Diet going great, but now just maintaing weight :/

hlfunnell
hlfunnell Posts: 17 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey! Sorry if this topic has come up before - it's probably also a silly one!

I've been on a 1200 calorie diet for just under 2 weeks. The first 6 days was great with 1+ pounds dropping off more or less every day. However the past four days I'm stuck at 9stone-13lbs/10stone. It just keeps going up and down a couple of pounds rather than any coming off.

Is this normal? Was my quick weight loss before just water weight? Should I worry my carbs/protein are occasionally over or that I do still have treats like chocolate and croissants but keep strictly under my calorie limit? And does this mean I have hit my limit and need to exercise more than my once a week if I want to lose more weight?

Sorry for the newbie questions, but answers to any of these would help me out when it comes to my planning my weight loss better! :)

Replies

  • sovannac
    sovannac Posts: 445 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • hlfunnell
    hlfunnell Posts: 17 Member
    Thanks! What I gathered from that is that my metabolism may be slowing down to cope with my eating less. More green tea for me then!
  • Jamcnair
    Jamcnair Posts: 586 Member
    I'd say you aren't eating enough. And it's always good to exercise more than once a week....also...you said it's only been 2 WEEKS! Give yourself TIME!
  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    ^Start here, it's a great post.

    It's very common for one's weight to fluctuate daily for a whole lot of different reasons. You may need to re-evaluate your numbers. 1200 calories is NOT ideal for everyone, even though it's what MFP automatically recommends. Many people need to change the number to meet their individual needs. Also, losing 1 pound a week is not typical--aim for 1-2 pounds per week (it is possible to lose more, particularly if you are extremely obese, but 1-2 pounds per week is a healthy number for most people). I over-estimate my food intake slightly, and under-estimate my calorie burn from exercise, so that gives me a bit of an error window.

    If you're only exercising once a week, ramping it up a bit is ok, unless you have some kind of medical condition preventing you from exercising regularly, in which case--see a doctor.

    Good luck! :)

    Edited to add--if you're only trying to lose 8 lbs more (as shown by your weight loss "ticker") you should expect the weight to come off very slowly. More like half a pound a week. I know it's hard to be patient, but the slower you take it off, the easier it will be to maintain long term!
  • hlfunnell
    hlfunnell Posts: 17 Member
    Oops nother post in there. Do you have any advice on what should I use to judge how many calories I should eat?

    I know it's only been 2 weeks, but I lost the first 4lbs so fast I was worried I'd started doing something wrong and that's why I'd stopped losing weight :/ The last thing I want to do is get into bad habits and damage my health/ability to lose weight!
  • GolfChickPDX
    GolfChickPDX Posts: 12
    First DO NOT weigh yourself daily. Healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs a week. Most people start really fast and then slow down a bit. That is normal. When you get stuck at the same weight for several weeks, then, you might want to change things up. For now, you're doing great. Try weighing in once a week, same day, same circumstances. And try taking other measurements: waist, arms, chest etc. You may be losing fat and gaining muscle which is a great problem to have.

    It's only been two weeks, have some patience. Just think about how long it took to put the weight on...
  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
    Oops nother post in there. Do you have any advice on what should I use to judge how many calories I should eat?

    I know it's only been 2 weeks, but I lost the first 4lbs so fast I was worried I'd started doing something wrong and that's why I'd stopped losing weight :/ The last thing I want to do is get into bad habits and damage my health/ability to lose weight!

    If you go to the link that was posted above, this info is kind of towards the end of Dan's post (I know the "roadmap" post is a long read, but definitely worth reading when you have time)

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/
    Do the Military Body Fat Calc first.
    Enter all your info here.
    You'll need a tape measurer.

    Hope that helps a bit! (and unless you have a medical intolerance or condition that would prevent you from having certain foods, don't be afraid of having an occasional "treat" or even fitting a small treat in daily--think of this as a way to eat the rest of your life, not just a temporary fix.)

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