Reviewing weight loss

leoninhughes607
leoninhughes607 Posts: 12 Member
edited 5:02AM in Health and Weight Loss
I've been logging and keeping within my allotted calories for 4 weeks now. I'm just looking at how much I have lost and reviewing if I need to change anything. But I'm not sure how to review it.

I started at 252lb and have lost 16lb in the 4 weeks which I'm really pleased about. But I lost 8lb of this in the first week, 3lb in the second, 4lb in the third and 1lb this week.

Should I just look at it as averaging 4lb a week rate and carry on being pleased with the rate I'm losing? Or should I review what I did to only lose 1lb this week?

Sorry if it's a stupid question. This is the first time in my life I've taken weight loss seriously and I want to make sure I'm doing it as effectively as possible.

Replies

  • ncboiler89
    ncboiler89 Posts: 2,408 Member
    leoninhughes607 wrote: »
    I've been logging and keeping within my allotted calories for 4 weeks now. I'm just looking at how much I have lost and reviewing if I need to change anything. But I'm not sure how to review it.

    I started at 252lb and have lost 16lb in the 4 weeks which I'm really pleased about. But I lost 8lb of this in the first week, 3lb in the second, 4lb in the third and 1lb this week.

    Should I just look at it as averaging 4lb a week rate and carry on being pleased with the rate I'm losing? Or should I review what I did to only lose 1lb this week?

    Sorry if it's a stupid question. This is the first time in my life I've taken weight loss seriously and I want to make sure I'm doing it as effectively as possible.

    Reviewing a week's timeframe is no use because the feedback is too noisy. You may be able to review a month's worth of data to check the effectiveness of your plan but then that goes back to how often you weigh yourself. If you weight once per week a month's worth of data probably isn't enough.

    The best way for me is to export my data to excel, chart it, and look for a trend. If the trend is cool then I am cool. I weigh everyday so after two or three weeks I get some sort of picture.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Give it another month then average it over the weeks

    A month at the start is not long enough cos of water weight
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Also use a trend line app like happy scale or libra

    Or if you have a fitbit or withings scale you can use trendweight.com
  • leoninhughes607
    leoninhughes607 Posts: 12 Member
    Thanks I'll review again in another 4 weeks then!
  • leoninhughes607
    leoninhughes607 Posts: 12 Member
    I suppose it could be hormonal so another month or 2 would show a trend.

    I weigh every day and even though I know I can't expect the fat to just melt away I'm quite disappointed not to see any weight loss for 5 days. That's pathetic of me though! Gotta suck it up!
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    Congrats on your weight loss so far! Don't be discouraged, we all experience lags and plateaus from time to time. Stick with it, and make sure you are weighing, measuring and logging everything accurately. If you're eating withing your calories you should continue to lose.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    The 8lbs in the first week thing is probably a statistical anomaly. Many people experience an initial drop due to water weight in the first 2-3 weeks of weight loss.

    I'd stick with tracking a month at a time, but you may want to disregard those first couple of weeks.

    Realistically, you won't continue at a pace of 4lbs/week. I don't say this to be discouraging, but just to help you set up your expectations for slow and steady. 4lbs/week would be an average calorie deficit of 2000/day under your TDEE, which is just unrealistic for most people. 1-1.5lbs/week (500-750 calories/day) is probably more like it. As you lose more weight, this will slow down.

    Patience is the biggest ingredient to successful weight loss. Remember, you didn't gain it all overnight; you can't expect to lose it all overnight.
  • FitForL1fe
    FitForL1fe Posts: 1,872 Member
    water weight in the first week

    just stick with it and you'll get good results!
  • leoninhughes607
    leoninhughes607 Posts: 12 Member
    Yeah water weight makes sense!

    I'll just keep doing what I have been then. Even discounting the first week, 2lb a week isn't bad. I suppose starting off so heavy there's an expectation that I'll lose it quickly in the beginning. Adjusting expectations and being patient are the things to do for me then!

    Thanks for the input!
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Even if you discard the first week, your average weight loss is close to 3 pounds per week, which some people will tell you isn't advisable. The rate may go down by itself over time, but I would want to know why I'm getting rates like that.
  • Tried30UserNames
    Tried30UserNames Posts: 561 Member
    I think you're doing fantastically well. Do you feel good? Do you think this amount of food is giving you sufficient energy and feels like a sustainable eating plan? I would expect a big loss the first week and then smaller losses after that. Over time, I would expect to lose 2-4 lbs some weeks and 0-1 lbs other weeks. Bodies just work that way, particularly female bodies. I also wouldn't be particularly concerned over a 252 lb female of (let's assume) average height losing 3 lbs a week. When you get below 200 lbs, your average will probably drop to 1-2 lbs per week.
  • leoninhughes607
    leoninhughes607 Posts: 12 Member
    Thank you! Yeah I feel good. It was really difficult for the first week because I was used to huge portions and no limits on unhealthy snacks. But now I know how to control my portions and have healthier snacks to stop myself being too hungry between meals it's much easier.

    Yeah I thought with my weight and height (5'3) that 3lb a week wouldn't be too extreme for a while. I'm having about 1300 calories a day.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    leoninhughes607 wrote: »
    Yeah I thought with my weight and height (5'3) that 3lb a week wouldn't be too extreme for a while. I'm having about 1300 calories a day.

