I've dipped to 1200 but since reading responses I'll aim for the 1510 and weigh at 4 week intervals

paperpudding

if your calorie goal is 1510 you are suppossed to be eating 1510, not 1000 - 1200.

of course make sure it really is 1510 by accurate logging.

AnnPT77

leviathan14077 wrote: »

My calorie goal is 1510, I weigh 185lbs, age 30 and female.
I've been at home with 2 children under 4 since I first became pregnant so its piled on quickly.
Id chosen sedentary as I'm cooped up in a flat. Especially now with a total lockdown.
I've borrowed an exercise bike and am following some fitness apps daily so theres some form of movement going on.
My kids will both be in preschool this spring so I'm aiming to just get used to a routine for exercise before taking the plunge with a PT.
I've dipped to 1200 but since reading responses I'll aim for the 1510 and weigh at 4 week intervals

Yes, please!

I started out here around your weight (but shorter, 5'5", and older, 59), and 1200 was too low for me. With a couple of little ones to take care of, you don't want to under-eat and risk the "hit the wall" thing that happened to me. (I got weak and fatigued, even though I corrected my calorie level as soon as I realized, and it took multiple weeks to recover.)

Hang in there, eat to your calorie goal, gradually increase the challenge on the exercise front, and you'll do great!