Its been 3 weeks, have only lost 2 pounds.

Hello there, My name is Taylor and I have been using my Fitness Pal for about 3 weeks in a row. I track everything, Ive only missed a few days. I feel much healthier.I have so much more energy! I used to drink maybe one glass of water a day (I would drink soda and juice). Not I drink up to 14 glasses of H20 a day. And rarely have a soda. Still after all of this hard work, I have only lost 2 pounds. My starting weight is 252 pounds, and I am 5'9''. Anyone have any ideas why my weight loss is so slow? I do work out a few times a week.
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Replies

  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    Your deficit may be small. Honestly, 2 lbs in 3 weeks isn't bad. That's a little under a pound a week. I'm personally doing the 1/2lb/week plan myself.

    Taking measurements will be a more accurate gauge of progress as well. I'd recommend that. The lbs may not be coming off, but the inches can be a better gauge of progress.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    3 weeks isn't sufficient time to get an accurate read on how much weight you have lost. You may have lost 2 pounds of fat, you may have lost 4 pounds of fat and are regularly retaining an extra 2 pounds of water, you may have lost 0 pounds of fat and have shed 2 pounds of water. It is impossible to tell until you track for longer, probably at least 6 weeks to 2 months time.
  • sdonovan96
    sdonovan96 Posts: 46 Member
    3 weeks isn't sufficient time to get an accurate read on how much weight you have lost. You may have lost 2 pounds of fat, you may have lost 4 pounds of fat and are regularly retaining an extra 2 pounds of water, you may have lost 0 pounds of fat and have shed 2 pounds of water. It is impossible to tell until you track for longer, probably at least 6 weeks to 2 months time.

    ^^this
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    That's terrific - I fail to see the problem.
  • arenad
    arenad Posts: 142 Member
    I haven't lost anything. I keep telling myself it could be much worse, I could be gaining. Hang in there....
  • ReikiLove
    ReikiLove Posts: 26 Member
    Do not get discouraged! Your body is adjusting to the changes you've made. The weight will come off. As you increase your fitness level and follow your meal plan, you will notice physical changes before the weight drops off. I've been exercising since 9/25/2013, and I've lost a total of 22 lbs with on and off use. It's different for everyone. We don't all have the same metabolism, so our results are different.

    Keep up the good work and be patient. :happy:
  • zeal26
    zeal26 Posts: 602 Member
    You're doing fine. Keep at it, and try not to miss days in your log. I didn't lose very much at all my first month, but it's been coming off steadily since month 2.
  • HardyGirl4Ever
    HardyGirl4Ever Posts: 1,017 Member
    I WISH I could lose 2 pounds in 3 weeks. It usually takes me a month or so. :smile:
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
    Pat yourself on the back and keep going!
  • laurawiggs74
    laurawiggs74 Posts: 25 Member
    I'm a big fan of my tanita ironman scale. It measures not only weight, but your body composition as well. It uses bioelectric impedence to measure your comp, which is not the most accurate for a 1 time reading, but is extremely accurate to monitor change over time. For example, it might say you have 32% body fat. You could actually be anywhere from 25-40% in reality! But, if you check it daily, or weekly, any change it shows will be accurate relative to the starting measurement. So if after 3 weeks it shows you've gone from 32 down to 30, you might actually have a different true body fat %, but you have truly dropped 2%.

    Sorry if that is a rambling way of explaining. Short story is this... weight is a deceptive measure. Body comp is best.
    Stay focused on the "gains" of more energy and feeling healthy. The drop will happen if you stay committed. Good luck!
  • onefortyone
    onefortyone Posts: 531 Member
    Yeah I'd take that loss! Mine came off quickly in the first week (water weight) now I'm hovering. Weight loss is not linear, predictable, or quick. So I'm thankful I'm not gaining (like I have been for the past year), and happy to have taken steps to turn my life around. I'd maybe start to worry if you got to 6-8 weeks without losing, because it'd mean you're eating at maintenance and not at a deficit. Congrats so far and don't get discouraged!
  • Amy01Liz
    Amy01Liz Posts: 73 Member
    By looking at your food diary, do you think maybe your daily intake is too high? Starting at almost 2000cals a day seems like enough calories to "maintain". Maybe drop your calories to 1700? Maybe that will help? Either way, a loss is a loss! :)
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    I agree that it might just be too soon. Sure technically you could've lost more by now but there are other factors to consider in your scale weight than just calories in/out - and most of them have to do with water weight. If you're new to exercising, your body is getting used to the new activity and likely retaining water (and glycogen) for muscle repair. Once this becomes more of a habit, your body will adjust but keep it in mind for anytime you up your game by adding new or more intense activies. Then there's sodium intake and monthly hormone cycles...

