Having trouble losing the FIRST 5 lbs. Wwyd?

Roushkaylak

Hi! So my name is Kayla and my goal is to lose 50ish lbs, give or take a few. I’m currently weighing in around 183 and in 3 months, I’ve lost about 3 lbs. In the last 10 weeks, I’ve lost about 0.25 lbs. While I know the scale is just one metric in weight loss, and slowly slowly slowly I’m losing inches, I am feeling discouraged, as I would really like to see the number go down. Essentially, I’m seeing very little progress.

I am currently in a program called No B.S. headed by a woman named Corinne Crabtree. I began the journey on March 23 and I absolutely love the program. I follow her four basics: 7+ hrs of sleep a night, 64 oz or more of water per day, plan meals for the day, and eat when hungry and stop at enough. With the program, I eat what I want to and I do not count calories. I refuse to restrict any foods due to my personal history with food. As someone who has struggled with yo-yo dieting and diet culture toxicity for more than 10 yrs, this program is perfect for me.

With that being said, in three months, I have lost just under 3 lbs. I’m not looking for a critique of the program I follow, as I love it and am sticking with it, but I’m looking to see if someone has been in a similar situation. Did you struggle to even see progress from the very beginning? What did you do to get the scale moving? I’m wondering if my body is hanging onto every ounce and pound because of the damage I did to it from years of bingeing and restricting. Please note that I am not willing to count calories or macros, and exercise is secondary. While I am beginning to incorporate it 3 to 4 days per week, I don’t plan on going HAM by working out 3 hrs a day, 6 days a week. I also eat healthy foods most days, but I eat what I enjoy, even if it’s not the healthiest all the time.

Any thoughts are appreciated!

MaltedTea

This sounds like intuitive eating. And if you're not tracking/logging your food then you may not lose quickly. In italics because this is very relative: like,quick compared to what or whom?

But the rate of loss - whether scale or measurements - is less important than the fact you're losing! 👏🏿

May I also just sneak in the comment that few MFPers are going "HAM by working out 3 hrs a day, 6 days a week" so no one would suggest this to you (even if you didn't mention it in your post).

Why? We're - for the most part - reasonable humans and this amount of exercise would be near the upper limits of average.

In sum, please don't think better health requires this level of exercise consistently...unless you're into that 🤷🏿‍♀️

lmf1012

While it is up to you to count calories or not, it takes a calorie deficit to lose weight. It sounds like you are losing, albeit slower than you would like. Which means your deficit is pretty small. And that’s okay unless you want to see some improvement in the rate of loss.

If you don’t want to count calories, I would suggest maybe jotting down in a journal what and roughly how much you’re eating for awhile to get a feel for how much constitutes your current deficit. Then from there, you could start by decreasing portion sizes a bit while still eating the foods you want. This should in theory start to increase your deficit.

Also, starting regular exercise will also increase your deficit a bit, and should yield some results as well.

It goes without saying that diligent tracking (aka counting) would give you a better guide to work with but it’s not impossible to do your way either.

ITUSGirl51

Not sure what advice you want, but weight loss happens when you eat less than you burn. It takes 3500 calorie deficit a week to lose 1 lb. If you don’t want to eat less or count calories, try moving more to burn more calories with natural activity. Like park far away and walk to the entrance of the store. Spread walking throughout your day. If you get in 4 x 15 min walks, that’s an hour a day and a good amount of burned calories.

Lietchi

Within your very specific requirements, I would suggest
- trying to find did substitutions for some higher calorie foods you're eating - there might be lower calorie options that you find just as satisfying
- trying to find more filling foods or meals (substitutions or additions) for example bulking up your meals with salad or vegetables, which might let you eat less calories and still feel satiated

Even if you don't want to count calories, a calorie deficit is still needed to lose weight, so the two options above might help you increase your calorie deficit and lose weight a bit more quickly.

sijomial

What would I do in your position?

I would work on both parts of the "eat less, move more" simplistic (but true) view of dieting.

Eat the foods you like but reduce the portion sizes and reduce the frequency of of the high calorie choices.
Skip breakfast perhaps if it's a meal that's optional for you? Maybe just on days you aren't actually hungry first thing in the day?

Build more daily movement into your lifestyle, walk more, use the stairs, make car use the last option, reduce the time spent sitting down, exercise (of a type you enjoy) more.

MargaretYakoda

Are you getting enough fiber?
That can help keep you fuller. You can try a teaspoon of psyllium husk daily in a smoothie or some other tasty drink.

Other than that my advice is just to remind yourself that any progress is still progress. If you need to do things the specific way you’re doing it that’s fine. You are losing. You are getting thinner. With your other needs? It enough to be losing. Just don’t quit.

Keep on keeping on. You’ll get there eventually.

mrsgoochy

Hi! I'm about 3 weeks in and went from 187t to 178. Even I'm surprised! Are you listening to her podcast daily? Have you talked to your doctor? Keep up with the water- you never know what might be going on inside your body that is blocking your efforts. Are you eating 'from the ground" as she says? I love her commentary, cracks me up!

clydeandleann

You need to go into a deficit. Only way to get there is to know your total calorie count vs what your body naturally burns. If you want to eat freely, no prob just have to move/exercise more to burn enough calories to remain in a deficit. I cook competition bbq, which goes hand in hand with beer here in Tx. If I have a cook going I figure out my calorie intake for the day and attempt to burn that many calories that morning to offset. Healthy? Probably not but it works. Between that and intermittent fasting I have gone from 250lbs to 158 at my lowest in the past year. Good luck, and remember if your goal is to drop lbs it's all a numbers game.

boilerdawg2009

Unfortunately it sounds like the things that you're choosing to eat are pretty high in calories. I feel like you're trying to make that program fit your lifestyle instead of the other way around.