Is it normal to lose very little/not at all the first few we

skullkrusher22

Alot of good advice here. Another thing to touch on is how much rest your getting. You also have to give your body time to recover. If you are working out alot and not eating enough your body is going to go into a "survival" mode. The carbs and protein your body intakes can potentially get stored as fat because your body is lacking in energy. Just keep in mind that excess protein and carbs can be converted into stored fat and thats one of the reasons you are told to eat small portions and 5-6 meals a day. This regulates your metabolism so you can become a fuel burning machine. Make sure you're getting enough sleep. You are still burning calories at an increased rate during the recovery period after your workouts. Eventually overtraining can lead you to gain weight because of the whole "survival" mode reaction. Good Luck!

brandyosu

So glad you started this topic! I lost 2 pounds my first 2 days and then the scale hasn't moved one way or the other since (I'm almost finished with my 2nd week). BUT, I went from doing zero exercise to going to the gym at least 5 days a week and doing the elliptical for an hour. And next week I plan on adding in strength training 3 days a week.

I'm approaching things from a different perspective this time. Normally, I would get ticked that nothing seemed to be happening and, sure I'm irritated that I'm only 2 pounds down. This time, though, I intend to keep going because I know what I'm doing is so much better for me than what I was doing. AND my gym partner told me this morning that she thought she could tell a difference in my face and in how my workout pants were fitting in my bottom and legs. I had sort of thought that my pants legs were feeling a little more roomy, but it was nice to have a little bit of validation!

minnesota_deere

your gaining muscle mass, from what i have researched, do not eat your calories burned while excersizing back. this will set you up for failure. think about it, there are roughly 3500 calories per pound of fat. for me i am supposed to eat 2000 calories per day just to survive. I workout and burn about 1000 calories. MFP wants me to eat my 2000 calories and my 1000 calories burned that puts me at 3000 calories. now the question is, when am i going to start losing weight? you won't because as you excersize you muscles are getting stronger and bigger and your getting more efficient in your workout, so now you have work out more in order to burn the same calories. and becuase you ate all the calories back your still at ground zero, plus now when you did finally hit your goal weight and want to step back from working out so much, you can't becuase your diet is very large and you would have to learn how to survive on 1400 calories. my plan is i learn to eat 1500 calories per day and burn 1000 calories, it takes me about 1 hr of fast walking with 4% incline. get a heart rate monitor and keep your heart rate in your recommended zones, for me it is 128-157. my peak fat burning HR is 135-145. I have lost 6 lbs my first week and am hoping for another 6 this week.

It is you who are setting yourself up for failure. This is a big problem: "my plan is i learn to eat 1500 calories per day and burn 1000 calories". So you are planning to net 500 calories per day? Does that seem sensible to you?

You are misunderstanding how MFP works. The 2000 that MFP is giving you already includes a calorie deficit.

Your research is incomplete. Keep reading.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/474-unofficial-mfp-faq
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

i followed MFP's plan and ate what is required, i found that it is to much food, and can forsee when i do hit my goals and want to reduce excersizing, i will have to retrain myself to consume 1500 calories instead of 3000 calories, MFP from what i can see adds back in all the calories that i burned during a workout. my goal is setup for 1500 per day and when i put in my workout calories usually 1000, it wants me to consume the same calories that i burned for a total of 2500. where am i reducing in order to lose fat? i went back to my plan and it works fine, losing weight, not hungry. it works for me.

random_20

I'm in a similar boat too, i've played around with the figures on other websites and i've added in some more calories and trying to only eat half my exercise calories i'm not hungry enough to eat all of them. this is week three for me so hopefully i'll start seeing results soon.

feel free to add me as a friend and my diary is public so you can check that out too if you want. i'm happy for advice/comments.

Sabresgal63

You are not eating enough with all of that exercise................................

userbell

same thing is happening here! why am i even bothering. you'd like from 5000 calories a day to 1500 something would be happening!

SheriRuth

I have always said I would be perfectly happy to be a 200 lb size 4 Think of the scale as "The Random Number Generator". It is fickle. If you are doing what you know you need to, TRUST THAT. Eat healthy, make sure your calories are well spread out among the food groups, get plenty of rest, water, veggies, keeping working out and as others have mentioned, pictures, measuring tape and fitness benchmarks will help balance out (no pun intended) when the scale is being a fickle b*tch. Keep going, you are doing great!

minnesota_deere

same thing is happening here! why am i even bothering. you'd like from 5000 calories a day to 1500 something would be happening!

