Only lost 7lbs in a month - getting very frustrated!

Iwishyouwell

To burn fat you must consume food: calories, fats, proteins, carbs, etc. Not eating enough will put your body into fat storage mode, and well, you're just gonna get more frustrated as your lack of progress takes hold.

Wrong.

Though I'm sure the scores of millions of people across the planet who are starving to death wish so badly that you were right.

iamafoodaholic

Seven pound in a moth is amazing! Two to four is the norm....

MeIShouldB

Only? I've always been told that up to 2 pounds per week is healthy. So I'd say you're doing quite well. Don't rush it.

arrseegee

Well you are eating a very restrictive diet, so I am not surprised you saw so much loss so quickly. 1000 per day isn't enough calories to survive on, and bear in mind that about 4-5 of those lbs were your glycogen stores (aka water weight) that will come back the minute you start eating a normal diet.

You don't have that much to lose, you didn't put the weight on in five weeks so you can't expect to lose all of the weight in one month. A better, e.g. sustainable, strategy would be to slow down your weight loss, eat more calories, and that way you are much more likely to keep it off. What you're doing at the moment is crash dieting, which is much less likely to be successful in the long term.

Good luck.

Doctorpurple

You have lost 8 lbs so far which is significant but your overall restrictive diet and lack of resistance training exercise it's likely that you are losing lean body mass rather than fat if you are not seeing changes on measurements and how clothes fit you. Weight loss is not a sprint. It's a marathon. If you did lose it sprinting, you most likely didn't learn much and didn't incorporate anything as a lifestyle change will likely gain the weight back after you lose. Whatever you are doing to lose weight must be sustainable for the long haul (your entire life). If you are starving everyday, that is not sustainable, unless you plan on starving everyday your whole life. Healthy weight loss is slow. In your case, no more than 1 lb a week. And stop doing so much cardio and eating less than 1000 calories. You need to lift weights, do resistance training and eat at least 1300-1500 a day if you are active. That will help you lose the wobbly bits and cellulite that you are talking about. Your regimen right now is not helping you with that at all. And also stop trying to use other people's compliments as your motivation source. That sounds downright mentally unhealthy. Find the confidence and motivation within yourself.

Amethysta79

Have been told that cardio burns fat more, so that's what I've been concentrating on. Plus I started to feel really unfit so feel this is the way to get my fitness levels back up.
Only thing that worries me is my heart rate hits 200 after about 2 minutes on the cross trainer which seems a teensy bit high.

I would do strength training but it tends to aggravate a back injury I have so felt it best I avoid it.

I'm glad people think 7lb is a good loss. I've seriously read some stories where people have lost a stone in a month (& they are my size) & heard people at work telling everyone they've lost 6lbs in a week & it just got a bit much.

QuietBloom

I'm working out my food with the points system & some days it's working out at less than 1000 calories.

Combined with the gym & feeling hungry a lot & eating about a quarter of what I used to, I thought I'd have noticed a tiny difference by now, but nothing yet & people who haven't seen me for over a month haven't made any comment.

Looked at people's weight loss videos/photos & there's a noticeable difference after a month, but I look the same.

I'm staying motivated but it's becoming really difficult when it seems there's nothing to show for all my effort.

:frown:

stacibuk

I do WW as well. With the amount of points I'm on, it's about 1300 calories. i eat a lot of fruits & vegs to take it up to 1600-1900 calories. I should be eating even more with the exercises I do, but I get so full up. At 1000 calories, no wonder you are hungry. And let me tell you, your weightloss will slow down especially as you are not eating your weeklies either. Good luck anyway.

littleburgy

Sweet lord, 7 pounds in a month is a lot!

Don't use other people as a measuring stick. That can be very mentally defeating!

Amethysta79

I've been sticking to my daily points & not going over, even when I'm hungry. My boyfriend who is very supportive & helping me through this thinks the amount of points I'm allowed is ridiculously low. I'm only left with 7 points for dinner in the evening so I can hardly eat anything. I know veg is free, but most veg makes me heave so I only eat chicken with a bit of sweet corn & a tiny bit of rice.
Started juicing veg but have been told that's not great either so I'm a bit stuck.

Haven't used my weeklies all that much as I thought they were got when you wanted a splurge & I'm trying to avoid that if I can. Trying to stay away from my old fast food habits.

WindsorSkye

Sweet friend, reading the trend of this thread, I'm not exactly certain what you're wanting to hear.

I know that everyone has told you this, but 7 lbs in a month is nothing to be ashamed of. In the scheme of weight loss, it is something to be very proud of. I know you are depressed that the loss has not been as steady as you'd hoped, or as steady as it was in the beginning. But to be honest, I think that you may already have explained the reason for that by describing the habits and mindset with which you are approaching your weight loss.

Please hear me out on this. Rapid weight loss itself is not unhealthy as a rule. It is what you put your body through to achieve it that can harm you. You have described your dieting habits in detail, and as others have commented, it seems clear that you are not fueling your body the way it needs. This is dangerous. For example, if you do not give your body a required amount of carbohydrates per day (120 g, about 40% of your daily calories) your brain cannot produce the amount of glucose it needs to function. (Frankly put, your brain needs sugar to survive. That's something not many of us have heard lately, now, is it?) Start messing with your brain, and you mess with everything: your energy, your mood, your thoughts. You will suffer from all the depression, tiredness, hunger, disappointment, and frustration that you are voicing now, but instead of realizing that you are suffering from deprivation of a physical need, you will project all your negative emotions onto the issue that is currently consuming your thoughts and stress: losing weight.

