help me analyse this--please

ccman48 · October 2013

I made the decision to get healthy. I jumped on a scale and saw 247. A few days later I saw 240. I was happy. I found MFP and I was even happier. I started in earnest logging food and exercise. I don't weigh every day because I know that your weight fluctuates. Now after a week of hard work averaging five mile walks every day and stayng well under 1700 calories I am watching my weight hover at 240-241+. Perhaps I am just a Nervousness Nelly, but I wouldn't mind someone explaining why I am gaining and not losing. I am not looking for large losses but I did expect it to go the other direction.

allshebe · October 2013

Hydration levels can change your weight by several pounds either way. When you start exercising and "stressing" your muscles, you typically hang onto some water as part of the muscle "healing". For myself, I find that my "normal" pattern is to show a drop of a couple of pounds on the scale (log it), then "gain" back a pound or two, stay fairly steady for a week or two and then "suddenly" drop a pound or two below my previous "low". This pattern has repeated enough times that I don't worry if I stay about the same for a couple of weeks. I know if I keep following the "rules", I will slowly lose weight in a sustainable way (without hunger or any particular degree of deprivation). I log everything I eat and most of my exercise, but I can't say I'm particularly conscientious about weighing and measuring everything - estimating seems to be working well enough for me, though it doesn't for a lot of people (who DO need to carefully weigh and measure)

Fitfully_me · October 2013

I'd say give it more time... A week just isn't enough time.

But I have a couple of questions.
From where did you get the 1700 calorie goal?
Why are you coming in well under it?
How much under it are you speaking?

And just a reminder, you have seen movement in the direction you seek. You started at 247 just a short while ago, remember?

qtgonewild · October 2013

thats why i weigh myself everyday so i can have an idea of whats going on. obviously i only log my weight into mfp on mondays.

PaytraB · October 2013

You've lost a pound in a week. That's a healthy, maintainable weight loss.
Keep doing what you're doing but be sure not to go too low in your daily calories. This could backfire on you in future. Slow & steady will get you to your goal weight. A loss of a pound a week is great.

DianneP6772 · October 2013

Yes, Give it more time. A week for 6-7 lbs is unheard of anyway. Most must be water. But yes, like another posted - i too have the plateaus. Right now i have fluctuated from 129.6 to 131 - for 16 days! But - this has happened in similar fashion before. Hopefully, again in a few days or so, i will drop 1 or 2 lbs and settle on a new low for a week or so. As long as the trend is generally downwards, don't stress about it. A calorie deficit should eventually show a loss! I do log obsessively - but i enjoy that too. I like to know right where i am. I don't stay strictly to a certain calorie limit as i exercise a lot everyday. MFP does overestimate on most exercises on the calorie burn, so you have to take that into account also when you are exercising.
Stay with it - it will work. MFP has been the only way i have been able to lose this amount in my entire life.
So be patient, move and good luck!

ccman48 · October 2013

@Fitfully_me My after exercise "Your Daily Goal" is right around 2400. But I can rarely hit it without redlining Protein, Fat, Sugar and sometimes Sodium. When I first got started it was hard to get above 1200, then 1500, the highest I have been is 1700 or so. I am not hungry enough to eat healthy non processed food to the tune of 2400 cals.

I know it is not much time and I am aware that it is a small sample size. I am not worried in the least just wanted to get the discussion started to see if what I was experiencing was "normal".

The 247 to 240 was before I really started doing anything and could have been anything from hydration to weighing at night and then morning. I don't see it as fat loss.

SueMizZou · October 2013

I had a similar experience when I started. I lost almost nothing for the first month. I stuck with it and realized that it was going to take a while to lose the weight. I even if the scale is slow, you are still getting fit.

Fitfully_me · October 2013

@Fitfully_me My after exercise "Your Daily Goal" is right around 2400. But I can rarely hit it without redlining Protein, Fat, Sugar and sometimes Sodium. When I first got started it was hard to get above 1200, then 1500, the highest I have been is 1700 or so. I am not hungry enough to eat healthy non processed food to the tune of 2400 cals.

I know it is not much time and I am aware that it is a small sample size. I am not worried in the least just wanted to get the discussion started to see if what I was experiencing was "normal".

The 247 to 240 was before I really started doing anything and could have been anything from hydration to weighing at night and then morning. I don't see it as fat loss.

Trust the process. It works. Its not a quick fix, but following the guidelines will get you there. If you are following MFP's formula, and you have been given a daily goal of 2400 calories, your aim should be eat that, not below it, every day.

If you are truly struggling to meet your daily goal, try to eat more calorie dense foods. I won't bore you with a list, but avocado is a personal favorite of mine.

Good luck

ccman48 · October 2013

@Fitfully_me Thanks for the reply. I know and knew when I posted that a week is not long enough to get a good picture. But I also wanted to start the discussion to make sure there wasn't something I was missing.

I do trust the process, thanks for reminding me. I have been eating nutritionally dense food. Avocado, nuts, whole foods of all types and colors. Mostly but not entirely plant based. Some fish, some lean beef.

As I said I really appreciate you post.

help me analyse this--please

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