i lost 6 lbs my first week and i was well over 5000 calories per day, i would kill a box of oreos in 1 sitting, along with 3 huge bowls of reeses puff cereal. and than i would just keep looking for more food to eat. i now burn 1000 calories per day and eat around 1500-1800 calories, thats it. there are 3500 calories per pound, my body requires 2500 just to survive according to MFP, 1500 calories - 1000 cal burned=500 net cal. ==== what MFP says i need to survive 2500-500 net=2000 calories per day deficit, at a minimum i will lose 4 lbs per week. regardless of what MFP says, i want to lose weight. yes i will keep it off becuase when i hit my goal of 190lbs i will have good eating habits of 1500- 1800 calories and i can reduce my workout because i really do not enjoy working out. for a guy that weighs 190lbs that is all i need to survive. another thing i figured out is that the more i work out the stronger i get. the more calories i need to fuel those muscles, i do not want to get big, i did a test on myself and would workout to burn 2000 calories per day did it for a week, i ended up eating 3500 calories of food, to me that was way to much food and i was setting myself up with bad eating habits again, this is what led me to my current plan, eat less, workout less. I know there is a lot of good advice out there on what to do, this works for me and the more people keep telling me i am wrong the more it motivates me to prove them wrong, keep in mind this is a marketing website. the longer they keep you coming back , the more users they can get, the more ads they can sell for more money. i use the site to assist me in counting my total calories, thats it. and i really like the forums, some topics are really good. again this is what works for me, this is not advice on what to do for you or anyone else, it is information to use how you see fit. another perspective if you will.

taso42

your gaining muscle mass, from what i have researched, do not eat your calories burned while excersizing back. this will set you up for failure. think about it, there are roughly 3500 calories per pound of fat. for me i am supposed to eat 2000 calories per day just to survive. I workout and burn about 1000 calories. MFP wants me to eat my 2000 calories and my 1000 calories burned that puts me at 3000 calories. now the question is, when am i going to start losing weight? you won't because as you excersize you muscles are getting stronger and bigger and your getting more efficient in your workout, so now you have work out more in order to burn the same calories. and becuase you ate all the calories back your still at ground zero, plus now when you did finally hit your goal weight and want to step back from working out so much, you can't becuase your diet is very large and you would have to learn how to survive on 1400 calories. my plan is i learn to eat 1500 calories per day and burn 1000 calories, it takes me about 1 hr of fast walking with 4% incline. get a heart rate monitor and keep your heart rate in your recommended zones, for me it is 128-157. my peak fat burning HR is 135-145. I have lost 6 lbs my first week and am hoping for another 6 this week.

It is you who are setting yourself up for failure. This is a big problem: "my plan is i learn to eat 1500 calories per day and burn 1000 calories". So you are planning to net 500 calories per day? Does that seem sensible to you?

You are misunderstanding how MFP works. The 2000 that MFP is giving you already includes a calorie deficit.

Your research is incomplete. Keep reading.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/474-unofficial-mfp-faq
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

i followed MFP's plan and ate what is required, i found that it is to much food, and can forsee when i do hit my goals and want to reduce excersizing, i will have to retrain myself to consume 1500 calories instead of 3000 calories, MFP from what i can see adds back in all the calories that i burned during a workout. my goal is setup for 1500 per day and when i put in my workout calories usually 1000, it wants me to consume the same calories that i burned for a total of 2500. where am i reducing in order to lose fat? i went back to my plan and it works fine, losing weight, not hungry. it works for me.

You're not getting it.

I wish you the best.

ok mr know it all!!! i am getting it, why do you care? i never asked for your advice, clearly you have some sort of personal issue that you need to deal with on your own. i think its called little mans disease.

Two reasons:

1. Other people read these threads. I don't want anybody following your misguided approach.
2. It's annoying when people like you post their sob stories to the forums after months of undereating complaining that they're stuck and can't lose weight.

minnesota_deere

your gaining muscle mass, from what i have researched, do not eat your calories burned while excersizing back. this will set you up for failure. think about it, there are roughly 3500 calories per pound of fat. for me i am supposed to eat 2000 calories per day just to survive. I workout and burn about 1000 calories. MFP wants me to eat my 2000 calories and my 1000 calories burned that puts me at 3000 calories. now the question is, when am i going to start losing weight? you won't because as you excersize you muscles are getting stronger and bigger and your getting more efficient in your workout, so now you have work out more in order to burn the same calories. and becuase you ate all the calories back your still at ground zero, plus now when you did finally hit your goal weight and want to step back from working out so much, you can't becuase your diet is very large and you would have to learn how to survive on 1400 calories. my plan is i learn to eat 1500 calories per day and burn 1000 calories, it takes me about 1 hr of fast walking with 4% incline. get a heart rate monitor and keep your heart rate in your recommended zones, for me it is 128-157. my peak fat burning HR is 135-145. I have lost 6 lbs my first week and am hoping for another 6 this week.

