Two weeks on MFP - just saw a drastic drop in weight

gebhart4

Hello everyone,

I was hoping to get a bit of perspective from you guys on what I am looking at right now weight dropping wise. I joined this site exactly 15 days ago, and have been doing daily exercise for 16 days. I have a mildly active job, and had a cal allotment in the 1800's and generally I am around 20-100 short every day.

I started at 258 pounds. Lost two pounds in the first week, to leave me at 256 last Monday. I weighed myself today, at two week mark and was at 248 pounds. I was floored to say the least. I weighed myself about twenty times to be sure. Now, I would have just assumed the scale was possessed - however, out of curiosity and excitement I have been weighing myself unofficially daily this week and have been surprised to see it basically going down a pound or half a pound daily.

Since I lost 10 pounds in two weeks, MFP recalculated my cal allotment, and I am now looking at 1770 daily.

Details:
- I have been exercising, min of 30 minutes everyday for 16 days. (And work at my mildly active job 5 to 6 days out of 7.) - usally a fast walk.
- I have NEVER gone over my cal allotment.
- I record my weight once a week. At the same time before breakfast.
- I drink min of 8 glasses of water a day, usually more like 12-13 when I am at work.
- I often eat back most of my exercise cal.
- I can be over generous in my calorie counting if I am not sure exactly, so rather than going lower I will add 20 cal or what have you.

I know scales aren't exactly the most accurate things in the world. And I know you generally lose more in the beginning then later on. But I am inclined to believe I am 148ish considering I have been seeing a downward trend all week. Naturally I am over the moon about all this, however, it is a bit concerning and unbelievable - so I am hoping you guys might have some insight.

I should point out that when I started this journey into weight loss, (I spent a year doing my masters degree and basically packed on way more pounds than I am comfortable with.) I told myself I wasn't going to be sacrificing the things I love. I know with me, that would never be sustainable. So, my food diary contains clear evidence of some seriously unhealthy foods in the evening. A beer, some Cheetos or chocolate for example. But it is all within my cal allotment, so it doesn't exactly matter. - My point is, I haven't exactly been depriving myself here.

I opened my food diary, so if you want to take a look at my progress, any thoughts, advice, etc would be appreciated. (Just finished a big breakfast/brunch.) - Looking into past entries many are saying I went over, since MFP lowered my cal allotment, but I can assure you I have been under my cal allotment since I started.

khadijak17

i have heard and from my own experience that it is possible to lose alot in the first week or so and that it normally is water weight, i'd recommend you to eat what mfp gives you and then weigh yourself after a week and see what the scale says, the weight loss will probably be alot less than your last two weeks as its actual fat you should be losing by then hope this helped x

gebhart4

khadijak17,

Good idea, I will keep that in mind for next week. I am sure that will be a good judge of what is happening. Thank you for your input. I guess I kinda got off the scale this morning a little shell-shocked. (Not that I am complaining mind you. Totally did a happy prance.)

ldugganbos

basically water weight...my first 2 weeks were like 15 pounds...then 1 - 2 pounds a week after that...and now that i am down 50 I am lucky to lose 1 per week. Just be happy that the water weight is off and now you can start an accurate count...it is a lilttle perk to keep you on track! LOL

gebhart4

idugganbos,

Interesting. Now that I think about it, what exactly IS water weight? Out of curiosity, are you set on a two pound loss per week or a one pound loss? Or does it matter when you get to the point where you are at?

Congrats on your loss! That's awesome!

QuietBloom

idugganbos,

Interesting. Now that I think about it, what exactly IS water weight? Out of curiosity, are you set on a two pound loss per week or a one pound loss? Or does it matter when you get to the point where you are at?

Congrats on your loss! That's awesome!

Your body stores carbohydrates at one part carb/ three parts water. When you start powering through your glycogen stores, the water is released into your body to be eliminated. Thus the quick initial weight loss.

Best to you!

gebhart4

caseyfairbair,

Thank you for the explanation! Too bad you can't lose all the weight THIS fast, eh? Ha!

stacyhaddenham

I too lost 10 lbs. in my first 2 weeks then this morning (my 3rd weigh in since joining MFP) I was down the pound and a half that I have it set for. Take the 10 and enjoy it, don't try to over analyze it. Congrats!

gsoukup2

Just keep doing what you are and make adjustments if things change. Seems like you're off to a fantastic start. Remember these great weeks when you have a not so great week. I'm new at this also and found it works better for me if I only eat back half of my exercise. Yesterday I had to bike for a full hour to finally answer the question "what would you do for a Klondike Bar?" Glad to see someone else with chocolate in the diary.

jadedone

The first couple weeks, you see much bigger amounts of weight loss. It slows down pretty quickly.

gebhart4

Thank you for everyone's advice and comments. I weighed myself (unofficially) this morning and was still at 248. So it looks like the scale wasn't possessed after all!

JDeana14

Yesterday I had to bike for a full hour to finally answer the question "what would you do for a Klondike Bar?"

Oh my goodness I am dying of laughter over here! Brilliant! :laugh:

askeates

And very important, do not only rely on the scale. Take your measurements, and pictures as well. Between the 3 different things, it will help you once the scale slows down to still see that progress is being made. Many people get very frustrated when they are only weighing, but your body is changing shape as well. Best of luck, and keep up the great work :drinker:

gebhart4

I have been taking measurements. Neck, waist, thighs, upper arms, hips. But good point about the pictures. I have been dragging my feet a bit in regards to that.

cognita

Firstly, congratulations!!
Secondly, it does happen. The quickest rate of weight loss will always happen at the start of the diet, and at a greater rate for those who have a larger amount of weight to loose.

