'Only' lost 1lb

Tracey_Tee

Okay, so I weighed myself this morning and I was really excited about it because after losing 4lb after my first week here I was 'expecting' to lost 2lb (maybe 3lb). Then when I looked I had actually 'only' lost 1lb !

I feel really upset about this ..... and I know it's better off than on etc, etc but somehow I feel a bit cheated lol !

I was off work last week on holiday and I was able to exercise every day, I drank lots of water and I only went over my daily calories on one day (and I think it was only by about 30 cals or so).

I know the first week is always the biggie when it comes to losing weight and I know that losing a total of 5lbs in less than 2 weeks is still excellent. But even so ............ lol !

Anyway, I am starting 30 Day Shred today (eeeeek) ..... so hopefully that will knock a couple of lbs off for next week !

Rant over lol ♥

robinaddison

I have "only" lost 0.5-1lb every week since the end of January...not much you might think - look at my ticker underneath! All those "only's" add up over time. And, as I'm losing slowly, I'm also gaining muscle (I've got a set of killer guns brewing LOL) and my shape is definitely changing. Also, no worries about saggy skin - it's shrinking along with the rest of me as I'm giving it time to do what it needs to do. Be patient with yourself - this does work!!

mowu

Your experience sounds about right - this may be a good read for you:

http://www.justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/

Explains quite well how why we all see a great loss in the first week when starting to diet/work out, and it then seems to slow down fast.

IronSmasher

The 'dreaded week two' is to be expected. Just keep at it and you'll lose more next week. Even if it was only possible to lose one a week, that's 52lbs after a year....

Pebble321

Its hard, I want to see big numbers every week too.
Unfortunately you really do need to be patient. I've been doing this for about 7 months and the most helpful thing for me is to look at my weight month by month. Even when i feel stuck, i can see it slowly going down each month - and as the previous poster said, all those "only" amounts really add up - in my case to over 40 pounds.

meerkat70

In my experience, once you're established on a diet, weightloss tends to happen in a slightly odd pattern. I find if I have a particularly good or a particularly bad week, it doesn't show on the scale immediately - it seems to take a few days to actually show up. So the impact of a good week, for me, seems to be slightly delayed - and will likely show on the *following* week's weigh in.

Of course, everyone is different, and my impression might be wrong, but this does seem to be my pattern.

Troy67

Just keep up the positive attitude and hard work and it will pay off. Sometimes I'll have great weeks exercising and lose a pound. Then I'll take a couple days off and have a cheat meal and lose 4 pounds the next week. I know it gets frustrating on the slow weeks, but it all works in the end.
I have had great weeks and horrible weeks, but my "average" is still 2.7 pounds over the last 18 weeks. I just have to remind myself not to get frustrated. Good luck with your efforts and take care of yourself.

ChantalGG

tha tis good. I hardly lose any weight any more. my first week was 4lbs too, then the next week was 2lb and then it went to 1lb a week to nothing and bounced up and down 2 lbs for months. I did lose a 0.8 lb last week though. lol

carolineJ82

It might not seem like much but its still a loss so well done! I now only lose 0.5lb per week most weeks but then every so often I'll lost a couple! Dont know why!

Penelope_373

Don't let that scale get you down. Be sure to measure occassionally to see the loss that mean old scale likes to hide. Congratulations on your 1 lb. loss, I understand your frustration but as I have to remind myself, slow and steady wins the race! So proud of ya Tracey! Keep up the great work. I am in the 30 Day Shred challenge with ya, we can do this!

kapeluza

"I just wanted to post something about what to expect during the phases of weight loss.

Overview (why I'm posting this)
Over the course of about 7 months on here, I have seen many people suceed, I have also seen some drop off the map. I expect this is because some succumb to the demon that is temptation, and some to the devil that is dissapointment. I wanted to give a few "heads up"s to both new commers and vetrans to the site. Some may know already, some may not. But either way, if this helps anyone to set more realistic goals in their own head, I feel like it has done it's job.

Phase 1. The start of a brand new day! (or week, or month, or year)
Expectations are sky high, usually so is motivation and intentions. This is where most people lose the most weight. At the start it's not uncommon to see 4 to 8 lb losses per week. The reasons for this are mostly (sorry to disappoint) water weight. You drop excess water quickly, and you can have up to 5 lbs of water weight. The next biggest reason is the fat that is right next to the blood vessels, the stuff that you put on in the last month or three, it will melt like butter usually.

