Only 1lb off this week and feeling disappointed

You haven't lost "only" 1lb. You've lost one, hefty pound of fat!

Take it as a positive that your dissapointed that you only lost 1lb. Its a winning attitude but be careful not to be too hard on yourself.

OK STOP STOP STOP!!!!

Lets just stop for a second and look at the bigger picture. You have lost a whopping 6lbs in 2 weeks!!!!! Thats huge. If you had lost 3lbs in your first week and 3lbs in your second week you wouldnt be writing this post would you.

Just keep doing what your doing

Nah, don't be disillusioned. Take every day as a fresh new goal and wipe all the previous week's achievements (and disappointments) clean from your mind - that way every little bit of weight loss you achieve is one step closer to your goal. You sound as though you're doing everything by the book so you will resume weight loss on a larger scale again soon. Keep up the good work!

My weekly weight losses can range from a few ounces up to 4 pounds, and my calorie goal is roughly the same every week (aside from the weekends that I designate cheat days so I don't go insane on all the lovely lovely food I deny myself the rest of the week) so things fluctuate, but I just tell myself that each week is a brand new challenge worth "refreshing" in your mind.

It appears that you are doing very well. Do not look at the 1 pound...just keep on doing what you have been. You don't want the weight to come off quickly. If you do lose quickly then there is a good possibility that you will re-gain it.

Ive lost 63 since january. My routine now is 500 cal/day workout with a 1430 cal/day intake, suggested by MFP. I usually try to stay right at 1200 cal/day if i can, though.....

Don't feel disappointed about it, I only weigh myself every month because I feel that weekly or 2 weekly would put me down alot if I didn't loose! Try not to think about the Ibs coming off but think about the inches you loose or how your clothes feel on you. Good luck and keep up the good work!

Thanks. I'm still trying to get my head round all the numbers etc as it all confuses me quite a bit. I think I'm eating quite far below my BMR consistently which I know is bad but I'm not sure how to healthily up the numbers. It's early days though so I'm sure I'll figure it out. I need someone to just tell me what to eat and when and I'll be fine!

I upped mine gradually about 200 calories every couple of weeks from 1200 - 1700. Didn't gain an ounce doing it and now I'm losing nicely again. You can just start having an extra snack - a toast with PB, some nuts, a couple pieces of fruit - I've been known to have a little scoop of ice cream, which hasn't stopped me losing almost @10 lbs per month without working out at all.

You could also try less workouts, which will have the same effect since you will be closer to your BMR without having to eat back exercise calories. This was the hardest thing for me to try to figure out how to shove an extra 500 - 800 calories in for dinner when I was exercising and was always feeling full and bloated from all the water I drink.

As far as what to eat, just start with 'better' choices. Its not realistic to go from having McDonalds frequently to eating just raw foods and salads (some people can but I wasn't one of them) You don't have to make all the changes at one time - actually the slower you change the more likely you will be to maintain the lifestyle long term.

Don't get frustrated. It takes time and it's something completely new for most of us! So don't expect that you will know everything right away but I'd recommend looking around here - reading stickies and educating yourself. Unfortunately no one is going to be able to do this for you even if it would be nice to have someone tell you exactly what to do , what to eat and when Just to make it harder..what works for one person may not even work for someone else so it's basically a trial and error thing to find something that works for you. Good Luck!

Hi,

I have to reiterate the views of many of the people in this forum. 6lb in 2 weeks is a phenomenal result. Remember you are looking for an AVERAGE loss of 2lb a week, NOT that amount EVERY WEEK. Although many of us would like to see the steady fall at the predicted weight loss, the body simply does not work that way.

A couple of things to bear in mind.

1st, any NEW weight loss programme will ALWAYS see a much bigger INITIAL drop in weight than subsequent weeks. This is for several reasons. However, the main reason is because a healthier diet, where you watch sodium intake for example, will result in a great deal of excess fluid being lost. This ALWAYS happens at the start of any diet. I have seen some people loose up to 15lb on the first week of a diet (Although this is excessive).

During the initial stages of any diet change the body has to adjust to a great many metabolic changes. These increase as the starting level of weight increases. I think what you saw in week one was very much the combination of these two issues as well as any increase in exercise that you may have incorporated into your routine.

I will caution you on one thing, THAT I HAVE FOUND. This may not apply to everyone and I am sure that there are people out there that will disagree, as well as others who agree and studies supporting both views. However, I have found that doing the SAME exercise EVERY day, whilst having an immediate impact, does not support sustained weight loss. I have found that splitting exercise into different activities OR exercising more infrequently, (Say 3 times a week) is more effective than maintaining the exercise levels on a daily basis. There are two things which I believe support this view. If you continually do the same exercise your body becomes accustomed to doing it and it is less of a strain, so you then get caught in a vicious cycle of having to ever increase the level of exercise in order to get the same impact as doing half of what you were doing 6 months earlier.

Secondly, by having "Rest" days, or by changing the exercise to work on a different set of muscles, the rested ones have time to relax. That means, when you go back to those muscles to exercise the next time, you will find it as difficult as the previous time, so continue to loose weight. The gap or variation will vary for each person, some can exercise daily, and target different groups, which should have the same impact, others will rest completely and exercise the same groups. You need to find what works for you. I just thought that it is something that you should consider.

I cannot comment on your eating habits, as your diary is private, so cannot be seen by others who are not friends or have a key (I do not know if you use that system or not). That said, if you are keeping within the levels, you shouldn't be going far wrong.

Keep in mind that the MFP allowances can be on the generous side for exercise. I TRY not to have to rely on them for my calories. If I do, I RARELY use more than half. I think the best advice I can offer here is to check your calculations against several sites, then take the mean value for them all. If you find one that takes account of weight, that SHOULD be the closest to the MFP results, since calorie burn can often be weight dependent. Example. I went on a 3 mile walk with another MFP friend. They gained nearly 600 calories in exercise, I was under 400. That gives you an idea of what the variations weight can cause alone.

I have tried not to repeat to many of the issues covered by others but I will, along with others, say WELL DONE. Remember, keep looking to the AVERAGE and I do not think you will be much disappointed.

You may find your performance improves with rest days. Consider reading up on why they are important to your strength to help you feel better about them.

Remember if you are working out that exercise builds muscle but you will be losing body fat. When I was a size 8, I weighed 125. When I was a size 2, I weighed 145. The difference was that I had more body fat when I weighed 125. You should be checking your measurements and your body fat. I have a scales at home that does my weight and body fat. It was only off 1% from the calliper test that I had done. Dont worry about the number on the scales so much.