What am I doing wrong?

cdwatkins

So I have only been on a diet for almost a month (Thursday will be a month) The first two weeks I lost 8 pounds..I was ecstatic because that is the first time I have stuck with it and actually saw the scale change. These last two weeks however.....nothing! Its very disappointing. I log my food and try to exercise daily..I have however skipped some days. I have never had to diet before and this is one of the hardest things that I have done. I absolutely can not quit but I'm not sure what to do. For my exercise I walk and during the last two work outs I have walk/ran. Any advice and constructive criticism is welcome. Thanks

AmyRhubarb

Stick with it and have patience.

An early loss is common, and likely some of it was water weight. "Leveling off" or seeing a stall in losses after that is normal too - fluctuations daily and throughout the month will happen continuously depending on water retention, new exercise, hormones, etc. Keep tracking, logging everything and hang in there. Watch your progress over time, and as long as the overall trend is downward, you're on the right track.

Good luck!

Edited to add: Peeked at your diary - I would also advice eating more than you have for the past few days. You're set at the all too common 1200 daily goal, which honestly is too low for most of us, especially if you're not eating back exercise cals. At that level, you should be aiming for your daily cals to HIT your goal, not fall well short of it.

Don't sell yourself short trying to slash cals too low, which often leads to a stall in losses, lack of energy & nutrition, no fuel for exercise and daily life, and over time - hair loss, brittle nails and all kinds of fun stuff.

Eat your cals, drink water, exercise, take rest days, get good sleep and have patience. It works!

Ready2Rock206

Do you use a food scale? I bet you're eating more than you think. You're only logging a small amount of food each day - most days I looked at were no where near enough food. Once you get your diary accurate you'll probably see the scale moving again.

meshashesha2012

8 pounds a month is pretty good.

odd are most of that was water weight though, especially to lose that much that quickly. i'd say keep at and give it another 2 weeks. if still no loss then make sure to accurately log what you're eating. you say that you missed a few day, but 2 days is enough to undo a deficit depending on how much you're eating.

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage

Stick with it and have patience.

An early loss is common, and likely some of it was water weight. "Leveling off" or seeing a stall in losses after that is normal too - fluctuations daily and throughout the month will happen continuously depending on water retention, new exercise, hormones, etc. Keep tracking, logging everything and hang in there. Watch your progress over time, and as long as the overall trend is downward, you're on the right track.

Good luck!

Definitely this. Same thing happened to me with losing a lot at the beginning and then leveling off. As long as the scale is moving the right way, you're doing fine.

That being said, I had a quick peek at your diary and it's hard to give you feedback on that: you're either missing inputting your food quite often, or you're not eating enough.

cdwatkins

Don't sell yourself short trying to slash cals too low, which often leads to a stall in losses, lack of energy & nutrition, no fuel for exercise and daily life, and over time - hair loss, brittle nails and all kinds of fun stuff.

Eat your cals, drink water, exercise, take rest days, get good sleep and have patience. It works!
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I used to think I didn't eat "all that bad" until I went a week of logging food with no diet...wow it was disgusting what actually went into my mouth! I know that it gives you the whole your not eating enough spill everytime you don't reach your calories but part of my thinking was if I'm going to start somewhere I need to be drastic. However I do not want to damage anything I have done. My first thought was water weight. Patience has never been my virtue and with all of this being new it's something I will have to learn. Thank you!!

cdwatkins

2 days is enough to undo a deficit depending on how much you're eating.

Mesha...I never really thought of it that way. Since it has been since high school (15 + years) since I've done any real exercise I didn't want to hurt myself and get injured which would create a bigger problem. obviously if i can't stick to walking everyday I need to add some crunches, push ups etc. Those are perfect inside excersises on the days it has been too hot to walk. Thank you!

Ready to Rock: No I do not have a food scale. I have been mostly scanning packages and weighing dry foods with a measuring cup. I will definitely look at a food scale...any certain brand/type?

matthawthorneisamyth

Not only are you not eating enough, you're not eating enough of the right things. I see mostly processed junk and very little in the ways of nutrient dense food in your diary. You're going to have to change that. Macronutrients and calories are important, but MICROnutrients are also very important. Do you take a multi?

Try and eliminate as much processed food as you can from your diet. Focus more on whole foods, good fats and lean protein.

Also, I recommend you find your TDEE via:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

From there subtract 250-600 calories from your TDEE and set that as your calorie goal. Scrap that 1200 calories nonsense. If you up your protein intake you'll stay fuller for longer.