Considering that you cut your caloric intake rather suddenly, it stands to reason that your body would be shocked into losing weight fairly quickly for perhaps the first couple of weeks. But if you deprive your body of too much for too long, it simply gets tired. When you get tired, everything slows down. You may exercise hard, but your body will be moving extra slow in-between because of how little you are eating. Hence, you will lose less weight on the outset, which you have already noticed and become discouraged about. You mentioned feeling very hungry much of the time. A healthy diet will never leave you hungry. Yes, you should be starting to feel hungry perhaps an hour or so before your next meal - that is healthy and appropriate: eating when you feel full is not. But you should not be battling hunger constantly. That may occur temporarily when a person is changing from drastically bad food habits to healthy, more moderate ones, but such cravings will subside as the body adjusts to being nourished rather than coddled and overfed. The fact that you are experiencing extra hunger and yet not even fulfilling your minimum nutritional intake on a daily basis (1200 calories for loss, higher for maintenance) is a danger signal.

Bottom line: your weight loss goal is achievable. Please don't think it is not. But if you continue to approach it with a perspective of self-deprivation, your body will continue to backfire on you and refuse to lose weight. You've already seen it begin to happen, and if you continue to exhaust and deprive your body, it will continue to resist you and lose its ability to function. That will destroy this beautiful process that you have embarked on, and severely disappoint you in the end.

The fact that you continue to voice insecurities gives me the feeling that this has little to do with a realistic view of your progress, and far more to do with your expectations and desires, which I'm afraid may not be realistic or healthy. That being said, your greatest struggle in this journey is probably not going to be the weight loss itself, but keeping your mind and emotions healthy throughout it. Allow yourself to create healthy habits that nourish and provide for you. In the end, they will be the only habits whose effects will last. The habits you are creating now may serve you for a time, but if you pursue your goal through tiredness and over-exertion, your body and mind will eventually reject the process and convince you to return to habits that make them feel good. If you hope to continue losing weight, you will HAVE to do so by a process that nourishes your body and makes it feel good and happy. It is the only way that you will be able to convince yourself to keep going, and adopt healthy habits that you will find joy in keeping for the rest of your life.

Keep your chin up. You're worth getting your body to where you want it to be, but far more than that, your body serves you daily and is worth all the love and care you can give to it. Love requires sacrifice. You may need to sacrifice an unhealthy desire or perspective if that's what must happen in order to help and care for your body and mind. But when the process is complete, your body will pay you back in full. It's a beautiful system. It just takes being a little brave.

Mr_Knight

I'm 5'3" & started off at 153lbs...Almost a month later, I've only lost 7lbs & I'm now 145lbs.

That is an appropriate rate of weight loss.

Greywalk

7 lbs in one month is wonderful. Any quicker and your body will not adjust properly and you will find issues with the post weight loss body. Just think how long it took to put the extra on.

njitaliana

You don't have a lot of weight to lose, so 7 lbs in one month is excellent. In fact, 7 lbs in one month is good for anyone. I weigh almost double what you weigh, and I lost 8 lbs in the past month. So, don't discount the progress you made. At a starting weight of 153 lbs, it wouldn't be healthy for you to lose any more quickly. You are doing fine. Just keep up what you are doing.

I'm 5'3" & started off at 153lbs. I joined WW Online, have stuck to the points, not used my weekly "allowance" points & am always going to gym doing cardio.

Almost a month later, I've only lost 7lbs & I'm now 145lbs.

I'm getting so frustrated as I'm working so hard. I want to be 8st 5lbs (approx 117lbs), by the end of May. My cousin is getting married in Cyprus then & right now I feel so wobbly & huge & cellulitey that I would never let anyone see me in swimwear, so looks like I will wearing something baggy.

Keep reading about people losing 3lb a week & they don't seem to be doing half of what I'm doing. I'm not even losing a pound a week at the moment & I'm getting really fed up.

Been taking body measurements as well & they haven't changed either. Arrrrrggggghhhhh!!!!!

Sreneesa

I only lost 3-4lbs this month. lol

Be happy you lost 7lb.

SmartAlec03211988

It's pretty much been said countless times already... but 7 lbs in a month is REALLY good.

Your expectations are too high. 1.75 lbs a week is what dreams are made of.

Madmarsha

More than I lost. But as long as people are realistic...

newdaydawning79

I did put it all on quite quickly, a stone & a half in 2 months as I snacked a lot because my life felt like it had fallen to bits (had to find somewhere to live, relationship breakup, nasty online stalker).

I guess it's because my clothes don't feel that much different & only lost 0.7lbs the last 2 weeks & I'm not cheating.

Plus I'm impatient & no one commenting "you've lost weight" etc makes me feel a bit rubbish.

People who see you often won't notice it as fast. It took 40 pounds gone for some of my coworkers to notice that I'd lost weight at all because they see me every day. You don't have much to lose, so 1 lb a week is what most would say is what you should be going for at the absolute most. So you're ahead of the game.

MizTora

7 pounds is great

njitaliana

I just saw where you said you are eating only 1,000 calories a day. I hadn't noticed that before. Doctors generally say that it's unhealthy to eat less than 1200 calories a day because your body metabolism slows down so much that you stop losing. I would check on here and see what calorie count MFP recommends that you eat per day. You can actually lose more by eating more in most cases, as strange as that sounds. I'm eating 1600 calories a day and doing better than when I ate 1200 calories a day.