    I disagree that your calories may be too high. If you're sure all your profile info, activity level, etc is correct then trust the numbers that MFP gives you.

    There are some improvements you could make... I took a quick look at your diary for the last few days and most of it looks good but you might want to consider weighing some of that food rather than measuring it with cups and spoons or going by the size of the fruit. I was hesitant with weighing but once I started I found a few things where I was underestimating - not by a lot but 20-30 calories here and there can add up.
    Another thing that popped out to me was the Great Value cheese. I use their pepperjack and it's more like 70 calories a slice -I think your listing said 30something calories so that doesn't sound right to me. If you can, double check against product labels. Many of the listing on here are user entered and could be inaccurate or out of date (product change all the time)

    Also, while it's good to eat your exercise calories back, be careful as some of those listing overestimate. Start with eating back half but feel free to eat a bit more if you're still truly hungry.
  • kpchefai
    kpchefai Posts: 54 Member
    I don't see anything wrong with that....'d highly recommend you get a good scale and weigh instead of guessing or using measuring cups for solids.! Stick with it as others have said 3 weeks is too short a time to really see steady progress and results. Good luck!
  • nnnykkeee
    nnnykkeee Posts: 10
    Its healthy to lose a pound a week. Soo I'd say you're doing awesome! Keep it up :)
  • peachstategal
    peachstategal Posts: 398 Member
    Try adding more protein and vegetables to your diet and limit some of the sweets and carbs. Just my opinion!

    You can do it! Keep trying!
  • ccozzi89
    ccozzi89 Posts: 10 Member
    I looked at your food journal...I see where the problem is. I studied nutrition in college/nursing school so please take my advice. I see a pattern in your journal and you tend to always exceed your sugar and fat intake. That's a HUGE problem. Before I knew anything about nutrition, I used to do the same thing, especially since I was a vegetarian. I used to think it was all about calories and burning calories via exercise. Needless to say, I was very wrong and never lost weight, I was just hungry all the time.

    My advice according to your food journal is to seriously lower your sugar and fat intake and start counting your carbs. I don't see where your carbs are located, I only see sugar, which is basically the same thing. I am assuming your carbs are way too high also. Even if you exercise, you should keep your fat, sugar, and carbs at the suggested daily value for a woman of your age/BMI and according to how much weight you want to lose. This website suggests that your fat intake not exceed around 60-ish grams, and your sugar not exceed around 70-ish. On one day you had 93 grams of fat and 114 grams of sugar!! OMG hun, do you see what I mean? Excess sugar/carbs turns to fat, and extra fat just turns to additional fat, regardless of exercise. Also another thing is that don't overdo the protein either, because extra protein turns to heavier mass/muscle and the rest turns to fat.

    Please start counting your carbs and lower your sugar and fat intake and let us know how you are doing =) I would suggest a medium/low carb intake, a low sugar intake, and a medium fat intake, and make sure you get the recommended amount of protein but don't exceed your limit.
  • ccozzi89
    ccozzi89 Posts: 10 Member
    I forgot to mention that I feel like you should have lost a minimum of 4-5 pounds. I'm not sure what you weigh but if you are obese or overweight, the weight should be coming off much faster, at least 2 pounds a week. When you get to a normal weight, it should be about 1 or 1/2 pound a week. And don't eat anything 3 hours before you go to sleep (even if you are just laying there watching tv or something.) The point is that if you rest or sleep on a full stomach or after you ate anything (esp carbs or sweets) your body doesn't metabolize the food in the same way. You're not burning as many calories and your body stores the extra energy as fat.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    That's terrific - I fail to see the problem.