Most people lose up to 10 lbs in their first month because they drastically reduce their intake of SODIUM which causes the body to lose water. Make sure you're drinking enough. From there depending on how heavy you are you can arguably lose between 1-2lbs, safely, per week. You really don't want to lose weight much faster than that or you'll have to deal with a lot of extra loose skin.

cdwatkins

Good luck!
[/quote]

Definitely this. Same thing happened to me with losing a lot at the beginning and then leveling off. As long as the scale is moving the right way, you're doing fine.

That being said, I had a quick peek at your diary and it's hard to give you feedback on that: you're either missing inputting your food quite often, or you're not eating enough.
[/quote]

I did not eat alot the first few weeks and have been trying to get closer. I am scared too eat too much. For the last 5 years eating was not a conscious activity..meaning I didn't think I ate bad so i didn't care what it was, if I liked it I ate it. For instance weekend before last I gave in and got the Krystal chocolate milkquake because I had spent the last 4 hours in the mall. BIG MISTAKE!!! It only made me crave more "bad" things. I have dramatically overhauled my diet and in my mind I thought that was enough.

cdwatkins

Not only are you not eating enough, you're not eating enough of the right things. I see mostly processed junk and very little in the ways of nutrient dense food in your diary. You're going to have to change that. Macronutrients and calories are important, but MICROnutrients are also very important. Do you take a multi?

Try and eliminate as much processed food as you can from your diet. Focus more on whole foods, good fats and lean protein.

Also, I recommend you find your TDEE via:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

From there subtract 250-600 calories from your TDEE and set that as your calorie goal. Scrap that 1200 calories nonsense. If you up your protein intake you'll stay fuller for longer.

Most people lose up to 10 lbs in their first month because they drastically reduce their intake of SODIUM which causes the body to lose water. Make sure you're drinking enough. From there depending on how heavy you are you can arguably lose between 1-2lbs, safely, per week. You really don't want to lose weight much faster than that or you'll have to deal with a lot of extra loose skin.

Please forgive my ignorance but what do you mean by the whole foods? Processed junk? No I do not take a multi vitamin...in the past the iron in the vitamins was a problem for me. Thanks for the website, I will look at it in just a minute. I have gone from drinking a huge coke in the morning and a small one in the afternoon to mostly water. I do however still drink diet coke.

The extra skin thing scares me so if in two days when I weigh again if it is only about 1-2 pounds then I will be happy with that.
I have always been a "results" person with everything and I guess I'm scared to not see anything and making it worse than I need to be.

Ready2Rock206

Ready to Rock: No I do not have a food scale. I have been mostly scanning packages and weighing dry foods with a measuring cup. I will definitely look at a food scale...any certain brand/type?

Digital is easiest. Anything that has the tare feature and has both grams and ounces is good. Doesn't have to be expensive or too fancy.

I was stuck for the longest time before I started using my scale daily.

bfergusonii

Agree that digital is the best. I use my constantly. From personal experience I had absolutely no idea what 3 oz of meat looked like until I started using a scale.

Also you are in this for the long run, and 8 lbs/month is fantastic. Keep at it, weigh things and log everything. It made all the difference for me.

RavenLibra

pay attention to the macros... remember if you approach this like a diet... then your only going to find a temporary solution.. focus on this as a long term lifestyle change... what you want to do is learn to approach food as fuel... and exercise as a necessity.. like eating... breathing and sleeping... without some sort of daily activity your body will not know what to do with the fuel you are putting into it... when that happens the body gets out of balance...and things like mood swings.. anxiety, depression begin to become "normal" thought processes... SO... IF you are making time to watch TV... you should be making time to exercise because without exercise... lots of nutty things begin to happen to the body... in contrast... initiating an active lifestyle .. gives you the opportunity to create a lot of NORMAL things to happen in your life...

SO.. don't think short term .. think LONG term... 1-2 lbs/week is a good average... OVER the course of 3-4 months.. so you may very well go .. a week.. a month.. with little or no gain ... then BOOOM... 3-4 lbs just like that... be patient... take deep breaths... and learn to relax... and a FOOD SCALE is a priority.... most are relatively inexpensive... not having one is like having your dog eat your homework...

cdwatkins

Thanks guys/gals...a food scale is definitely on my shopping list!!

RavenLibra...I unfortunately am having mood swings. At first it was confusing but now I realize it will be part of my process until I "get this down" so to say. This is a lot of work for me seeing as I've never bothered to do it until now.

I think losing the 4 lbs a week for the first two weeks was good at first but now has me apprehensive. I agree it was mostly water because even from past pictures my husband says my face doesn't look so puffy.

I have always been focused on instant results/gratification so having to wait is new...but I know it will be worth it. Thanks again for the advice!!