Phase 2. Reality setting in.
At about week 3 to a month or so, people suddenly realize that they are no longer dropping 8, 6, or even 4 lbs a week. This is a crutial phase in your journey. Expect this, it is natural. You have shocked your body by changing both eating habits and exercise routine. Now it has had a little while to become used to the new lifestyle, it's going to compensate. Your body still doesn't believe it's permenant yet, so it will still try to store some fat, so now that it knows how to regulate it's new metabolic levels, it tryies to store fat in earnest. It's not uncommon for people to hit a wall here, no loss for weeks. Expect this as well.

Phase 3. The routine.
At about 2 months or so, your routine is pretty much set, your body is beginning to believe that you really want to STAY the way you are going now. You will start to see more consistant (but lower, usually 1 to 2 lbs a week) loss, also, you should start seeing some muscle tone (depending on how much you had to lose in the first place). If you stop to think, you should realize that you have improved dramatically in your exercise levels. If you do cardio, you should notice how much longer and harder you can work. This is important to realize as it is just as big of an indicator as weight loss. Also, by now you may notice that your clothes no longer fit right. This is also very important. The weight may not be falling off anymore, but you are becomming a smaller person. Weight is arbitrary, if you are building muscle (which your body is doing at a furious pace by now) you won't notice huge losses, but you will notice wholesale changes in the mirror!

Phase 4. Really digging in.
This is where the second wall can happen. You're probably at between 3 and 4 months by now, and if you have gone this far, you feel like you have already suceeded. This is where many people stumble. they are tired of the routine, tired of eating different things from all their friends, limiting their alcohol intake. Basically the shine has worn off. this is when your really need to plant your feet. Maybe change up your exercise routine, make a concentrated effort to find different, but still nutritional food. Talk to people. And examine how far you have come. At this point, no matter how much external motivation you receive, it's all about believing in yourself!

Phase 5. End game.
5 or 6 months in you are probably working on that "last 10 pounds". This can be discouraging for many as it is a slow burn. Remember, your body probably feels like it is where it needs to be, your brain might think you need to lose 10 more, but your body is quite proud of itself now, it feels like it has "Done enough" and it wants to stay RIGHT HERE. The body LIKES to have a little fat around just in case, especially for the ladies (sorry girls, it's just human physiology). If you feel like you still need to lose it, prepare yourself for some guerrila warfare against your body. Design an exercise regimen that is very dynamic, forget the "same thing every day". Make a plan that challenges you both physically and mentally. Make sure you give yourself a day off here and there to just veg. And by all means, remember, muscle burns fat at rest. So get some weight or resistance training involved.
The last 10 may take 3 to 6 months to lose. I know nobody wants to hear that, but it's true. And forget the idea of increasing your calorie deficite, healthy bodies need good nutrition, your body no longer has the fat reserves to handle the large deficites you could when you were 30 40 or 50 pounds overweight. Better to make it a 3 or 400 calorie deficite (NET, please count your exercise calories too!). It may take a bit longer, but your body will like you for it. Plus it feeds those new muscles and keeps them burning fat, keeps your skin healthy (elasticity is important when you want those places that were stretched out to "snap back") and keeps you from getting head aches and depressed.

Conclusion:

this is what I have learned, not just from my journey, but from others as well on here. It saddens me sometimes to see people hit one of these stages and not recognize it for what it is, a part of the process. If we all can have realistic expectations, then we are more prone to win the fight and stay healthy in the long run. Note that some people will hit these stages harder then others, some may take longer, but for the most part, this is the rule that the exceptions will come from.

Best health to you all!

-Banks "

rml_16

Those big losses in the first week often come from water weight your body was holding onto. If you ate high sodium and are now not eating high sodium, and/or if you were not properly hydrated and started drinking a lot more, you shed the water weight.

Don't expect big losses like that every week unless you go on a starvation diet. Half to 2 pounds a week average is recommended and realistic.

123456654321

Do NOT be disappointed over a loss of any kind. Weigh ins aren't like clockwork (especially for women because our bodies change so much during the month.) One week you may lose 5, the next week none, the next week 3, the next week 1 and then the next week you gain 2lbs because of good old TOM. It's just the way it is. Keep doing what you are doing and don't worry about the scale so much.

Tracey_Tee

Thanks everyone !

Your comments have made very interesting reading and I really appreciate the time you have taken to reply ! I know you are all right and it is silly to be 'disappointed'. The funny thing is, if I had seen that post by someone else I would have been the first person to tell them that a loss is a loss, 1lb is still good, 5lbs in less than 2 weeks is excellent and it's better to look at your loss over a month rather than weekly. I know all that but it still sucked when I looked at the scales this morning !

Anyway I am over it now and ready to lose more for next week !