I'm 18 days in and feeling disappointed..

Three pounds of water weight?

My weight can fluctuate that much in a DAY. Sometimes more!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ihad/view/mfp-101-i-just-gained-3-pounds-overnight-636811

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ihad/view/the-path-of-success-631437

It's a slow process. 5 pounds in less than 3 weeks is great! And if you've lost inches too you're doing well. Hang in there and keep at it.

Be patient.

And...be patient.

Oh and also...be patient.

:flowerforyou:

If you don't have a food scale, get one. Weigh all food for best accuracy.

If you don't have a scale that measures half pounds or better, get one. Weigh daily, right after waking and using the bathroom, but before eating, drinking, or doing any form of exercise. When/If you do cardio, make sure you weigh before and after. Whatever that difference is, drink it back in water.

If you don't have a body fat measurement device (calipers or bio-electrical impedance), get one. Check your stats once a week, in the morning, when you get up, right after doing your business, but before eating/drinking/exercising.

If you don't have a tape measure, get one. Once a month, take measurements of neck, bust, waist, hips, thigh, wrist, arms. That may be overkill, so pick the ones that suit you.

For your workouts, if you dont have a HRM, get one.

For all the "get" stuff above, I recognize money is always tight for everyone. From a priority standpoint, I'd recommend a food scale ($10-20), then the BF measure ($30-40 for bio impedance, while cheap calipers are about $5), then an HRM (varies dramatically depending on passive/active, and if paired with other devices. if you run/bike/swim, I'd recommend a garmin)

Realize that TOM affects bloating / water weight and will temporarily add weight for a few days. This goes away on its own. If you weigh daily, you'll see this and know that you can safely ignore it.

Realize that increased strength will have you weighing more, while getting smaller. This is actually desirable. This is where having a body fat scale comes in handy as a secondary measure. Muscle is more preferred then fat because your body can eat muscle to repair itself if you get injured. It can't really do the same with fat.

Realize that losses take time. Gains didn't happen over night, so don't expect immediate losses either. Besides, if you lose weight too fast, and don't properly hydrate, there's a higher likelihood of having excess skin hanging around, which isn't nearly as attractive in the nude as being obese.

Good luck.

Great Advice

It can feel agonizingly slow, however remember that one pound a week is healthy and safe, at at that rate, more likely to stay off then when lost more quickly. Find an object that weighs one pound and another that weighs five and remind yourself how much weight that really is. And also try counting forward 10 weeks on the calendar and stay focused on doing all the right things for those 10 weeks. You'll be down another 10 by then. It's hard to wait. It's worth it though. It didn't go on in 18 days and it won't come off that quickly either! Be strong and use your network.

Inches are more important than pounds. There will be times when your body is changing fat into muscle and the weight will stay close to the same but you will be losing inches. That's why your check-in should have weight as well as measurements.

You are still losing weight. Nothing to worry about. Losing weight slowly may be annoying, but you're more likely to keep it off than if you lost it all quickly.

If your weight stays the same for a month or you even gain a pound...
-lower your calorie goal
-if your goal is already 1200, make sure you're measuring your food
-do a more intense exercise program
-eat back only half of your exercise calories (due to underestimates in calories consumed and overestimation in calories burned)

If you aren't eating much and exercising a lot for a month and your weight loss stops...
-take a week off where you eat at maintenance mode and exercise a lot less or not at all
-after the week is over, go back to normal

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15-25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

As you can tell, weight loss slows a lot toward the end. This is because you can no longer eat as much of a deficit and your exercise isn't going to burn as much as it did when you were heavier.

Yes I've been moderately working out 3-5 times per week, always drink my water, I do measure and count my food
In total I have lost 1.5 off my hips and 1.5 off my waist but if I'm noticing inches dropping shouldn't the weight be dropping too?
It's so discouraging... Thank god I hold my weight well

That's excellent! Keep up the good work!

Three pounds of water weight?

Yep. I was carting around about 4 pounds of extra water the last few weeks due to caffeine increase (I am sensitive to caffeine and it makes me retain water) and very sore muscles from working out.

Water retention is pretty normal anyway, but increases with our workouts.

Yes I've been moderately working out 3-5 times per week, always drink my water, I do measure and count my food
In total I have lost 1.5 off my hips and 1.5 off my waist but if I'm noticing inches dropping shouldn't the weight be dropping too?
It's so discouraging... Thank god I hold my weight well

Sounds like you are seeing some results, but understandable that you want to see more. I am not an expert by any means, but it does seem like you should be seeing a bit more on the scale, especially with the awesome size drop you are seeing!

Weight is for sure not the only, or even the most important measure, but it can be encouraging especially when you are starting out. Here are some tips I'd have to help encourage you:

1) I don't know how you work out, but when I first started running my weight was ALWAYS up for 2 days after a longer run (6 miles). As my body got used to the increased intensity my workouts didn't cause me to retain or gain water weight. If you are starting a new routine, it is possible your body is responding the same way that mine did - are you weighing yourself every day?

2) Measure your food. Log EVERYTHING. Buy a food scale and use it religiously, likely this is the only thing that you really need to change. Most of the time people over-eat and under-log. They also eat back too many calories as MFP can over-estimate the calories we burn in a workout. So having a solid understanding of your actualized intake can help you figure out where you need to be.

3) Try to incorporate new, small activities into your day. Go for a 20 minute walk and listen to a book on tape. Do sit ups during one commercial. While you are waiting for something to cook in the microwave, do squats or lunges. I know this sounds dumb, but it will really make a difference! You will find yourself more energetic and making better decisions because you are moving more. It doesn't have to be a "work out" to work! Just get yourself moving every day in some way and it will pay off in spades. Honestly, the days I eat the WORST are the ones that I'm sedentary. When I start my day with a long walk with my dog and then take care to stretch etc, it really puts my focus on taking care of myself rather than indulging my cravings.

Anyways, those are just some things that I've noticed - you keep up the good work. It takes a while but it will all work out!