Very Confused

JilliejamOne

I have over 100 lbs to lose. I have kept carbs below 50, calories below 1200 (weighing and honestly logging my foods), drinking tons of water and increased my walking (8,000 steps). Yet no weight loss. Oh it has been over a week. Frustrated.

cmriverside

First, good for you for getting started.

Second, you don't have to eat so little nor such low carb. I wouldn't last two months on that. Make it sustainable.

Third, weight loss is not a daily-progress-report type thing. Many people lose 5 or more pounds in that first week and then stall out or gain. Many lose nothing but then lose 5 pounds the next week.

Read this: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

...and this: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10683010/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-fluctuations/p1

..and this: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

Stay the course. Keep doing the right things but eat the foods you like and find a rhythm. It's really more about consistency over time.

snowflake954

You don't give your stats--height, current weight, etc. Are you weighing and measuring all food and drink? Your daily goal seems very low. MFP will not give females a goal below 1200, so going under does you no favors. You need that minimum amount for nutrition and to fuel any exercise at all. Eating low carb makes no difference for weight loss. Some people find it easier to lose, but when they go back to eating carbs gain it all back. It doesn't teach you to eat sensibly. Portion control is more important.

Check out some of the logging threads to make sure you're doing it correctly. Make sure your daily goal is not too aggressive so that you can stick with it. And eat what you like--just less, and try to substitute here and there to cut calories. Then, you'll need patience. Make good habits that will see you through the long term. Good luck.

Chef_Barbell

It's not a race. 1200 is most likely too low. Do this correctly. Those above links are helpful.

musicfan68

It's only been a week - you need to be patient. It can take a few weeks to see any weight loss.

zebasschick

have you checked all the database entries you logged to make sure they're accurate? many here are high, low, very high or very low - you could be logging accurately with entries that are showing too few calories. it's best for your health and weight goals to compare each entry to the manufacturer packaging or the USDA listings.

btw, is it possible you're eating more sodium?

Tiernan1212

What do you have your activity level set to here? If you set your activity level to sedentary and say you want to lose 2 lbs a week, it will automatically set your calories to 1200. As another poster said, it does you no good to go below 1200.

I have a similar overall goal, but I have several mini weight loss goals along the way (it's less daunting that way). I am around 254 (started at 267 a few weeks ago, but I'm chalking up the large losses to mostly water weight), and I get between 8k - 10k steps a day with no extra exercise right now. My loss is set at 2 lbs per week for now, but once I get around 225 I'll lower it to 1 lb per week to make it more sustainable. I have my activity set to lightly active, and with my stats coming over through Fitbit I always end up with extra exercise calories burned (which I do not eat back, but I always have as a cushion in case I go a bit over). My calorie goal is right around 1600.

Every body is different of course, and what works for me may not work for you. Try going through the pinned posts in the forums, there is so much good info out there to help debunk weight loss myths, and really give you ideas as to what may work for you. I would recommend staying away from any super fast weight loss, as it's generally not sustainable.

*EDIT*
I have been here for 11 years, and I fell off about 6 months ago due to just not caring, and I felt like once I gained it was all over. For me, consistency is the key to keeping my weight in a better place, and learning to find the balance of what I can keep doing for the long term and not what will get me results immediately. I really wish you the best for your goals!

AnnPT77

OP, I'm chiming in to say you should plan to stick with a sensible calorie goal (and not go way below it) for at least one full menstrual cycle, so you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least two different monthly cycles. Hormonal water retention fluctuations can be quite extreme - in some (rare) cases, women only see a new low weight on the scale once a month, even when losing fat at a good pace. Once you've been at this for a few months, you'll have an idea what your personal patterns are, but it takes time to figure that out.

Speaking of that "few months" thing: Losing any meaningful amount of fat weight is a long-term thing. That puts a priority on sustainable tactics, things you can keep doing for weeks, months, maybe even a small number of years to lose the weight, while maintaining a happy, energetic life alongside. Think about how to make the process relatively easy, rather than super fast. That strategy will also help you find and establish new habits that you can continue permanently, to stay at a healthy weight once you reach there.

I'd strongly recommend not trying to be super-aggressive about cutting calories way below a sensible weight loss rate target. That's a recipe for increased health risk, counter-productive increased fatigue, and possible slips or breaks when it just gets too difficult to continue. Losing weight consistently at a moderate pace can be faster (in calendar time) than losing theoretically fast, but with backsliding problems interspersed along the way.

The post I'm quoting below is good advice, but I wanted to mention one minor technical point.

Tiernan1212 wrote: »

What do you have your activity level set to here? If you set your activity level to sedentary and say you want to lose 2 lbs a week, it will automatically set your calories to 1200. As another poster said, it does you no good to go below 1200.

Just as a minor clarification: It will only use the automatic 1200 lower limit if that 2 pounds a week loss would put daily calorie goal at 1200 or below, and the person is female.

For example, a woman who's very severely overweight may have a maintenance calorie level above 2200 calories, even at sedentary. Two pounds a week requires a 1000 calorie daily deficit. If I weighed 300 pounds, even at 5'5" and age 66, my sedentary maintenance calories would be around 2300, and if so MFP would give me a goal of 1300.

For men, MFP's lower limit is 1500 rather than 1200.

Since OP is female with over 100 pounds to lose, it's unclear what her current weight maintenance calories might be at sedentary, without knowing at least her height, age, weight she is. I agree that 1200 is likely to be low/aggressive for a woman with 100+ pounds to lose, but that's also not for-sure without knowing more about her.

I have a similar overall goal, but I have several mini weight loss goals along the way (it's less daunting that way). I am around 254 (started at 267 a few weeks ago, but I'm chalking up the large losses to mostly water weight), and I get between 8k - 10k steps a day with no extra exercise right now. My loss is set at 2 lbs per week for now, but once I get around 225 I'll lower it to 1 lb per week to make it more sustainable. I have my activity set to lightly active, and with my stats coming over through Fitbit I always end up with extra exercise calories burned (which I do not eat back, but I always have as a cushion in case I go a bit over). My calorie goal is right around 1600.

Every body is different of course, and what works for me may not work for you. Try going through the pinned posts in the forums, there is so much good info out there to help debunk weight loss myths, and really give you ideas as to what may work for you. I would recommend staying away from any super fast weight loss, as it's generally not sustainable.

*EDIT*
I have been here for 11 years, and I fell off about 6 months ago due to just not caring, and I felt like once I gained it was all over. For me, consistency is the key to keeping my weight in a better place, and learning to find the balance of what I can keep doing for the long term and not what will get me results immediately. I really wish you the best for your goals!

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