Small loss, noticeable difference - 6 weeks of heavy lifting

Mexie1 · August 2014

Starting weight was 154lb at 5'5". I have lost 7lb, mostly in the first three weeks, but weekly photos continue to show progress.

I aim for 1000 calories a day because I am certain that I systematically underestimate. I don't weigh food and don't count condiments and various other things, so I think I am probably eating 1200-1300 daily.

Gym routine has been heavy lifting and 5-10 minutes cardio 1-3 times per week, with one week off.

I go to a small gym at work, where I have never seen anyone else using the weights, and I am often on my own. For safety I don't lift quite as much as I could. I do my own routine kind of like 5x5 but I do 3x10 for 5 different exercises with the bar and weights, plus some sit-up variations, leg raises, kettlebell swings, assisted dips and pullups and a few other bits and pieces.

I have lost weight several times through calorie counting but I have never exercised consistently before and never done free weights. I usually lose 5-7lbs in the first week, then a steady 1-2 per week, so I am finding the lack of movement on the scale slightly annoying. My goal was to get to 119lb (based on what I have weighed in the past, when I was a UK size 8) but I think I may need to adjust that upwards, or just aim for a size 8-10. I started at a UK14 and I am still wearing a 14 mostly, though slightly smaller clothes are starting to fit better again.