-4lbs in a month?! Not good enough

forget about the number on the scale (nobody sees it except you).
get a tape measure and do checks every 2 weeks, also take pictures, these are much better methods for gauging fat loss!

Like almost everyone has said, averaging one pound per week is GREAT. After looking at your diary, the fact that you are eating so many processed foods and LOTS of carbs/sugar and low fat, I would say you are doing incredible for the diet that you have chosen.

I'm losing well right now, partly because I have a lot to lose and partly because I avoid foods that don't work well for me (grains, legumes, sugar) and I eat lots of FAT. Even more notable than the weight loss is how all of my health problems (there were lots) have vanished.

Edit: To the "nothing else matters" than calories crowd; maybe that works for you, but it doesn't work for me and many other people. There are a number of people on MFP that had many health issues similar to mine that were only resolved by dietary choice and setting our own macro goals, not just by counting calories. For instance, high carb food makes me crave and binge (and causes other serious illnesses). Low carb (healthy) food makes me feel full and satisfied.

First glance, I'd say too many carbs. Try not to go over the limit there. I have to keep under my carb allowance to do anything. My diary is open. I stay close to 1200 - 1500 in calories, and 100 in carbs. Don't fret, it's still a loss and not a gain.

I would gladly take those 4lbs a month and your shoes,I love those!

Could more knowledgable people take a sec to look at my food diary and exercising. -4lbs in a month sucks. I have gone over calories a bit some days (but at 1280 calories a day, its not hard.)

If you eat foods that are nutrient dense, but lower in calories, you may find it easier to say within your calorie goal. I have my protein set quite a bit higher and my fat a littler higher than the MFP default. I find that when I stick closer to this, I am not in danger of grabbing random junk from the cupboard.

-4lbs in a month sucks and I am 170, so I have alot more to lose.

Think about it this way...at this rate, you will be 158 by Christmas. If you keep going, you might be in the 140s before next summer.

I only had 15-20 lbs to lose and it took me almost 9 months to get that weight off. Could I have done it faster? Probably, but talk to me a year from now; I bet that I am at, or lower, than my current weight. I have found a lifestyle that is infinitely manageble. I don't feel overworked or deprived of any food.

Thinking of doing the 1 or 2 days a week of alternating fasting (500 calories a day).

I, personally, wouldn't, but that's my personal opinon. I do not do anything that I am not willing to do for the rest of my life.

Could more knowledgable people take a sec to look at my food diary and exercising. -4lbs in a month sucks. I have gone over calories a bit some days (but at 1280 calories a day, its not hard.)

Ideas welcome.
I run 6k twice a week and 10k once a week on weekends.
I do Bikram/hot yoga a minimum of 3 times a week.

-4lbs in a month sucks and I am 170, so I have alot more to lose.
I drink 4litres of water a day.

too many carbs?
Thinking of doing the 1 or 2 days a week of alternating fasting (500 calories a day).

Thanks!

Sounds like you are doing fine. Impatience wrecks many a fat-loss plan. The goal should always be fat loss rather than weight loss. Weight can go up and down based on many factors. For example, if you get very dehydrated, you can lose up to five pounds a day but no one thinks that is a healthy way to lose weight. :frown: That's why I like taking waist measurements as that is a better indicator of fat loss than is weight. You can still look at weight loss daily if you want, but a waist measurement every couple of weeks (or, if you really want to get accuracy, get a set of fat calipers---you can get them online inexpensively) tracks your success better. The key is getting your body to burn stored fat rather than relying on burning carbohydrates. For most obese people, restricting carbs (please---NO no-carb plans---you cannot stay healthy on a no-carb plan long-term) forces their body to burn fat. That is why drinking lots of water is so important for two reasons: 1. it helps your body to burn fat more efficiently and 2. it helps to flush out toxins that enter your blood stream when you burn fat (and thus, you stay healthier and feel better so you are not as apt to quit).. The reason why it is important to not go TOO low on carbs is that a too-low carb plan will cause a number of biochemical problems for obese folk---one of which can be the raising of uric acid levels to unacceptable heights---you don't need a gout attack or the kidney impairment that high uric acid levels can produce. At 75-100 grams of carbohydrates (most of which should be spent on vegetables and a couple of pieces of fruit per day) you will burn fat slowly, without becoming dehydrated. When someone tells me that they have lost 3-4 pounds per week I think to myself, "Physiologists tell us that you can't possibly be burning more than 2 pounds of fat per week, so you are likely dehydrating yourself and cannibalizing your own muscles as well!" When a person loses weight very quickly this is what they are doing to themselves and when they go off the draconian measures they have imposed on themselves, the rebound is devastating---when they eventually go back to eating more healthfully---which they must or they will start feeling lousy. (I know, I have been there.)

You need to think about it this way---you are doing this in order to be healthier right? Looking better should always be secondary. You likely didn't gain the fat any faster than a pound a week (unless you are a pig-out artist , which most people are not) so losing it at that rate shouldn't be a problem

And now for something completely different. Well, not really, several others made the comment too.

1 lb a week is indeed great and recommended, and closer to goal weight maybe even too much.

But....

Is that 1lb a week because of educated choices of activity level and goals selected, and it's nice and slow as intended?

or,

You selected a goal too aggressive, and are not feeding all those workouts you are doing, and have slowed the metabolism lower than it needs to be? Either because of muscle loss or body slowing everything down?

While the end result as far as pure weight loss may indeed be the same, you are not getting nearly the benefit from your exercise if it's because of slowed metabolism and under-eating for your level of exercise.
And if because of muscle loss, really bad news.
How is the body going to make improvements from the food you eat, if the body needs all those nutrients and energy just to take care of the basic metabolism functions?
If it has barely enough left over to repair from exercise, how is it going to rebuild stronger?

I'm glad to see, at least it appears, you are giving some rest days in there, or at least easier days, for the muscle to recover, just not much for it to use though it appears, especially if you only eat around 1200 and no more for the exercise.

have you tried a low carb high proteint high fiber diet? I looked into you diary and your protein is really low try it, it may work

4lbs is a great loss, also for your activites and weight etc you should be eating more

I just do not think that 4 lbs in a month sucks. So, congrats on your four pound loss!