    word...
  • sassyjae21
    sassyjae21 Posts: 1,217 Member
    I looked at your food journal...I see where the problem is. I studied nutrition in college/nursing school so please take my advice. I see a pattern in your journal and you tend to always exceed your sugar and fat intake. That's a HUGE problem. Before I knew anything about nutrition, I used to do the same thing, especially since I was a vegetarian. I used to think it was all about calories and burning calories via exercise. Needless to say, I was very wrong and never lost weight, I was just hungry all the time.

    My advice according to your food journal is to seriously lower your sugar and fat intake and start counting your carbs. I don't see where your carbs are located, I only see sugar, which is basically the same thing. I am assuming your carbs are way too high also. Even if you exercise, you should keep your fat, sugar, and carbs at the suggested daily value for a woman of your age/BMI and according to how much weight you want to lose. This website suggests that your fat intake not exceed around 60-ish grams, and your sugar not exceed around 70-ish. On one day you had 93 grams of fat and 114 grams of sugar!! OMG hun, do you see what I mean? Excess sugar/carbs turns to fat, and extra fat just turns to additional fat, regardless of exercise. Also another thing is that don't overdo the protein either, because extra protein turns to heavier mass/muscle and the rest turns to fat.

    Please start counting your carbs and lower your sugar and fat intake and let us know how you are doing =) I would suggest a medium/low carb intake, a low sugar intake, and a medium fat intake, and make sure you get the recommended amount of protein but don't exceed your limit.

    All of this is BS and so is the next post by this person. Has to be a troll. If this were true, you wouldn't be losing at all. You're doing perfectly fine. Continue to work at it, and it will keep coming off. You have to be a little more patient.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    I looked at your food journal...I see where the problem is. I studied nutrition in college/nursing school so please take my advice. I see a pattern in your journal and you tend to always exceed your sugar and fat intake. That's a HUGE problem. Before I knew anything about nutrition, I used to do the same thing, especially since I was a vegetarian. I used to think it was all about calories and burning calories via exercise. Needless to say, I was very wrong and never lost weight, I was just hungry all the time.

    My advice according to your food journal is to seriously lower your sugar and fat intake and start counting your carbs. I don't see where your carbs are located, I only see sugar, which is basically the same thing. I am assuming your carbs are way too high also. Even if you exercise, you should keep your fat, sugar, and carbs at the suggested daily value for a woman of your age/BMI and according to how much weight you want to lose. This website suggests that your fat intake not exceed around 60-ish grams, and your sugar not exceed around 70-ish. On one day you had 93 grams of fat and 114 grams of sugar!! OMG hun, do you see what I mean? Excess sugar/carbs turns to fat, and extra fat just turns to additional fat, regardless of exercise. Also another thing is that don't overdo the protein either, because extra protein turns to heavier mass/muscle and the rest turns to fat.

    Please start counting your carbs and lower your sugar and fat intake and let us know how you are doing =) I would suggest a medium/low carb intake, a low sugar intake, and a medium fat intake, and make sure you get the recommended amount of protein but don't exceed your limit.

    She's losing weight at a healthy rate. Losing weight is about creating a deficit. You could lose weight eating all oreos and pixi stix if it was at a deficit. You'd be lacking in vitamins and minerals, but the weight would come off all the same.

    OP: I see that a lot of items in your diary are measured, but not weighed. You might be undereating some days and overeating on others without realizing it. I recommend weighing food for the most accurate calculations.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I looked at your food journal...I see where the problem is. I studied nutrition in college/nursing school so please take my advice. I see a pattern in your journal and you tend to always exceed your sugar and fat intake. That's a HUGE problem. Before I knew anything about nutrition, I used to do the same thing, especially since I was a vegetarian. I used to think it was all about calories and burning calories via exercise. Needless to say, I was very wrong and never lost weight, I was just hungry all the time.