    1300 calories is quite low given your stats.

    At your height, weight and age, 1300 calories represents about a 40% deficit from your sedentary TDEE. If you're not eating back exercise calories, then it's probably even steeper than that.

    Most people wouldn't recommend going beyond 20-25% deficit without medical supervision.

    It won't harm you in the short term, but 1300 calories in the long run could be very tough on your body, not to mention hard to sustain.

    Meanwhile, that's probably not going to net you 3lbs/week of fat loss. Some of that is probably still water weight. It's probably more like a 1.5lb-2lb/week deficit for you.
  • riderfangal
    riderfangal Posts: 1,965 Member
    I started off very close to your weight, 200 hundred days ago and eat between 1200 and 1300 calories a day. I have lost 35 lbs pounds and because I just figured t out this morning I am averaging about 1.4lbs per week but the first couple of weeks the weight certainly seemed to go quicker, You got this :)
  • leoninhughes607
    leoninhughes607 Posts: 12 Member
    I've been trying to sort of "re-set" my relationship with food. I'm not planning on staying with 1300 calories long term, I'm just sticking with it until I can have one biscuit without being greedy and eating the whole packet!

    I want this to be a long term lifestyle change so I know I need to change my way of thinking.
  • leoninhughes607
    leoninhughes607 Posts: 12 Member
    edited May 2015
    riderfangal wrote: »
    I started off very close to your weight, 200 hundred days ago and eat between 1200 and 1300 calories a day. I have lost 35 lbs pounds and because I just figured t out this morning I am averaging about 1.4lbs per week but the first couple of weeks the weight certainly seemed to go quicker, You got this :)

    Well done you! Are you feeling good?
  • minties82
    minties82 Posts: 907 Member
    edited May 2015
    For starters, I work in metric so pounds ate foreign to me. I might miscalculate something.

    I started at 115kg/253.5 lbs and I am 4'11".

    I am 86kg/189.5lbs now and some weeks I lose hardly lose anything (200g last week) then other weeks it's 1.5kg (I think about 3lbs). My weekly average since Jan is 3.44lbs per week.

    There have been many weeks where my weight went up, stayed the same, suddenly dropped etc etc.

    I like weightgrapher.com. Weightloss looks like waves rather than one straight downward slope. Here is some recent data for me.

    Screenshot_2015-05-15-08-08-20_zps9z6f2ymi.png

    You can see I basically had no change around 87.5kg for 10 days. The red points are theweight plots I have entered.

    I eat 1350kcal a day.

    The overall loss has been amazing. Ignore those little blips...the big picture tells more :-)

    Screenshot_2015-05-15-08-16-33_zpsughkvir4.png
  • andympanda
    andympanda Posts: 763 Member
    leoninhughes607 wrote: »
    I suppose it could be hormonal so another month or 2 would show a trend.

    I weigh every day and even though I know I can't expect the fat to just melt away I'm quite disappointed not to see any weight loss for 5 days. That's pathetic of me though! Gotta suck it up!

    Don't' worry about 5 days. I can go a week of being in the same ball park, and then loose over a pound over night. learn your body's habits so you can make informed decisions.

  • riderfangal
    riderfangal Posts: 1,965 Member
    leoninhughes607 wrote: »
    riderfangal wrote: »
    I started off very close to your weight, 200 hundred days ago and eat between 1200 and 1300 calories a day. I have lost 35 lbs pounds and because I just figured t out this morning I am averaging about 1.4lbs per week but the first couple of weeks the weight certainly seemed to go quicker, You got this :)

    Well done you! Are you feeling good?

    Thank! I feel great. Was piggybacking my 4 year old around the other day who happens to weigh 36LBs and I was thinking gee I have lost the equivalent of one little human lol
  • leoninhughes607
    leoninhughes607 Posts: 12 Member
    Wow Minties you've done so well! I look forward to being able to say I've lost so much!
    andympanda wrote: »
    leoninhughes607 wrote: »
    I suppose it could be hormonal so another month or 2 would show a trend.

    I weigh every day and even though I know I can't expect the fat to just melt away I'm quite disappointed not to see any weight loss for 5 days. That's pathetic of me though! Gotta suck it up!

    Don't' worry about 5 days. I can go a week of being in the same ball park, and then loose over a pound over night. learn your body's habits so you can make informed decisions.

    You're right. If I can work out my body's habits I can just let the calorie deficit do it's thing without stressing about the scales.
    riderfangal wrote: »
    leoninhughes607 wrote: »
    riderfangal wrote: »
    I started off very close to your weight, 200 hundred days ago and eat between 1200 and 1300 calories a day. I have lost 35 lbs pounds and because I just figured t out this morning I am averaging about 1.4lbs per week but the first couple of weeks the weight certainly seemed to go quicker, You got this :)

    Well done you! Are you feeling good?

    Thank! I feel great. Was piggybacking my 4 year old around the other day who happens to weigh 36LBs and I was thinking gee I have lost the equivalent of one little human lol

    Wow imagine how much better off you are without that extra weight on you! I bet you wouldn't like to be piggy backing your four year old 24/7!!
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