Lost about 4 lbs. in 3 months. Should I be disappointed?

rosebette

I joined a World's Biggest Loser Program in my workplace because my cholesterol was high and I wanted to be more accountable for my diet. Also, I had been advised that losing 10% of my body weight (about 12 lbs. or so) would help to lower my cholesterol. Well, I had my final weigh-in, and since I started the program, I lost only 4 lbs in 3 months. (It's kind of cruel to have the weigh-in the Tuesday after Easter.) I did lose 1% body fat and my scores on all the fitness tests (number of situps, pushups, and heart rate after stepping) improved.

A nutritionist looked at my food diary for 3 days and said I am still eating too much saturated fat (which is probably true, but it's way less than I used to eat!), and she said my total saturated fat should be less than 25g a day. That does seem impossibly low for someone who's not a vegetarian. But she also said that I do a lot of strength training and probably can't expect to lose much more weight because muscle is heavier than fat, which according to some folks on MFP, is a myth.

I guess I should look at the positives, but I still feel kind of bummed, as if I should be more aggressive. Overall, I've been trying to net 1200 calories a day. I tend to "eat back" my exercise calories, although if I have a heavy exercise day where I burn 500 or more calories, I might eat only some of them back.

Should I just keep doing what I'm doing and be satisfied with my progress or get more aggressive? I'm small, so I could drop down to 1000 calories a day, although MFP and most posters argue against this.

Ninkyou

Read this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

The answers to everything you're seeking can probably be found in that one post.

4lbs is great! It may be slower than you were expecting, but a loss is a loss no matter how you toss it.

Chickee8586

If you should lose about 10% of your body weight and that is 12 lbs then that means you currently weigh 120 lbs. How are you at 35% body fat at 120 lbs?

Besides that, even 4 pounds in 3 months isn't really bad. You did lose, but you didn't indicate whether your cholesterol lowered in that 3 months.

Any progress is good progress.

DrJenO

If 10% of your body weight is 12lbs, you started at 132, correct?

How tall are you? I suspect you might not need to lose 10% of your body weight, unless you are very short.

It IS a myth that muscle weighs more than fat, because a pound of anything WEIGHS the same as a pound of anything else. What is true is that muscle is DENSER than fat, and will therefore take up less room. I looked pretty fly at 163 back in my college days, even though at my height (5'6"), I would have been considered overweight. I was pretty muscular, and could fit in a size 8 at that weight.

How high was your cholesterol? Have you spoken with your doctor about it?

It sounds like your health definitely improved over that time - losing 1% BF is nothing to sneeze at. Are your clothes fitting better?

rosebette

My original weight, according to the WBL program, which weighed me clothed, was 126 lbs., so 10% of my body weight would be 12.6 lbs. My goal weight is around 114 lbs. I'm only 5'1.5". The body fat measurement was taken with a device that I had to hold and it calculated it. I'm a 55 year old female, on the curvy side, which is why my body fat is probably so high. I guess older people have higher body fat because they have less muscle mass.

My cholesterol was taken in my doctor's office in early January. It was around 240 and the LDL was very high, around 170 I think, but the HDL (good cholesterol) was also high, around 68 because I work out. He said I had to bring it down, or I'd be on a statin. He's going to have it taken again in May.

I did have a free cholesterol evaluation in February at a health fair, and it had already dropped to around 200, and I had only been watching my diet for about a month, so I'm hopeful.

jrose1982

I would definitely be disappointed. But you're a lot smaller than I am. You don't say how tall you are, but if 12 lb is ~10% of your weight, than you weigh about 120 lb. That's my goal weight, and I'm only 5 ft tall.

It could be that you are right about where you need to be.