Body Fat Loss vs. Lbs. - EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED

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Here it goes. I need some questions answered. I have been doing a 1200 calorie nutrition intake including no processed food, only complex carbs, and working out 5 days a week (3 with a personal trainer). It has been exactly one month since I have started and I ONLY lost 5 lbs, but I went down 10% in body fat and have lost a total of 4.75". I am so frustrated it's not even funny. What else can I do to expedite the weight loss? I am increasing my water, but is there something else?

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  • daniat
    daniat Posts: 123 Member
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    !0 % body fat is a good loss. It's likely that you are building muscle-which is a good thing, especially in our age group when most women tend to lose muscle. Have you measured yourself?
  • gitnfit2
    gitnfit2 Posts: 203 Member
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    A 10% loss is a huge accomplishment. Sounds like you have been trading fat for muscle which is good and there will come a point where you start to lose weight quickly and start to really lean down. Don't let the scale get to you, I would be curious to know if you are tracking your measurements how many inches you have dropped. Keep up the hard work and will pay off.
  • Z_I_L_L_A
    Z_I_L_L_A Posts: 2,399 Member
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    Throw the scale away... Its how you look and feel. Muscle gain and fat loss at the same time is hard. Plus you may weigh the same or more but have lost fat. Which is exactly what you want. No one see's the scale but you, everyone see's your body changes. Don't be so hard on yourself, sound like you're doing great. There is no magic pill, its a slow process. Ignore the scale and keep doing what you are doing.
  • tenacioustee73
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    Thanks guys. I guess I am just old school and look at the scale. I did measure myself and I I have lost 4.75".
  • dbrightwell1270
    dbrightwell1270 Posts: 1,732 Member
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    When you say only complex carbs do you mean that literally as in avoiding all proteins and fats, etc or do you mean that you have replaced the simple carbs of most processed foods with complex carbs?
  • gitnfit2
    gitnfit2 Posts: 203 Member
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    Losing almost 5 inches is a huge NSV and great proof of the hard work way to go. :smile:
  • jcct2014
    jcct2014 Posts: 31 Member
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    I think you are doing great!! Hang in there. Enjoy the small victories. Sometimes we are so stressed out about losing weight that the stress acts against us. I should know! Last three months Zumba three times a week, running other days and counting my points on weight watchers. Have not lost a single pound!!!!! Frustration doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling. One day at a time. That's what I keep telling myself. Joined MFP to document everything in one place to try to figure out where I'm going wrong.
  • norcal_yogi
    norcal_yogi Posts: 675 Member
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    you are doing amazing... seriously.
  • Jade_Butterfly
    Jade_Butterfly Posts: 2,963 Member
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    Here it goes. I need some questions answered. I have been doing a 1200 calorie nutrition intake including no processed food, only complex carbs, and working out 5 days a week (3 with a personal trainer). It has been exactly one month since I have started and I ONLY lost 5 lbs, but I went down 10% in body fat and have lost a total of 4.75". I am so frustrated it's not even funny. What else can I do to expedite the weight loss? I am increasing my water, but is there something else?

    With all that you are currently doing. . I must agree with one of the other posters on here. . . I would focus on measurements more than the scale at this point. . It would be a much better indicator of how fit you are getting. . Fat takes up a lot more room than muscle and is far more dense. . So you will be dropping lots of inches and not necessarily weight right away. The great thing about that is the more muscle you build the higher your resting metabolism, so even when you are not working out you are going to be burning more. After my daughter I had lost 3 sizes in my clothes, but still weighed 165 due to building muscle. . . I hope this helps.:flowerforyou:
  • Julieboolieaz
    Julieboolieaz Posts: 643 Member
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    I'll trade with you...I've been working hard and eating at a deficit for 2 months and am up a few lbs!! I'm down bf% and inches, but that stupid scale has such a powerful hold on me! I need to break up with it!! You've lost 10% BF?? Seriously? That's insane!! And 5 lbs while working out that hard is fabulous!! I'd be thrilled with that!!
  • larsensue
    larsensue Posts: 461 Member
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    I am just recently back on MFP and need to do exactly what you just did!! I would love to lose 10% body fat and gain muscle!!
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
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    For me I lost the inches way before I lost any weight(still have a lot of weight to lose).I am still losing some inches but its slowed down. everyone is different so I wouldnt worry. some women lose weight slower than others also.
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
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    Hey. Weight is irrelevant and a lousy metric. Your bodyfat improvement is fantastic, you should be incredibly stoked.
    For a woman, the range from 14-24% ("athletic" through "fitness") is really good.
    Seriously, forget the scale stuff - that's outdated.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage
  • keithm138
    keithm138 Posts: 46 Member
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    A 10% loss in body fat is huge so congrats on that..... throw the scale away you are definitely on the right track in my opinion.