Too slow!!!

Alforbes01
Alforbes01 Posts: 8
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
Can anyone explain why I've only lost a 1/4 this week when I am being soooooo good?

Replies

  • Sharonbed4d
    Sharonbed4d Posts: 163
    Are you going too far under your calories? Sometimes being too good isn't good if we aren't eating enough to compensate for our activity. How has your sodium intake been? Too much makes you retain water. There could be many variables but you lost and didn't gain so congrats!
  • LilBrat71
    LilBrat71 Posts: 59 Member
    I've wondered this myself and was told that muscle weighs more. So, if you're building muscle, the scale may not go down. I was told to go by how I feel and how my clothes are fitting.
    Hope this offers some encouragement. Don't give up! Go look in some of the message boards at before and after photos - I do that when I'm feeling as though I'm not getting anywhere :)

    Best of luck to you!!
  • coxy1968
    coxy1968 Posts: 77
    Do you have much weight left to lose as the last stone is usually the hardest?
  • feliciapeters
    feliciapeters Posts: 525
    I've wondered this myself and was told that muscle weighs more.

    Muscle doesnt "weigh" more. A pound is always a pound. Muscle is "denser" I guess you'd say. There is less of it at the same weight. A pound of feathers & a pound of rocks is still a pound, theres just more feathers. ALOT more feathers LOL
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    I see from your profile that you are only seeking to lose 17.5 pounds. If so, you should have your goals set to lose .5 or 1 lb per week.

    You're already close enough to your goal weight that severe calorie restriction (the 2lb per week goal) will sometimes backfire and your body will really fight against losing much weight.

    Weight loss is usually not a steady thing. Most people see a big loss in the first week or two and then it slows down. Some weeks you may not see any change at all on the scale, but often you'll have a big drop a week or so after seeing no change.

    If you've been making an effort to work out more, you may have added a little bit of water weight. When you work your muscles, your body stores glycogen in them along with water (1 part glycogen to 3 parts water). This is normal and healthy, but it can be enough to make the scale seem 'stuck'.

    Sodium and alcohol will also mess with how much water is in your body, which can make weigh-ins temproarily misleading. Drinking 2 quarts of water per day, every day, helps to reduce water retention.

    If you didn't take measurements when you started here, I'd suggest taking them now. Sometimes you will still see your measurements go down on the weeks that the scale is just not copperating with you.
  • WomanofWorth
    WomanofWorth Posts: 395 Member
    VIA Jillian Michaels Smart Tip: Often we struggle w/losing the last 5-15lbs because our calorie deficit is too HIGH. We misconstrue this as a "plateau", but in actuality our body is at a healthy weight, it's the aesthetic that we're unhappy with not our health. So if your cal deficit is over 1000 a day your body will signal a metabolic slow down as a survival response. No more than 1000 cal deficit a day is key for shred mode.
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    VIA Jillian Michaels Smart Tip: Often we struggle w/losing the last 5-15lbs because our calorie deficit is too HIGH. We misconstrue this as a "plateau", but in actuality our body is at a healthy weight, it's the aesthetic that we're unhappy with not our health. So if your cal deficit is over 1000 a day your body will signal a metabolic slow down as a survival response. No more than 1000 cal deficit a day is key for shred mode.

    Right. MFP calculates a 1000 calorie deficit when people set their goal to a 2lb per week rate of loss.

    Folks trying to lose less than 20 lbs should be aiming for a much more modest deficit: 250 calorie deficit for .5lb per week weight loss and 500 calories deficit for 1lb per week weight loss.
  • Dawntodusk
    Dawntodusk Posts: 262 Member
    I see from your profile that you are only seeking to lose 17.5 pounds. If so, you should have your goals set to lose .5 or 1 lb per week.

    You're already close enough to your goal weight that severe calorie restriction (the 2lb per week goal) will sometimes backfire and your body will really fight against losing much weight.

    Weight loss is usually not a steady thing. Most people see a big loss in the first week or two and then it slows down. Some weeks you may not see any change at all on the scale, but often you'll have a big drop a week or so after seeing no change.

    If you've been making an effort to work out more, you may have added a little bit of water weight. When you work your muscles, your body stores glycogen in them along with water (1 part glycogen to 3 parts water). This is normal and healthy, but it can be enough to make the scale seem 'stuck'.

    Sodium and alcohol will also mess with how much water is in your body, which can make weigh-ins temproarily misleading. Drinking 2 quarts of water per day, every day, helps to reduce water retention.

    If you didn't take measurements when you started here, I'd suggest taking them now. Sometimes you will still see your measurements go down on the weeks that the scale is just not copperating with you.

    Your replies are always spot on, and well-written!
  • Alforbes01
    Alforbes01 Posts: 8
    Thank you for your response, I appreciate it ;o)
  • Alforbes01
    Alforbes01 Posts: 8
    Thanks for your reply. I do feel my clothes are bit looser, so I should take encouragement from that and keep on going:wink:
  • Chuckw40
    Chuckw40 Posts: 201
    Muscle doesnt "weigh" more. A pound is always a pound. Muscle is "denser" I guess you'd say. There is less of it at the same weight. A pound of feathers & a pound of rocks is still a pound, theres just more feathers. ALOT more feathers LOL

    I see people saying this all the time and it is dead wrong. If I asked you what weighed more, lead or feathers? What would you say? I suppose you would say they both weigh the same but one is denser?

    Your point is only valid if someone says, what weighs more, a pound of muscle or a pound of fat.

    So she was correct, muscle DOES weigh more than fat, given that you have the same volume of both, which is normally implied.
  • LilBrat71
    LilBrat71 Posts: 59 Member
    "I see people saying this all the time and it is dead wrong. If I asked you what weighed more, lead or feathers? What would you say? I suppose you would say they both weigh the same but one is denser?

    Your point is only valid if someone says, what weighs more, a pound of muscle or a pound of fat."

    So she was correct, muscle DOES weigh more than fat, given that you have the same volume of both, which is normally implied.
    Thank goodness :) I just read everyone's replies and when I read that about the muscle I got a bit discouraged (and a little confused) :) Thank you both for clarifying. This site is wonderful and extremely informative. I must say I learn something new every day!
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