3 weeks struggling to lose weight...

I don't think you are eating enough...

I agree that I do not think you are eating enough as a general point (why are you not eating what MFP tells you to eat? - its already a large deficit) .

That being said, that should not be the reason you have not lost much weight. Have you started exercising in the last 3 weeks (i.e. were you doing it before) and if so, what do you do.

I changed my goal to losing 1/2 pound a week. That gave me more calories, and I started losing.

Hi first time poster, I have been dieting for 3 weeks now, I started at 17.3 and have been counting calories and averaging about 1000-1200 a day (MFP states I should consume 1847 to lose 2 pound per week). I am now 16.10 and feeling quite disappointed. Whenever I have dieted before the weight has flown off me for the first month or so. Usually 6lb in the first week alone!

I have gone from eating loads of carbs with little salad or veg and drinking lots of alcohol to eating mostly protein, very little carbs and the occasional drink once a week. I am exercising and everything, what am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance for any advice or support,

James

I don't understand your numbers, What is 17.3 and 16.10? BMI? Stones?

I have been dieting for approx three weeks, I haven't had any weight gain in that time but haven't lived a very healthy lifestyle for the last 12 years and I'm only 30. I can notice a slight difference in body shape and my belly fat seems to have loosened somewhat (more jiggly) but I haven't gained any noticeable muscle gain so am a bit stumped for the slow loss.

Find your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) to figure out how many calories you actually burn daily. From there, eat at a 20% deficit. Also, exercising with strength training will keep you from loosing muscle mass. If you don't eat enough, your body will be less apt to want to let go of the fat and muscle that's keeping it alive.

ETA- there are a few ways to do loose, but you're going to have to figure out what is best for you. If what you're doing now isn't working, change it up.

Really??

You have only been life changing for 3 weeks and you are already complaining about not losing.. With that type of attitude you are going to have a long and bumpy road.

First off what kind of exercising are you doing ? Straight cardio/Strength Training?

What kinds of proteins are you eating?

You really need to drop the energy drinks especially the carbonated kind.. ... Bad
Your Coffee isn't bad it just depends on what you put in it.. Creamer ? ... bad..

Stop the whining, and start looking at this like you would look at a problem you need to solve at your job ..

Up your calories.. Do 50/30/20 Which means out of a 100% food intake 50% is protein, 30 % is GOOD carbs, and 20% is GOOD fat... MFP will break it down into grams for you .. Look at my diary. over the curse of a week to get an idea..

Eat 5 SMALL meals 3- 4 hours apart .. .. My schedule looks like this.... Early morning work out ( 4:30 am ) Finish by 6:30am Eat breakfast in form of a shake consistent of Whey Protein, Water and mixed fruit usually ... That serves as a Recovery/breakfast

Eat a AM Snack 3 hours later .... Eat lunch ... 3 hours later eat PM snack .. 3 hours later Dinner.. Before bed still a little hungry ? Take a scoop of whey protein with water..


Its not hard, You will get there..With food.. get into a routine you are comfortable with that still is in line with your goals.. As for Exercise ... get into a routine you are uncomfortable with because thats where you will see change...

If you eat too few calories the weight will fall off at 1st, and pile back on even quicker the moment you begin to eat again!! This is why people say more calories = more weight loss! If you are honestly just losing for a special event in a week or something the ONLY way would be to simply not eat until your event (although as soon as you eat your scared and starving body is going to cling to every single calorie and not let gooooo and all that weight will come right back. :huh: ) The ONLY way to keep weight off is slow and steady (and people who frequent this website might rip you a new one if you ask for help with quick fixes!!)


Stick with a lower calorie, higher nutrient rich, more exercise lifestyle for a year and I gaurantee you will lose.

good Luck~

OH and if you are doing straight cardio the othe rposter is right you will lose fat but not gain any muscle.. What are your goals here..

And bottom line lets assume you are weight training 3 - 4 times a week you will not see much muscle develop under your fat for some time.. Its there.. You just can see it due to the extra padding....


More important thing to focus on than vanity is how you feel... The more you do the better you get the farther you can go ..

Sorry, figures relate to st &lb.

I have been trying to combat water retention by consuming 4 litres of water everyday (having used an online calculator). Does that make sense, if not how long would I have to wait for the normalisation?

So 17.3 stones to 16.1 is 241 to 225. So you have lost 16 pounds in 3 weeks? Sorry my British math is bad, is that correct? That's very good weight loss if I calculated that right...