When you started with MFP, was it a shock to your system? By this I mean did you go from eating your previously 'normal' diet one day to eating at your defecit amount the next, or did you gradually reduce calories? This might be a factor!

Another huge congratulations, but also don't be disheartened if the weight loss slows down - it will do at some point and it will become harder to loose such an amount in such a small space of time, so relish in it now!

Keep it up and good luck

cwolfman13

1) you have a good amount to lose...your body does drop faster the heavier you are...slower the leaner you are.

2) a lot of the early weight is water...that shouldn't discourage you, but once your body adjusts it will slow down to more normal levels of loss. It is likely that you lost about 3-5 Lbs of fat and another 7-10 Lbs in water...it is very typical and nothing to be overly concerned with at this point.

candytag

I dont want my weight loss to slow down!!!! I cant even loose water weight fast. Two weeks and two pounds later. I have been hurt so I have nto been able to excercise. I am hoping to push it this next week and maybe squeese out a little bigger loss. My body never has anything bigger than a 1.5 pound loss a time. I would love a five pound loss at one time. :flowerforyou:

MsWallwoman

Great work! Your on a roll now. Keep going. Ya! ????

Maybe start taking measurements. They are a better judge of progress in my eyes.

I LOVE the app Body TrackIt. It tracked my measurements (which are customizable), it tracks your weight and body fat. Give you a summary every time you track which is super awesome. You can even easily compare pics with the cool tools it has. It's super motivating and really helpful. It's my fav app. Lol.

Remember progress is progress no matter how small. So IF your weightless slows down, don't get discouraged. Your in a journey, take one step at a time. You can do it. .

Good luck. ????

jetlag

Just remember that water can go on as quickly as it comes off. Big, sudden changes in weight are water, so don't let an unexpected gain derail you. I would even suggest weighing daily to understand your body better, but fear the inevitable backlash I'd get. I really don't need any flaming dog poo in my inbox.

gebhart4

Today was my next weekly weigh-in since I posted this topic, and I dropped only one pound this week. A bit dissapointed, but not discouraged. The body is a strange thing.

morticia16

Weight loss is not linear so you can expect uneven progress. But it's progress! Congrats !!!

MzManiak

You completely threw me for a loop posting this in "maintaining weight". :laugh: I thought you were going to be like, why am I losing when I want to maintain?? Then you were "over the moon" about it so I was like, :huh: what??

Got it now. Keep doing what you are doing. lol If it continues to be 0.5-1lb per day, consider raising your calories. You may be at a larger-than-you-think deficit.

cadaverousbones

It seems like you are doing everything right and I would not be concerned. I know when you weigh more, you can lose weight a lot faster. Once you get down to a lower weight it should come off more slowly. Keep eating healthy and exercising. As long as you don't feel sick or like you are hungry all the time I would not worry! Congratulations on your weight loss!!

MzManiak

What's with all the quick added calories? Sometimes there are thousands of them! I'm guessing you are not eating as much as you think you are...

Jenism1

I agree with Mz Maniak. Plus, it is impossible to determine how many carbs, fat, and protein etc. you are consuming with the quick add calories. I would take the time and input the correct food. There are millions of food items in the database and you can create "meals" so you don't have to keep adding in the individual ingredients all the time.

Congrats so far on the weight loss but I would hunker down for some disappointment if you keep logging that way. In my humble opinion! Keep up the good work logging though (even if some are quick add)...that is huge!

arlenem1974

why all the quick add calories? You might be over estimating your calories and eating less then you think. \if the food your eating isn't in the data base you can easily add them as long as you have the nutritional info.

skullshank

Hi, I recently started using the Herbalife products a month ago and I've lost 8 pounds already. They have nutritional shakes which serve as meal replacements and give you all of the vitamins and minerals a healthy meal would give you. I love the products so much that I have become a distributor for them. If you'd like, I can tell you more offline. Just send me an e-mail: herbalife.

reported in this thread too.

also, gtfo.

edited to remove the contact. good call joy.

PikaKnight

Hi, I recently started using the Herbalife products a month ago and I've lost 8 pounds already. They have nutritional shakes which serve as meal replacements and give you all of the vitamins and minerals a healthy meal would give you. I love the products so much that I have become a distributor for them. removed spam contact

First off - you are in a section that is about maintaining weight, not losing.

Second - spam/advertising is NOT allowed, nor is the posting of personal info like email addresses.

REPORTED as a bot account.

TheCaren

I've been told 1-2 pounds a week is a normal/healthy loss rate (unless you have had WLS, then you can expect more rapid weight loss). But I think I speak with many of the above posters when I say I lost more than 2 pounds per week the first couple weeks.

kimosabe1

MrsBozz1

[q Yesterday I had to bike for a full hour to finally answer the question "what would you do for a Klondike Bar?" Glad to see someone else with chocolate in the diary.
[/quote]

I love it! :laugh: I agree, I eat ANYTHING I want as long as it is in my calories. I've lost 47 lbs since Jan 2013 so I'm doing something right I'm not going to spend the rest of my life never eating yummy stuff so I need to learn how to eat yummy stuff right! OP (original poster)... Congrats on the loss! Keep up the great work and good luck! :flowerforyou: