frustration!!!!

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PinkyFran
PinkyFran Posts: 54
in Motivation and Support
feeling frustrated! swimming hard 5 days a week, sticking to my calorie goals, and leaving plenty of excess calories after my swim so why am i not losing weight anymore? any ideas?.....

first 20 days i lost 12lbs but last 10 days only lost 1lb.....what am i missing>?

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  • dramaqueen45
    dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
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    Nothing. Your weight loss naturally slows down- that sounds like a typical rate of loss to me.
  • sheldonklein
    sheldonklein Posts: 854 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Weight loss is not linear. There is tremendous, meaningless day to day variation. One day this week I went up 2.5 lbs. Today, I was down 2. Overall, I'm losing at exactly the rate I expect, but in stutters, spikes and whooshes. You need time and many data points to know whether you are making good progress.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    Sounds like you have typical unrealistic expectations common to new dieters. healthy weight loss is in the range of 1-2lb a week and you wnat to continue at nearly 5.

    At the beginning of any diet you normally lose fast as a lot is water weight, but as pointed out above it slows down. As alsp pointed out weight loss isnt linear so to expect instant results is unrealistic and it wont happen. You really dont ive ebough data to make a proper assessment of whether what your effort in is in line with expected weight loss, but in 1 month you have lost nearly a stone.

    You say you are frustrated, which tbh is ridiculous as you are only 30 days into what you should be regarding as a very long journey. the dnager of frustration is it unsettles peoples focus and can develop into other things suche as binging, burn out, depression, lack of motivation or quitting. Those arent good for you and make the whole weight loss journey a lot of hassle. Be patient and have realistic expectations, then the jopirney will be a lot less stressful and you might realistically get to your destination.
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    sometimes the first week can make the 'regular' weeks seem dissapointing. but the first week always has big numbers due to water weight. some weeks u will see higher numbers(by higher i mean like 3 possibly 4) some will be average 1'2 and some will be 0 or the dreaded gain of a 1 or 2. it's normal and happens to all of this. stick with it. try to focus on how ur feeling better, maybe u can swim farther, maybe ur clothes fit better. its not only about the number on the scale. good luck
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    1-2 not 1'2
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Hey, pinky thanks so much for posting! I was just coming here to post something very similar! :)

    Like you, I'm only four weeks into this journey, and in the first three I lost 12 lbs, too. Just got off the scale (I only weigh myself once a week on Sundays) and in my fourth week I've only lost a measly 1/2 a lb. :( Like you, my calorie intake is below my limit after exercise (I'm walking 5+ miles per day) and my intake is set to have me lose 1 1/2 lbs per week. I was pretty upset when I got off the scale this morning. Then I sat down with my morning coffee and thought things through.

    My initial goal is to lose 60 lbs, but my total goal is 100. For me, I'm pretty sure a lot of my initial rather dramatic weight loss was water. I have been especially watching my salt intake because I knew it was too high. And since this level of physical activity is new to me, too, I figure that perhaps I've been building up some muscle which weighs more than fat does.

    So although I can't lie and say the 1/2 lb loss after killing it this week didn't throw me for a loop, I'm trying to put it into a positive perspective and keep going. If this trend continues, however, I think I'll have to revisit my eating - perhaps I'm not eating enough, since I stay below my allowance each day? I wonder if I can actually plateau this early in the game, or could my body be going into self-preservation mode, even though I'm certainly not starving myself?

    For now, I'm going to just keep on keeping on, and lower my weight loss expectations in my head. In the back of my mind I *knew* that losing 4 lbs a week just wasn't sustainable, but I did hope it would continue for a bit longer at least, since I've got a lot to lose. LOL! :D
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    snickerscharlie u are overthinking one week of a moderate loss. muscle will not build that quickly. u also won't need to worry about eating too little. not until your close to ur goal weight. and plateau i highly doubt. it was simply a slow week. chances are u will show a bigger loss next week. what is your calories set at? (for both u ladies actually)
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
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    Thanks for the reply, jenn. I did think that perhaps muscle takes a bit longer to build, but I needed something to explain my lack of weight loss to myself! LOL!

    My calories are set at 1430 per day. I'm 60 years old, 5'11", female, and currently (as of this morning) weigh 237 lbs.
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    1430 is quite low for u at this point, but this would not hinder weight loss. it just might be tough for u to maintain, especially if u are working out. if u are working out i would suggest eating back about half what u burn . im guessing u have ur weight loss set at 2lb a week. even if u lose 1lb a week every week. think how far u will be in a year...but also how dissapointed u will be in a year if u don't stick with it! i always think to myself if i wasnt doing this who knows i might be gaining 1lb a week and that is a far worse alternative
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
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    My weight loss is set to 1 1/2 lbs a week, jenn, and 1430 is what the program calculated for me. I felt that 2lbs was unrealistic and unsustainable. The only exercise I can do is walking, as I have some physical limitations. We have a pool in the backyard, so I will be swimming, too, if winter ever decides to get lost. :)
  • RockandRoseRebel
    RockandRoseRebel Posts: 35 Member
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    Also Idk if you're menstruating, so maybe this is completely unhelpful, but I only weigh once a month because of this. TMI maybe, but once I stop bleeding, I weigh the morning after a rest day. I gain 5-10 lbs every shark week, and exercise can make you store water in your muscles, so this gives me the lowest possible reading and I just count from month to month and I'm averaging 5 lbs per month. If you still don't see a difference, check and make sure you're hitting your macro goals. I've noticed not enough fat & protein can make me gain on 1200cal
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    ugh i know that feeling! im surprised they would calculate u at 1430. i have mine set at 1 1/2lbs and they gave me 1300. ive only got about 20lb to go. though i have my activity level set at lightly active. if u want eiither of u ladies can add me. i can maybe give u insight if u stall if ur food diary is open
  • mdiamond23
    mdiamond23 Posts: 3
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    Don't forget to shake up your exercise routine! I find that my body tends to plateau really quickly when I stick to one thing-so make sure that you're doing swimming along with another cardio activity (and maybe throw in some weights?) so that your body doesn't get used to the routine.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
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    RockandRoseRebel wrote: »
    Also Idk if you're menstruating, so maybe this is completely unhelpful, but I only weigh once a month because of this.

    I kicked Aunt Flo to the curb over a decade ago. ;)
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
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    jenncornelsen wrote: »
    ugh i know that feeling! im surprised they would calculate u at 1430. i have mine set at 1 1/2lbs and they gave me 1300. ive only got about 20lb to go. though i have my activity level set at lightly active.

    Mine is set to sedentary. I work from home as a transcriptionist.

  • PinkyFran
    PinkyFran Posts: 54
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    thank you to everyone that replied with positivity and good advice and above all our need for patience which as most of us know is hard work in itself!....to 999tigger i would like to say that i am not a new dieter, i am merely in a new mindset, yes , you are completly right i have not given enough info for you , but my post was set in the hope that people who are either experiencing the same or have been through the same would comment, after all in the battle to lose a lot of weight or even if you are at the last few pounds and stuck, we all need even just one person to provide some positive words, or add new ideas. there is no miracle cure for being over weight, if there was none of us would be here, none of us would be working so hard to reach our goals and none of us would post about frustration.
    rock and rose, im in menopause so some my months are so varied now, adds to the frustration lol as i know not when mother natures gift will arrive, i had thought about it being that but heading into month two im beginning to think it will never arrive !....snickerscharlie together we will :) x
  • scottacular
    scottacular Posts: 597 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Someone said a great line a while back on here, you didn't become over weight over night, so why would you expect to lose all that weight over night? You've got the rest of your life, but it won't take even a fraction of that. Just be patient, be happy with any decrease no matter how small it may seem. The smaller the rate of loss, the more sustainable it is and the less likely you are to fall off the plan. Think about it, a 1 lb loss every 10 days over a year = about 2 and a half stone. That is a huge difference, that year will fly by. Stick at it, so far, so good. You've got this.
  • PinkyFran
    PinkyFran Posts: 54
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    ty scottacular, appreciate your words :)

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