It is you who are setting yourself up for failure. This is a big problem: "my plan is i learn to eat 1500 calories per day and burn 1000 calories". So you are planning to net 500 calories per day? Does that seem sensible to you?

You are misunderstanding how MFP works. The 2000 that MFP is giving you already includes a calorie deficit.

Your research is incomplete. Keep reading.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/474-unofficial-mfp-faq
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

i followed MFP's plan and ate what is required, i found that it is to much food, and can forsee when i do hit my goals and want to reduce excersizing, i will have to retrain myself to consume 1500 calories instead of 3000 calories, MFP from what i can see adds back in all the calories that i burned during a workout. my goal is setup for 1500 per day and when i put in my workout calories usually 1000, it wants me to consume the same calories that i burned for a total of 2500. where am i reducing in order to lose fat? i went back to my plan and it works fine, losing weight, not hungry. it works for me.

You're not getting it.

I wish you the best.

ok mr know it all!!! i am getting it, why do you care? i never asked for your advice, clearly you have some sort of personal issue that you need to deal with on your own. i think its called little mans disease.

Two reasons:

1. Other people read these threads. I don't want anybody following your misguided approach.
2. It's annoying when people like you post their sob stories to the forums after months of undereating complaining that they're stuck and can't lose weight.

ok, see i will need to be the bigger person here, clearly i am dealing with a person who believes that his way is the only way, and MFP is all concrete. my misguided approach gets me results, your guided approach doesn't work for me, making assumptions about me of what i will be complaining about is completely out of line and ignorant on your part. this works for me and my experiences i share is information only, clearly you disagree, that is ok. lets see what happens to me in 2 months and if i fail, than you can attack me with your negative attitude and i will humbly accept your negative abuse, sound like a plan?

taso42

I've marked my calendar. 3/22/2012. Two months of netting 0-500 calories is what is known as anorexia. I urge you not to do this just to prove a point.

cmriverside

your gaining muscle mass, from what i have researched, do not eat your calories burned while excersizing back. this will set you up for failure. think about it, there are roughly 3500 calories per pound of fat. for me i am supposed to eat 2000 calories per day just to survive. I workout and burn about 1000 calories. MFP wants me to eat my 2000 calories and my 1000 calories burned that puts me at 3000 calories. now the question is, when am i going to start losing weight? you won't because as you excersize you muscles are getting stronger and bigger and your getting more efficient in your workout, so now you have work out more in order to burn the same calories. and becuase you ate all the calories back your still at ground zero, plus now when you did finally hit your goal weight and want to step back from working out so much, you can't becuase your diet is very large and you would have to learn how to survive on 1400 calories. my plan is i learn to eat 1500 calories per day and burn 1000 calories, it takes me about 1 hr of fast walking with 4% incline. get a heart rate monitor and keep your heart rate in your recommended zones, for me it is 128-157. my peak fat burning HR is 135-145. I have lost 6 lbs my first week and am hoping for another 6 this week.

It is you who are setting yourself up for failure. This is a big problem: "my plan is i learn to eat 1500 calories per day and burn 1000 calories". So you are planning to net 500 calories per day? Does that seem sensible to you?

You are misunderstanding how MFP works. The 2000 that MFP is giving you already includes a calorie deficit.

Your research is incomplete. Keep reading.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/474-unofficial-mfp-faq
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

i followed MFP's plan and ate what is required, i found that it is to much food, and can forsee when i do hit my goals and want to reduce excersizing, i will have to retrain myself to consume 1500 calories instead of 3000 calories, MFP from what i can see adds back in all the calories that i burned during a workout. my goal is setup for 1500 per day and when i put in my workout calories usually 1000, it wants me to consume the same calories that i burned for a total of 2500. where am i reducing in order to lose fat? i went back to my plan and it works fine, losing weight, not hungry. it works for me.

You're not getting it.

I wish you the best.

ok mr know it all!!! i am getting it, why do you care? i never asked for your advice, clearly you have some sort of personal issue that you need to deal with on your own. i think its called little mans disease.

Two reasons:

1. Other people read these threads. I don't want anybody following your misguided approach.
2. It's annoying when people like you post their sob stories to the forums after months of undereating complaining that they're stuck and can't lose weight.

GuruMeditationError was completely correct, and also very polite, and has lost a LOT of weight.

This site is different from many: mds3030, you DO need to read more. This is nothing more than an uninformed approach.
You may be able to lose now, because you have a large amount of excess weight. But your post did not take into account the fact that it is not a long-term strategy. It will work only until you get out of the morbidly obese or obese category.

For the OP, have you read these? (mds3030, you should read them too.)


