2 months in and I’ve only lost 3 lbs.

craigbasta1

Hello,
About 10 weeks ago I started my fitness journey. I have been working out 4-5 times a week for an hour, doing a mix of strength training, and cardio. I have also quit smoking over 3 months ago, and I’ve been eating very well for this 10 week span, with very limited cheat meals. Through all of this, I feel as through I’ve gotten stronger and gained muscle, however I was shocked I’ve only lost 3 lbs. so far. Should I be worried? Am I doing something wrong? Or should I just trust the process?

austinnbole4055

I would trust the process. Given that you’re getting stronger and gaining muscle means the scale isn’t going to reflect that. Stop using the scale and use progress pictures instead.

Retroguy2000

How much do you have to lose?

If you're morbidly obese or close to there, you might want to eat and drink a little less. If you're just overweight, then what you're doing is working great. This rate of loss will be good for retaining and maybe building muscle, especially if you're new to lifting.

Make sure to keep your protein high, about 0.7g per pound bw is plenty if you're obese, or closer to 0.9g if lean.

Btw, you shouldn't just "feel" you've gotten stronger. You should be tracking lifting progress and doing progressive overload, increasing reps and weight over time. Your logbook will confirm you are getting stronger.

craigbasta1

I’ve definitely gotten stronger. Have been lifting much more then I was 10 weeks ago. I wish I had photos from 10 weeks ago, but I just started taking them this week. Appreciate the help guys.

tomcustombuilder

What's your height and weight? Without those numbers it's impossible to tell you what direction to go.

MellMel1983

I'm in the same boat as you. Started last December about 3 months ago, lost 5 pounds so far. I work out 4 to 5 times a week about an hour out the day. Cardo mostly. I set myself at a 1200 calorie intake, occasionally cheat lol . I feel like I should be losing more but the progress is what keeps my motivated. I weigh 130 now. I definitely think 3 pounds is alot of progress for you, that puts you at losing a half a week. Which is awesome and very healthy for the body.

craigbasta1

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

What's your height and weight? Without those numbers it's impossible to tell you what direction to go.

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

What's your height and weight? Without those numbers it's impossible to tell you what direction to go.

6’1” - 245 lbs

tomcustombuilder

craigbasta1 wrote: »

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

What's your height and weight? Without those numbers it's impossible to tell you what direction to go.

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

What's your height and weight? Without those numbers it's impossible to tell you what direction to go.

6’1” - 245 lbs

You need to take in fewer weekly calories. You should be prioritizing fatloss and muscle maintenance over muscle gain until you're leaner. Drop a 1,500 calories a week and sit there for a month and then review results.

Keep track of your waist measurement at the navel this is an indicator of fatloss. This needs to be going down.

mimimunchery

I started a little over 2 months ago (on Jan 1) and I am down 5 or 6 lbs. I feel like it’s really going slowly as well.

( I am 5’8 » , 46 years old, female and weigh about 88 or 87.5 kg right now).

A few reasons why I think it’s going slowly for me - I’ve done this several times before. I think it gets harder every time. Also I already have established exercise routine. I am trying to ramp it up but it’s probably not as much a big change as starting to exercise from scratch.

For you, if this is your first time I would try to really examine *all* of the food you’re eating in a day. For me it’s easy to forget about little bites of my kids’ food, or a cookie after dinner etc. But it all counts.

mtaratoot

craigbasta1 wrote: »

Hello,
About 10 weeks ago I started my fitness journey. I have been working out 4-5 times a week for an hour, doing a mix of strength training, and cardio. I have also quit smoking over 3 months ago, and I’ve been eating very well for this 10 week span, with very limited cheat meals. Through all of this, I feel as through I’ve gotten stronger and gained muscle, however I was shocked I’ve only lost 3 lbs. so far. Should I be worried? Am I doing something wrong? Or should I just trust the process?

What does "Eating very well" mean? Are you logging everything you eat? Are you weighing everything you eat before logging it?

What does "Limited cheat meals" mean? Are you logging everything you eat, including whatever you call "cheat meals?" Are you weighing everything you eat before logging it?

If the answer to any of these is no, then this would be a good place to start. Working out is great. It feels good. It supports fitness. Weight loss happens in the kitchen, not the gym.