Confused

cara2411

I started my weight loss journey two weeks ago.
I overhauled my diet and started walking a few miles a day 5 times a week and also doing kettlebell workouts three times a week. The first week I lost 4lb and was so happy! This week I stuck to my diet religiously, exercised etc, stepped on the scale hoping for at least a couple of pounds and I've only lost just over half a pound. I know it's early days but I feel like I had such a great week and was expecting more. I'm feeling worried that my weight loss is going to stall and it'll take me a long time to get to my goal.
FYI I'm 5ft3 and 188 lbs, I had a baby 10 months ago and I still breastfeed 5/6 times a day.
I need to lose around 48lb to be back at my pre baby weight.

yirara

Water weight due to new workout routine. It's normal. Plus, with your weight you'd be looking at losing around 1-1.5lbs per week. With having lost 4lbs the first you're still ahead. Patience.

Lietchi

Yup, what Yirara said, those kettlebell workouts will be adding water weight, making fat loss on the scale.
I recommend taking progress pictures and measurements, the scale doesn't tell the full story.

Also, overhauling your diet: it's common to have a blog loss at first, which always includes some water weight loss. It's common to have a bit of a stall after that, your body rebalancing its water weight level.

Two weeks is a very short period, look at the long term trend because fat loss can result be masked by natural weight fluctuations.

springlering62

I think @lietchi meant to say, new exercise can mask weight loss on the scale.

When you start a new weight loss program, particularly a rather aggressive “hot damn I’m on the road to better me!” one like yours, new exercise will make you sore.

It’s been explained to me that this is micro-tears, which are desirable because your body replaces them with muscle (sloooowly). Each time you do a challenging, tender-making workout, your body responds by retaining water to cope with healing.

Once you’ve been doing it a while the soreness and stiffness stops, you no longer need the retained water and it passes out of the body as waste and urine. Gross but economical and efficient. Our bodies are marvels.

Celebrate what you have gained. Check out the NSV (non scale victories) thread over on the Success Stories board.

Consider the changes you’ve made thus far. Is this something you can see yourself continuing in the future? Or is this a jackrabbit start and you’ll fall back into old habits. Adjust them to be something that becomes “new” habits that will stay with you for a lifetime. Sooo much better to lose that half a pound a week and keep it off than to hammer away to lose and be right back here in a year, shedding tears that it (and you) are back again.

Visualize yourself in a year. What do you want to have learned and accomplished and retained (hopefully, habits and not weight!)

Hugs to you. I could kick myself for waiting til late 50’s to lose. If ONLY I’d started when you did. 😘

Lietchi

springlering62 wrote: »

I think @lietchi meant to say, new exercise can mask weight loss on the scale.

Ugh, yes, silly autocorrect!

Lietchi wrote: »

Also, overhauling your diet: it's common to have a blog loss at first, which always includes some water weight loss. It's common to have a bit of a stall after that, your body rebalancing its water weight level.

And another one, I meant big loss

sollyn23l2

A half pound per week is a good rate. Also, you mention you're still breastfeeding. Too steep of a deficit and you milk production cam slow or even stop. So it's a good thing your weight loss slowed. Your body is trying to make sure you can feed your baby.

tomcustombuilder

Your inital loss was water. Stick to a certain weekly calorie amount for 4-6 weeks to see the true effect of that amount

csplatt

Totally normal. Carry on. Multiple lbs per week is unrealistic for most of us and the first big jump down includes some water weight — wasn’t all fat.