Anyone start out with VERY slow losses?

Four_Leaf_Clover

I am wondering if anyone out there started out on MFP (logging, maintaining a caloric deficit, exercise, etc.), but it still took them a long time to see losses?

I am having a painful start - I am essentially down only 3 lbs since the end of July (and I am 200 lbs and have a lot to lose and consistently have a calorie deficit).

I am happy with what I am doing and have no plans to quit - I love feeling more in control and having more energy and getting more fit - these are all wonderful. I am trying to clean up/refine my diet and up my workouts even more to improve my success.

But frankly, I am jealous of all the great success I see on here. I have gotten some great advice on what to try and tweak, but right now I am just looking for some hope/light at the end of the tunnel that I am ever going to actually lose weight. I frankly am starting to feel somewhat depressed and fear I am sounding like a whiny broken record on here.

Any "light" would be most appreciated. You can yell too, I can take it.

Thanks all! I love this place. I just want to become a success story!

MVY_

I feel the same. I just started again on working out a month in a half ago and lost 7 lbs so far. After that I'm stuck at this weight but am losing inchesss like nothing and i feel so much slimmer and I dropped a pant size.

So even though you aren't seeing results on the scales..you might still be losing.

Four_Leaf_Clover

Good point. I really need to bust out the tape measure. I have always been so obsessed with the scale. And so many of my clothes are stretchy, it's hard to tell if they really fit any better.

JohnMessmer

I have only been doing this for a week, have lost a few pounds and just yesterday I grabbed a shirt out of my closet and put it on, thought nothing of it until later when my wife said "I thought that shirt didn't fit anymore". I hadn't noticed that it was just a tad to tight a few weeks ago and had made its way to the save for "one day when I lose weight" section of my closet, when I grabbed it..it fits again. Fat guy Happy Dance.

Four_Leaf_Clover

Good job, John! Keep up the good work!

See I need that kind of reinforcement - I am one of those people that just needs positive reinforcement when I am doing the "right" things.

sweetandtenderhooligan

i feel yr pain! i have just lost 5 pounds since the end of july, i have no intention of quitting!

Graceious1

I am the same weight as when I started but I have lost inches off my waist, hips and my arms are more toned. It is so easy to get caught up with the scales so I am now concentrating on body fat (body fat analyser) and inches lost before weight loss. Your clothes will also tell you if you are on the right track because they will either be tight or fall off. :blushing:

tabbykat6802

I started here at the end of July, too. I have only taken off 4 lbs so far.

i am here for you if you want. I could use some support and motivation, too.

gomisskellygo

I hear you loud and clear! I have been logging/exercising since February! I have lost 10lbs in that time. BUT, oddly I have gone down two pant sizes. Clearly, inches are being lost. Not to say that there are not days that I am not sad that I am not down the 30lbs I thought I would be at this point, but hey, I'm a heck of a lot healthier.

Slow and steady wins the race. I have never had an issue losing fast in the past but I never had a problem gaining it back either!

Make the choices that you know are healthy. 7 pounds is great! Keep it up!

jl300

I am in the same boat, only about 3 lbs lost in about 2 months. I am tracking everyday and although I have had bad days, I feel like I should have lost more. I am also seeing a nutritionist every 3 weeks and following her recommendations. I don't have any plans of giving up either but my biggest frustration is not knowing if I'm really making progress. I think my clothes are getting looser but its not a huge difference so I'm not totally convinced that its real rather than just wishful thinking. Even with measuring my waist its not always consistent because I'm only seeing small differences and its easy to accidently pull the tape a little tighter and get an incorrect reading. I definitetly feel better but I want results on the scale too!

RougeIllusion

I would definitely suggest taking your measurements. I've lose pretty regularly but was SO excited to find out that I lost 2inches from my waist and hips last month.

I have a friend who didn't lose almost any weight for about two months but was losing lots of inches and then right at the start of the third month she just began losing regularly.

Good Luck!

gomisskellygo

I am in the same boat, only about 3 lbs lost in about 2 months. I am tracking everyday and although I have had bad days, I feel like I should have lost more. I am also seeing a nutritionist every 3 weeks and following her recommendations. I don't have any plans of giving up either but my biggest frustration is not knowing if I'm really making progress. I think my clothes are getting looser but its not a huge difference so I'm not totally convinced that its real rather than just wishful thinking. Even with measuring my waist its not always consistent because I'm only seeing small differences and its easy to accidently pull the tape a little tighter and get an incorrect reading. I definitetly feel better but I want results on the scale too!

For me, I realized that my clothes were too small to begin with! So it took a few pounds for my own clothes to "fit". I say I lost two sizes because because although I SHOVED myself in 14's. I was absolutely a 16:)
I am sure you are losing inches!

blues4miles

I hear you. I have lost 2 lbs in about 5 weeks. It helped me a little to re-assess the information here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

That thread is simply awesome. I discovered the calorie goal MFP gives me (1360) which is supposed to help me lose 1 lb per week, is just about my BMR (so I don't want to go any lower). I also discovered (per the thread above) my TDEE is around 1670 or so. So cutting down to 1360 calories is more like .5 lb a week not 1 lb a week. Add in sodium and hormonal fluctuations, and it can be downright discouraging. I still have a good 25 lbs to lose over being a healthy weight so yeah I'm thinking "why isn't this melting off, I'm doing everything right."

I just try to do the little things that are little improvements. Try to get my workouts in more regularly, make sure I'm measuring all my food, make sure I'm being very meticulous and honest about logging everything, make sure I'm getting in my water, try to get in more protein (i upped the default 15% protein on MFP to a custom of 20%, and once I feel like I can handle that I'll probably bump it up again). Try to make sure I'm getting in my strength training twice a week. I took measurements and took some "before" pictures. I don't think I've lost much in the way of inches in the last month, but I do think I am getting stronger and building more cardiovascular fitness so that is something. The range between my BMR and my TDEE is so low that I don't see any way of stepping that up short of just adding in more good exercise and being good with my macros. I also try to be proud of myself that I'm not gaining weight. I figure most years of my life I have put on weight, so if I weigh 2 lbs less today than I did a year ago, than that is a year I didn't gain weight. I am trying to get comfortable with the fact that I might not reach a "healthy weight" for another year at my current pace of losing. I'm not exactly thrilled about that, but trying to stay motivated. If anyone wants to friend me go ahead, I am new so could use some friends and motivation.

Special2013

Slow and steady wins the race and repeat. I too am moving at a snails pace and sits awhile at a spot which is perhaps one of the reason i back slid for the past three weeks and doing more damage along the way looking at weight I worked so hard and so long to lose