Starting week 4 and getting discouraged...HELP!

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  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Weight loss isn't linear. Read the chapter on "Signal and Noise" in John Walker's free e-book The Hacker's Diet, available at this URL:
    http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/e4/

    Consider that a typical person eats, drinks, and inhales about 12 pounds of food, water, and oxygen each day, and eliminates about the same amount of solid and liquid waste and CO2. However, those are averages. Some days you'll eat more and eliminate less (e.g. if you eat saltier food than normal and retain water); some days, you'll eat less and eliminate more. That can cause daily weight fluctuations of several pounds.

    Now consider that if you're losing fat at 2 lb./week, that's still under 5 ounces a day, or around 0.29 pounds. That 0.29 pounds is an order of magnitude less than your daily fluctuation. The signal (your changing fat mass) is going to be drowned by the noise (your daily fluctuation) unless you apply some kind of filter. Walker explains how you can do that, using some simple math or a website.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    To follow up: I'm a case in point. I record my weight on MFP every Monday. Here are the last few results:

    8/11: 155.8 lb.
    8/18: 152.6 lb.
    8/25: 155.5 lb.

    I did not lose 3.2 lb. of fat (and muscle; some muscle loss is inevitable) the first week, and then gain 2.9 lb. of fat back. At my deficit, I should be losing about 0.5 lb./week. Instead, the 18th was an especially low fluctuation and the 25th was high. My daily weights (which I record in a spreadsheet) reveal that. If you can stand to weigh yourself daily, I recommend it, as long as you do Walker's math, or use a site like TrendWeight.com that does it for you (or Walker's own Hacker's Diet Online site).
  • uscmarine44
    uscmarine44 Posts: 1 Member
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    Primary diet changes are important and that being said, I can recommend some additional changes, but you need to do what makes you feel comfortable. Everyone has big drops and sometimes the weightloss flat lines. When I flat line, I make sure to eat a high protien and low fat dinner. In the mornings I eat a high fiber breakfast. This works two fold.

    1. The protien works to burn calories when you are asleep. 9 calories for every gram of protien. But make sure you eat at least 3-4 hours before bedtime.
    2. The high fiber breakfast works to bind sugars and fats that you eat throughout the day so they don't immidately go into your system.

    These are just a few suggestions.
  • StrawberryJam40
    StrawberryJam40 Posts: 274 Member
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    Congrats so far.

    My thoughts.

    1. Don't obsess over the scale. I weigh once a week same time, same scale right before I work out every Monday evening (Only once have I not because scale wasn't available.)
    2. DO obsess over a food scale. I wasn't, and my mom just gave me hers - that she used over 30 years ago on WW...lol. But hey it works.
    3. Keep working out.
    4. And, for me, I live a week at a time. I do not dwell on past weigh ins where I gained weight or those I had a loss. Keep moving forward. It reminds me of the story that if you are looking at the top of a mountain it seems overwhelming to get there, but if you look down and put one foot in front of the other you will be amazed how far up the mountain you have made it when you look up. And, there won't be any better view when you get to the top of that mountain.
    5. Don't short yourself calories for the big loss. Slow and steady. Make sure you are fueling your body to exercise and rev your metabolism.
    6. Rejoice in you successes...and I don't mean the pounds lost. I'm excited when I weight lift more than 2x a week, when I work out 3-4x a week, when my jeans are loose. I celebrate even when I pass up Mexican food with my sister and choose a salad instead. I celebrate new indents in my body like under my knee, side of my hand, side my foot (or is that just me that gets excited finding new changes in my body).

    Good luck!
  • slcrane90
    slcrane90 Posts: 35 Member
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    I truly love this site!!! thank you everyone for the great input. I guess because i am starting off so much "heavier" then the average person, i am expecting a greater loss. I am really proud of myself for what i have accomplished so far and I am no where ready to give up. I am feeling better and better everyday and will keep it up. Thanks everyone!!!!!

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