WTF - weight loss in 5 months

torygirl79

I'm one of those annoying people. I've stuck to 1200 plus some of my excercise calories and it has worked for me - however bear in mind I started from a much higher point than you did.

ChristineDiet

I'm finally at my goal weight. Started out just under 200 pounds (possibly a little over, but I'm sure I wasn't getting anywhere near a scale at that time!). I was a size 18+ and now I'm a size 6. My current weight is just over 150 pounds, and I'm perfectly happy with it. So I've lost right around 50 pounds. But it has taken me over 4 years to get here!

Every single body is different, and you have to do what works for you. What worked for me was slow and steady... and stalling from time to time. I have never netted less than 1400 calories per day on a regular basis, and I always eat my exercise cals. But that's what works for me. It certainly won't work for everyone.

Stick with your program. You'll get there. You will eventually find your groove and meet your goals! And you have a wonderful support system here to help you along the way. :bigsmile:

Thank you for your kind words and congratulations on meeting your goal. x

ChristineDiet

Just a thought, but you might be building quite a bit of muscle with those kettleballs (which is a good thing) and you have lost a lot of inches. I know you can't go backwards but I bet you have lowered your body fat percentage by quite a bit. I know this isn't a scientifically accurate thing to say but muscle weighs more than fat. Well, okay if doesn't weigh more than fat but it takes up a lot less space in your body. Just some food for thought.

Thanks - i didn't measure my body fat % when i first started - only did that about 6 weeks ago and it's gone down 6%, not sure if that is good or not. I am getting more toned and clothes are fitting me now that havent for a while. maybe I was having a bad day yesterday and like others have said i need to be more patient. I suppose what I'm doing is working - just really slowly. Hopefully that means it will stay off forever!!

thanks again to everyone. xx

jhale51

Have you gone to the doctor and had a physical? Maybe it is something like diabetes keeping you back... I know I just went and discovered I was diabetic...that was not even on my radar... I had no symptoms, therefore no clue but like you I was struggling eatting very little.. I changed my focus to maintaining my blood sugar at a healthy level and the weight has just started to fall off. in the last 4 weeks I have dropped 20 lbs... i exercise 20 minutes three times a day, I simply had to find out what carbs spike my blood sugar of all things kashi cereal which I ate for protein and fiber and yogurt, even plain non fat yogurt which I thought was a low calorie healthy food both spike my blood sugar... my doctor put me on oral medication and in 3 months I if my numbers are good he can take me off of meds... then I can manage the diabetes with diet and exercise. I hope this is not the case for you, but is worth looking into... and A1C test will show if you have been averaging high or low for the past three months. Good Luck and I hope you don't get to discouraged because it is so worth being healthy.

escloflowneCHANGED

I'm one of "those" people, I eat 1800 calories on non workout days, 2200-2300 on cardio days and 2500-2600 on cardio + weights days. I've found that weight lifting wearing a HRM, the calories burned need to be multiplied by 0.65-0.70 to get an accurate count of the actual calories burned.

I eat very strict during the week but on weekends and vacation days, I don't log and eat what I want and drink beer...

My Stats:
SW: 271.5lbs Waist: 51" - January 2, 2012
W: 249.5lbs Waist: 47" - February 3, 2012
W: 237lbs Waist: 45" - March 2, 2012
W: 233lbs Waist: 42.5" - April 2, 2012
W: 224.5lbs Waist: 41.5" - May 1st, 2012
W: 215.5lbs Waist: 39.5" - June 1st, 2012

I also lost 8% body fat since March, I find the weight loss is starting to slow down now though..

alltacht

20lbs in 5months and 40? Congrats! I've only managed 11 since january and I'm 24 I'm happy to have lost that much but well done you!

NelehY

Another vote for the "try not compare your progress with others" camp!

And "don't forget that the number on the scale is just one factor"

I started a week or two after a friend who has lost an astonising 25lbs
...which is depressing if I compared it to my 9lbs!

However - she has a lot more to lose, thus is carrying more weight-burning weight.
And whilst my weight is shifting more slowly I can also feel a major difference in my clothes-fit.

And finally - if I have managed to lose as much as you in the same time-span then I will be absolutely thrilled!
You should be patting yourself on the back - you have done jolly well to lose so much weight!

mcarter99

Just a thought, but you might be building quite a bit of muscle with those kettleballs (which is a good thing) and you have lost a lot of inches. I know you can't go backwards but I bet you have lowered your body fat percentage by quite a bit. I know this isn't a scientifically accurate thing to say but muscle weighs more than fat. Well, okay if doesn't weigh more than fat but it takes up a lot less space in your body. Just some food for thought.

Thanks - i didn't measure my body fat % when i first started - only did that about 6 weeks ago and it's gone down 6%, not sure if that is good or not. I am getting more toned and clothes are fitting me now that havent for a while. maybe I was having a bad day yesterday and like others have said i need to be more patient. I suppose what I'm doing is working - just really slowly. Hopefully that means it will stay off forever!!

thanks again to everyone. xx

6% body fat reduction in 6 weeks is HUGE. I wouldn't have thought that possible. And now I'M green with envy!

josyjozy

I would trust in those inches lost. That is progress, and great progress at that. I agree that you could be slowly building muscle and the fat loss is equaling itself out. Trust those measuring tapes.

stupidloser

Forget about the weight for a second. Do u look like you are getting fatter? You maybe losing fat but gaining lean mass, so there is not much change in the scale.

juicemoogan

if you are around 200lbs, 5foot 8 and eating 1300 cals and not eating your exercise calories back.. that isnot enough for your body.
im 5ft7 183lbs, and i eat 1800-2000 cals a day and am losing.. you should think about doing a little research on TDEE and BMR (search the threads theres tons of info.. \\and consider eating a little bit more..

NewChristina

People lose weight at different speeds for a variety of different reasons; it really just depends on the individual sometimes.

Rather than being jealous of others success, why not revel in your own? 17-20lbs in 5 months is pretty damn impressive. When it comes down to it, you can't force your body to drop weight faster than it is meant to. If you're doing all the things you say you're doing, then there's not much else you can do. Your body will lose weight at it's own pace.

And look at it this way; slow, steady weight loss has proven to be far more easily maintainable than quick weight loss. I'm by no means saying those who have lost it quickly are going to gain it back, because I'm sure they aren't, but there is nothing wrong with losing slowly.

I've lost 37lbs in around 6/7 months. A lot of people have lost the same amount of weight in half the time. Am I bothered? No. Why? Because that's them, this is me, and I'm still proud of what I've achieved so far, and what I'm going to achieve in the future. You should feel the same. If there's one lesson to take away from this journey, it's that comparing yourself to others is utterly pointless. Your body is yours, and theirs is theirs, and yours is not going to work out exactly the same as everyone elses.

Well said! :flowerforyou:

tugers2

look at this,
http://www.losertown.org/eats/cal.php
your eating too many calories if you want to lose weight at a decent speed. at the rate your going you'll weight about 165lbs in two years

i would lower you cals to about 1400

niciemetts

it also depends on your metabolism...........how much calories you burn off............the kinds of foods you eat.........such as are you eating processed food.........or are you eating mostly natural foods...........are you eating foods high in carbs.............more carbs you intake the harder your body has to work to burn the carbs before it can burn your stored fat.............of course i am having problems eating 1200 calories lol.......i need more calories but not more carbs lol btw i am 5 10 35 years old and 216 pounds........goal weight 165

wahmx3

This, you need to eat more, try it a bit longer and you should see results.

So you have been doing this for roughly 26 weeks, and you have lost 17-20lbs. What's wrong with that?

However this is what bothers me:
"I then tried eating more (for a month - 1600-1800) and gained 1lb every week, after the month I stopped and went back down to 1400,"

So you increased your calories by 400 a day. According to fitness frog, for Moderate exercise, your TDEE for your height and weight is 2500 calories! To gain a lb of fat a week you would need to consume 3000 calories a day! I think you quit RIGHT before you were going to see the losses kick in. How long have you been at 1200-1400? Are you eating exercise calories back?

marsellient

I feel like I'm taking a huge risk posting here as I've read so many controversial threads about issues like yours. No doubt the exercise is having an impact on how you are losing pounds and inches. You have lost both and that's a big victory. Good for you! There are many posters who are very knowledgeable about BMR and TDEE, etc. who can give you advice; however, I am an almost 56 year old who has lost almost 30 lb since the end of January on roughly 1540 calories/ day with moderate exercise (cardio, resistance training...but nothing like you're doing), and sometimes I eat back the calories per my HRM. Perhaps you need to look at changing up what you're eating to include more fresh vegetables and proteins? Just a thought. Whatever you decide, you are definitely going in the right direction and don't give up!

suziecue66

"I started off setting my goal to 1200 cals per day and was losing around 1lb a week but was advised by a lot of people that I should be eating more. I then tried eating more (for a month - 1600-1800) and gained 1lb every week, after the month I stopped and went back down to 1400, I waas losing some weeks, gaining or staying the same other weeks. I've then brought it down to 1300 and it's still the same, lose a pound, put it on, stay the same!! "

That was your mistake - following advice to eat more when 1200 was working for you. Changes only need to be made if you are not seeing results and you were seeing results at 1200.
A lot of those that have lost a substantial amount in 5 months or so seem to be lower in calories then most on this site approve of.

In your profile you said:
Please don't bother to ask me to add you if you don't have your diary open and eat at least 1200 calories a day. I'm trying to do this the healthy way and need to be surrounded by people with the same views."
Quite a few of those that are losing huge amount are probably netting below 1200.

nxd10

Twenty pounds in five months is essentially a pound a week. Slow but steady.

Keep it up!

LilacDreamer

Eating out can kill your diet as well. If you eat out, leave a 1/4 of the portion on the plate and log the entire serving (or multiply the serving by 1.2). Weigh all of your food. You might be surprised at the difference.

can you explain this to me? If I go out to some place...Olive garden for example, and I eat 1/2 of a pasta dish, why would I log the entire dish? If I only ate 1/2 I'm only going to log 1/2...it's like eating a bagel.. if someone buys a dozen bagels and I eat 1/2 of a bagel, I'm not going to log the whole dozen just because it was purchased. also... measure it by 1.2? you lost me..

mlynnea03

Bump