    My advice according to your food journal is to seriously lower your sugar and fat intake and start counting your carbs. I don't see where your carbs are located, I only see sugar, which is basically the same thing. I am assuming your carbs are way too high also. Even if you exercise, you should keep your fat, sugar, and carbs at the suggested daily value for a woman of your age/BMI and according to how much weight you want to lose. This website suggests that your fat intake not exceed around 60-ish grams, and your sugar not exceed around 70-ish. On one day you had 93 grams of fat and 114 grams of sugar!! OMG hun, do you see what I mean? Excess sugar/carbs turns to fat, and extra fat just turns to additional fat, regardless of exercise. Also another thing is that don't overdo the protein either, because extra protein turns to heavier mass/muscle and the rest turns to fat.

    Please start counting your carbs and lower your sugar and fat intake and let us know how you are doing =) I would suggest a medium/low carb intake, a low sugar intake, and a medium fat intake, and make sure you get the recommended amount of protein but don't exceed your limit.
    Nope. Sugar and fat do not make you gain or maintain weight, eating too many calories in a day does. Moderation in everything you like to eat, eat less calories than you burn, and you will lose weight.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Hello there, My name is Taylor and I have been using my Fitness Pal for about 3 weeks in a row. I track everything, Ive only missed a few days. I feel much healthier.I have so much more energy! I used to drink maybe one glass of water a day (I would drink soda and juice). Not I drink up to 14 glasses of H20 a day. And rarely have a soda. Still after all of this hard work, I have only lost 2 pounds. My starting weight is 252 pounds, and I am 5'9''. Anyone have any ideas why my weight loss is so slow? I do work out a few times a week.
    You're doing dandy! Keep up the hard work and have patience.
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
    First congrats on losing the 2 lbs. You might not be losing the weight as fast as you like but any number trending downwards is the way to go. It took time to put on weight, it'll take time to take it off too.

    Also, Remember the human body is a complicated thing. Make sure you are weighing yourself at the same time everyweek only once a week. Body weight can shift for many reasons but the goal here isn't necessarily to lose weight, it's to lose fat. Also note that working out will increase your muscle mass so it may make your weight loss goal seem less than idea, even though you're gaining a good thing muscles and loses some of the bad thing, fat. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat!

    Another tip, make sure you are measuring your food accurately and being honest about your exertion levels when working out. If you are using "intense" for a cardio category then it should be impossible for you to speak clearly for example.
  • ccozzi89
    ccozzi89 Posts: 10 Member
    You're clueless and btw I don't have time to troll around websites. I'm actually trying to help her out. Maybe you should see a dietician yourself and come back to this page and tell me what they say. She is eating way too much sugar and fat, and that is a fact that she is storing the additional energy. She is NOT on an Atkin's diet where excess fat and even protein is encouraged. Only a high fat/high protein diet with minimum carbs/sugar would cause her to gain weight via gluconeogenesis, but she is eating too many sugar and carbs and therefor storing anything extra. Also many days she exceeded her calories. She should definitely be losing MORE weight. You obviously know nothing on the topic.
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    It's early. For some (especially some women), it can take a good 4-6 weeks (occasionally more) to start to notice weight loss when starting a new program. As some have already pointed out -- it's likely linked to excess water retention. Give it another 4 weeks. I also recommend the food scale and weighing all your food -- it's a really common to overestimate your calories (and underestimate your burn).

    If things haven't picked up (and you're at a decent rate now), then start to adjust your routine. Consider creating a bigger deficit -- either reduce your calories or up your activity. If that still isn't working, consider reducing your carbs as you may have an unknown carb sensitivity issue. If that doesn't work either, then a trip to the doctor may be in order.
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    You're clueless and btw I don't have time to troll around websites. I'm actually trying to help her out. Maybe you should see a dietician yourself and come back to this page and tell me what they say. She is eating way too much sugar and fat, and that is a fact that she is storing the additional energy. She is NOT on an Atkin's diet where excess fat and even protein is encouraged. Only a high fat/high protein diet with minimum carbs/sugar would cause her to gain weight via gluconeogenesis, but she is eating too many sugar and carbs and therefor storing anything extra. Also many days she exceeded her calories. She should definitely be losing MORE weight. You obviously know nothing on the topic.

