Trying not to be discouraged

rebelq

I have been so excited about MFP, I have been on it for 15 days. I've never been a calorie counter, but the ease of this site has been awesome. I have been under my cal., (only by a very little), most days and really tried to get exercise almost every day as well. I had great weight loss the 1st wk, lost 4 lbs, then 2 more just a few days later. Now I've stayed the same for 5 days, even though I am being more disciplined than I have ever been before.

Midnight1210

Don't be discouraged!

First off, everyone's rate of success will be different because everyone's bodies/metabolisms are different - so don't compare yourself to any others. Also, try not to think of it as calorie-counting so much as being aware of how your eating and exercise patterns affect your body. :bigsmile:

Secondly, you have to remember that as you exercise and lose fat, you are building muscle - and muscle is heavier.

I have been using MFP for 25 days now and lost 17 lbs in that time. Now, I burn close to 1000+ calories a day but even with that, I'm not dropping pounds any faster than 1-2 lbs a week. I've even put some weight back on in the last week but I'm not worried. I know it's muscle because I can feel the difference in the way my clothes are fitting. So don't worry so much about the numbers on the scale - you're clothing won't lie to you.

I've personally found that you tend to see a sudden weight loss in the first 30 days of a serious change of exercise/eating habit - and from that point on it takes a little more effort and a lot of dedication - but in the end it will pay off.

So don't be discouraged and definitely don't start eating less carlories than what MFP calculated for you because that will only send your body into starvation mode and slow your metabolism. Meet your calorie goal every day, exercise as often as you can and in time you will see and feel results. :bigsmile:

Crochetluvr

I have had weeks (7 days) where I have lost 3 pounds. Sometimes a half pound....or a quarter pound...or one pound....or nothing. Its not a race. Slow loss is more likely to be permanent loss. You are doing just fine!

mercymarque

Don't be discouraged. U may need to try different foods or change ur exercise routine. Interval training and strengh training can also help. U have come to far to be discouraged also u may be losing inches. Make sure u take measurements if you haven't already.

RuthSweetTooth

1. Stick with it
2. Eat more fruits and vegetables.

CyberEd312

The very first thing you need to do.... Is get any hint of this being anything of a short term thing, a diet, a just wanna lose some weight and go back to old habits.... If you think of this as nothing short of a complete lifestyle change... you are setting yourself up for failure... Don't put time limitations on it... It is for the rest of your life so just get up each and everyday and be as successful as you can be for that day and then tomorrow get up and do it again... I started my new life in May of 2009 and haven't looked at it any other way since.... Best of Luck

gramacanada

Don't let one setback. Hold you back for life.

WickedBean

You have only been here for 15 days. Give it some time.

rebelq

Thank you so much, so many good points and I appreciate the encouragement! Just what I needed to "stay the course". Feels like having friends in my corner!

rebelq

Thank you again for the encouragement, great advice. I took it to heart: Its a life long commitment, change up your exercise, eat more calories. I did it all and dropped 3 lbs. I chose to get more determined, instead of discouraged, exercised every day and it worked!

kiachu

Try not to use the scale as the sole measurement of your success. The scale cannot determine what is food in your gut, water, bone mass, muscle mass or fat mass. It just tells you what you weight. When you start losing weight your body starts shedding water because its using your energy stores and those molecules bind with water for storage. I'm still struggling with this because I'm dieting for a show. I'm slowly getting leaner visually but my scale weight isn't budging HOW I would want it to. It messes with your mind.

As far as I can see you are doing everything right and everything is happening as it should. 15 days is not a long time to truly track progress. You have to understand the human body doesn't work exactly the way we would like it to . So don't get discourage. Keep going and stay the course. It'll come together.

rebelq

Thanks Kiachu. I do use the scales to measure my success, for the first 15 lbs., I don't feel or look much different. I am blessed/cursed, (depending on which way my weight is going), I lose or gain all over. Ican lose 20 lbs. and still be a size 12, just more comfortable of course. I know as I lose more that will come. I really am trying to keep the mindset that this is a lifetime thing. Especially my new focus on: "What exercise can I do today?" I am sure this comes from MFP, the accountability with my friends. A very good thing. I have lost 9 lbs. since Aug. 1st, so I'm doing great on my goal of 2lbs. a wk. Thanks for your comment!