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/175241-a-personal-view-on-exercise-cals-and-underfeeding


.

melonyw

I have been working out sometimes twice a day and staying within my calorie guidelines. I gained two pounds and stayed there for about three weeks. Today I woke up and I am down those two pounds!!! I know that I have lost inches because I have gone down a size in my pants. Hang in there it does change!

rn134good

When someone losses weight mroe than 2 in a week they are most likely going to gain it back as soon as they stop doing any activity or even just lessen it. So you losing this means you are more likely to keep the weight off even if u slow your pace one day when you hit your goal. make sense?

Also yes, many times people will gain weight before they lose it. Kind of like the quiet before the storm only in reverse.

minnesota_deere

your gaining muscle mass, from what i have researched, do not eat your calories burned while excersizing back. this will set you up for failure. think about it, there are roughly 3500 calories per pound of fat. for me i am supposed to eat 2000 calories per day just to survive. I workout and burn about 1000 calories. MFP wants me to eat my 2000 calories and my 1000 calories burned that puts me at 3000 calories. now the question is, when am i going to start losing weight? you won't because as you excersize you muscles are getting stronger and bigger and your getting more efficient in your workout, so now you have work out more in order to burn the same calories. and becuase you ate all the calories back your still at ground zero, plus now when you did finally hit your goal weight and want to step back from working out so much, you can't becuase your diet is very large and you would have to learn how to survive on 1400 calories. my plan is i learn to eat 1500 calories per day and burn 1000 calories, it takes me about 1 hr of fast walking with 4% incline. get a heart rate monitor and keep your heart rate in your recommended zones, for me it is 128-157. my peak fat burning HR is 135-145. I have lost 6 lbs my first week and am hoping for another 6 this week.

It is you who are setting yourself up for failure. This is a big problem: "my plan is i learn to eat 1500 calories per day and burn 1000 calories". So you are planning to net 500 calories per day? Does that seem sensible to you?

You are misunderstanding how MFP works. The 2000 that MFP is giving you already includes a calorie deficit.

Your research is incomplete. Keep reading.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/474-unofficial-mfp-faq
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

i followed MFP's plan and ate what is required, i found that it is to much food, and can forsee when i do hit my goals and want to reduce excersizing, i will have to retrain myself to consume 1500 calories instead of 3000 calories, MFP from what i can see adds back in all the calories that i burned during a workout. my goal is setup for 1500 per day and when i put in my workout calories usually 1000, it wants me to consume the same calories that i burned for a total of 2500. where am i reducing in order to lose fat? i went back to my plan and it works fine, losing weight, not hungry. it works for me.

You're not getting it.

I wish you the best.

ok mr know it all!!! i am getting it, why do you care? i never asked for your advice, clearly you have some sort of personal issue that you need to deal with on your own. i think its called little mans disease.

Two reasons:

1. Other people read these threads. I don't want anybody following your misguided approach.
2. It's annoying when people like you post their sob stories to the forums after months of undereating complaining that they're stuck and can't lose weight.

GuruMeditationError was completely correct, and also very polite, and has lost a LOT of weight.

This site is different from many: mds3030, you DO need to read more. This is nothing more than an uninformed approach.
You may be able to lose now, because you have a large amount of excess weight. But your post did not take into account the fact that it is not a long-term strategy. It will work only until you get out of the morbidly obese or obese category.

For the OP, have you read these? (mds3030, you should read them too.)


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/175241-a-personal-view-on-exercise-cals-and-underfeeding


.

i have read all of them and several more, i agree this may work for some individuals however not everyone fits into those programs, some may be convinced that this is the way, I am not, i believe that if your comfortable and not hungry why force yourself to eat? i am not going to eat more food just because someones opinion or web site thinks i should. my goal here is to create good healthy eating habits and lose fat. by me eating 3000+ calories per day is not good eating habits, and when i reach my goal weight, i want to maintain with very little exercise. can't do that if my body has been gorging 3000 calories per day. talk to me in 2 months.

chrisdavey

I've marked my calendar. 3/22/2012. Two months of netting 0-500 calories is what is known as anorexia. I urge you not to do this just to prove a point.

subbing

Sheila1968

It's been 3 weeks, and I've lost two pounds. I know that's better than nothing, but seriously, I've been exercising 4-5 times a week, sometimes more than once a day, and I've been under my calorie goal (except sometimes on the weekends, but even then I'm eating way better than I was before), under sugar, salt, carbs, all that stuff. So...What the hell? Is that normal? Did that happen to other people too?

Since Jan 1st I have been working out 5-6 days a week and I have only lost a pound. I am frustrated too. I would like to see what everyone says.

I'm in the same boat. I've been exercising more and eating much better since January 1 and the scale has not budged, nor do my pants fit any better. It's very frustrating. I hate what I see in the mirror. And yes, my profile picture is 3 years old so ignore it.

taso42

BUMP

I am pleased to see that you have not kept on the 500 cals/day diet, and you have continued losing weight. Cheers. :drinker: