Am I being impatient?

Also, a lot of people will tell you that your expectations are unrealistic and you should be eating more than 1200 calories.

...and that's the only applicable part of this post.

Hmmm, yeah you're probably right. I have the 30DS but haven't used it yet. So tonight I will take measurements and pics and maybe eat a few more calories. I would be happy with 12 pounds, or even ten pounds but seeing the +2 is just so discouraging. I think I am too scale obsessed and I should probably stop that. Do you think 1 liter of water is enough?

I think if you give 30 DS a good shot, you'll see nice changes in measurements. Sometimes people don't necessarily see a huge drop in lbs., but if they begin to drop off it will be toward the middle or end of week 2...so don't give up or get discouraged. Just be consistent, keep eating healthy, and do the workout to the best of your ability. You'll probably be pleased with the results. Good luck to you and congrats on the impending marriage!

So for the past few weeks I've been eating 1200 calories a day. I'm 5'6" and now 200 pounds. This week my weight went from 198 on monday back to 200 today. I work out 5 days a week, 30 min, using HIIT dvd's. I am always hungry it seems. I sometimes will eat back around a third of my exercise calories. I might also mention that I am new to working out. Am I holding water from the workouts? I am drinking about 1 liter a day. How can my weight go up 2 pounds in 2 days with so much of a calorie deficit. I am just so bummed out that the scale is not going down. I am getting married in 3 months and would like to lose 20 pounds. What am I doing wrong?

You're female. You should expect this.

If you're hungry all the time, you're not doing a diet that is right for your body. Example: I used to do calorie counting, low-fat, high carb diets, and failed miserably. I had the willpower and the discipline, BUT I stayed hungry and never lost an ounce! What I ended up doing was introduce ONLY high quality, whole foods to my diet, this included full fat cheese and butter. YUM! I said "no" to crappy, store bought desserts. I started eating fruit as dessert...plain, fresh fruit. If I had rice, then I'd skip other starches and bread. If I had bread, I'd skip rice and other starches. (You should eat a protein/fat, veggie (green veggies, mainly), and a fruit at each meal. I cut back on my portion sizes. (It's easy to do this when you're treating yourself to a wide variety of flavors during each meal.) Stop snacking. Zero. You don't need it. If you're eating well, you won't want it, either. I read "French Women Don't Get Fat" and used it as my guide/bible. Eat mindfully. Don't feel guilty when eating--you are ALLOWED to enjoy your food! Stop when you're full. I did this and lost 15 lbs. pretty fast (a few months). I lost 1-2 lbs per week, at first, then .5 lbs per week after. The good thing about FWDGF, Is that it's set on a 3 month recasting period, so you could reasonably lose 15-20 lbs. by your wedding. Good luck!!!

hey hey! I don't get notifications on posts so I thought I would message you! How often do you weight yourself? It could easily be water or sodium or even sugar....how did you decide on teh 1200 calorie goal? Are you watching protein, carbs, fat? Do you take any supplements/vitamins?

Also, a lot of people will tell you that your expectations are unrealistic and you should be eating more than 1200 calories.

...and that's the only applicable part of this post.

In your opinion, perhaps. I know what works for me.

Don't eat back your exercise calories.

Whatever you do, don't listen to this. You should be eating back your exercise calories unless you have done the TDEE method where they are factored in.

I'm kind of in the same boat. I'm 5'7, 205 lbs. I lost 40lbs in 6 months on my own (before I discovered MFP) and I seem to have hit a plateau since joining. I'm eating 1200 calories/day based on the info I put into MFP (desk job, lose 2 lbs per week, etc) and I eat back my workout calories (4-5 workouts/week ranging from cardio to HIIT to weight training) and the scale seems to be stuck at 205 for the past month.

I eat smaller meals more often throughout the day, I've found this way leaves me feeling satisfied all day and less likely to reach for junk or get the munchies. I upped my water intake to 2 litres per day and I noticed that I'm not hungry as often. I would try the smaller meals/more often if that is something that works for your lifestyle. Also increase your water intake, I think I read somewhere that sometimes your brains says you are hungry when really your body is thirsty.

I really haven't noticed a difference in clothing size or muscle definition on my plateau. Based on the advice others gave you I think I might up my calories to 1500 (plus eating back workout cals) to do a 1lb/week deficit, that may be what my body needs and also will be more sustainable moving forward.

Good luck to you! I hope we both see a difference soon!

Also, a lot of people will tell you that your expectations are unrealistic and you should be eating more than 1200 calories. If it works for you, it's perfectly fine. I eat 1200-1300 calories per day and am completely satisfied. I never eat back my exercise calories and I typically lose 1.5-2lbs. per week. I am down 16lbs in 6 weeks and I am definitely not undereating or starving myself. I'm also not in a rush to lose weight, but I'm not going to complain about it coming off easily. Everyone is different and you just have to find what works for your body.

Start monitoring body composition and you will probably change your mind. Not all weight loss is the same. There is weight loss and then there is fat loss. Weight loss is fat + lean body mass (LBM) and fat loss is just that, fat. Minimizing LBM loss should be a goal during your journey. The more lbm you have, the tighter and more lean you will be. Also, if you have more lbm, you will need to lose less weight overall to achieve your goal.

Now, since the OP only has 30 ish lbs to lose, aiming for one lb per week is ideal. Also, making sure you aim for 1g of protein per lb of lbm (about 70-80% of your total weight would suffice) and around .35g of protein per lb of lbm is ideal as well. Higher protein will help maximize muscle retention. Below is a good link to demonstrates the difference of how a body can look when you have more lbm. This girl gained 20lbs of muscle and has a leaner and tighter body. The perception that you need to weigh less to look better is false.

Also, it's a lot easier to maintain lbm than gain lbm; when you gain muscle, you need to go through bulk and cut cycles.


OP, since you are doing 30DS, just set your account to lightly active and 1 lb per week. You can adjust macro's to around 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fats and this can help ensure your P/F is adequate.



http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

Also, a lot of people will tell you that your expectations are unrealistic and you should be eating more than 1200 calories.

...and that's the only applicable part of this post.

In your opinion, perhaps. I know what works for me.

...le sigh. Tell me again how eating below your bmr is healthy?
argue with science all you want to, it's amusing to watch.

you gave bad advice, it's okay. I'm not judging YOU for it, but if you start getting poopy and defending it, then we'll have problems.