    Just to clarify, are you recommending a low carb, low fat and high protein diet? I agree that limiting carbs can be really useful for some people, but I hadn't heard of someone recommending that they lower fat as well. Oftentimes, when someone is suggesting that you lower carbs, the person is also suggesting that you raise fat to higher levels and protein to moderate levels (if no there).
  • ccozzi89
    ccozzi89 Posts: 10 Member
    I looked at your food journal...I see where the problem is. I studied nutrition in college/nursing school so please take my advice. I see a pattern in your journal and you tend to always exceed your sugar and fat intake. That's a HUGE problem. Before I knew anything about nutrition, I used to do the same thing, especially since I was a vegetarian. I used to think it was all about calories and burning calories via exercise. Needless to say, I was very wrong and never lost weight, I was just hungry all the time.

    My advice according to your food journal is to seriously lower your sugar and fat intake and start counting your carbs. I don't see where your carbs are located, I only see sugar, which is basically the same thing. I am assuming your carbs are way too high also. Even if you exercise, you should keep your fat, sugar, and carbs at the suggested daily value for a woman of your age/BMI and according to how much weight you want to lose. This website suggests that your fat intake not exceed around 60-ish grams, and your sugar not exceed around 70-ish. On one day you had 93 grams of fat and 114 grams of sugar!! OMG hun, do you see what I mean? Excess sugar/carbs turns to fat, and extra fat just turns to additional fat, regardless of exercise. Also another thing is that don't overdo the protein either, because extra protein turns to heavier mass/muscle and the rest turns to fat.

    Please start counting your carbs and lower your sugar and fat intake and let us know how you are doing =) I would suggest a medium/low carb intake, a low sugar intake, and a medium fat intake, and make sure you get the recommended amount of protein but don't exceed your limit.

    She's losing weight at a healthy rate. Losing weight is about creating a deficit. You could lose weight eating all oreos and pixi stix if it was at a deficit. You'd be lacking in vitamins and minerals, but the weight would come off all the same.

    OP: I see that a lot of items in your diary are measured, but not weighed. You might be undereating some days and overeating on others without realizing it. I recommend weighing food for the most accurate calculations.



    Yeah if there WAS a deficit, which there isn't. It's not all about calorie deficit. She is getting more than enough fat and sugar, so there is no deficit there. You could lose weight on junk food if you were deficit in all of the above macro nutrients I mentioned, but the point is that she isn't. Once again..it's NOT all about calorie counting. If you eat a diet of pure sugar and fat all day and it equaled 900 calories and 50 grams of fat and your goal was 1200 calories with 60 grams of fat, you wouldn't be losing weight. Maybe you should try it and let me know how well that goes for you.
  • ccozzi89
    ccozzi89 Posts: 10 Member
    You're clueless and btw I don't have time to troll around websites. I'm actually trying to help her out. Maybe you should see a dietician yourself and come back to this page and tell me what they say. She is eating way too much sugar and fat, and that is a fact that she is storing the additional energy. She is NOT on an Atkin's diet where excess fat and even protein is encouraged. Only a high fat/high protein diet with minimum carbs/sugar would cause her to gain weight via gluconeogenesis, but she is eating too many sugar and carbs and therefor storing anything extra. Also many days she exceeded her calories. She should definitely be losing MORE weight. You obviously know nothing on the topic.

    Just to clarify, are you recommending a low carb, low fat and high protein diet? I agree that limiting carbs can be really useful for some people, but I hadn't heard of someone recommending that they lower fat as well. Oftentimes, when someone is suggesting that you lower carbs, the person is also suggesting that you raise fat to higher levels and protein to moderate levels (if no there).

    I'm recommending lowering her fat in accordance to her diet now. She is getting too much fat, sometimes by as much as 20 grams. I'm also telling her that her protein is fine. Her sugar and carbs need to be lowered as well, since her sugar is wayy too high according to her journal and her recommended daily value.