1300 calorie diet

claireeeyc1

Hi everyone, feeling a bit stuck.

Have been on a 1300 diet for 17 days now. (i have done all the research and worked out my deficit to lose 1-2lbs a week) I track my calories, cycle daily and have a light work out with a kettle bell.
Before i decided to diet i was eating 1 meal a day and it was heavily processed foods. now i would have belvita biscuits for breakfast, eggs or porridge for lunch and a pre made calorie counted dinner. i am usually under my calories so will have lighter snacks.

i lost 3lbs in 10 days. today is day 17, i have weighed myself and i have regained 2lbs. i am feeling very discouraged and not sure what i am doing wrong.

noodlesno

Hey Claire,

Unfortunately, weight loss is not linear. There are so many things which will cause weight gain that is nothing to do with your body fat %.

Here are a few which may be happening.

- An increase in salt or a decrease in water intake will cause water retention.
- Women who have menstrual cycles are known to retain water up to a week before their period. This water will be released 2-4 days after the cycle starts.
- Increase in exercise causes micro tears in the muscles and water will be retained to help repair them.

So even if you have 'put on 2lbs' it may be nothing to do with your fat loss. My recommendation is to give it some more time to see if it is just water that has been retained for one of the many reasons above. If you have been following your plan and on your deficit then you are very likely to see that weight come off and it is just water retention.

As you can see from my weight graph below I have gone up and down but the overarching direction is down. However, there are two large upward blimps where one was my menstrual cycle and the other was from a night out drinking and then the water retention after from dehydration.



I weigh every day, this helps balance out the noise. I would recommend it as long as it is not something that would affect your mental health.

Another thing that can help work out is whether it is water noise or you are actually putting on fat. Is to look at other measurements such as waist circumference.

As you can see from my waist measurement graphs below the noise I have in my weight graphs are not there in the waist. This helps me be reassured that an upward weight measurement is not me putting on fat.



Good luck with the journey and please don't be disheartened. You sound like you are doing all the right things and it will pay off...promise.

sbelletti

This graph is my January. All over the place but still on target for the month. The scale is going to fluctuate throughout the day plus day to day and maybe even week to week. Hang in there and keep doing what you're doing a little while longer!

Stick with your plan for at LEAST 4 full weeks (and I recommend 6 if you're just starting a deficit and adding new exercise), and then reassess from there.