Feeling Discouraged :-(

Any pounds is an accomplishment. I struggled for a long time thinking the weight will come off just as easily as it went on. That just isn't the case. I go for long periods of time without any movement of the scale, then a week or two where I drop a significant amount. Every step is progress, and weight fluctuates a lot. My clothes fit better, I look better, I feel better. I can climb stairs without getting out of breath and run non-stop for five freakin miles! That to me is worth more than an extra pound coming off the scale. Keep going, don't be discouraged, you will have scale victories and non-scale victories. You'll come to appreciate the latter more. Best of luck!

Rae_Spears wrote: »

Hello Everyone!
This past week was my first week really logging my calories & exercising. This morning I weighed myself. I was 172 last week & the scale read 170 today. So, that's only 2 pounds...
I feel like I worked so hard for barely any results. Is this normal? Is 2 pounds even an accomplishment??

2 pounds is awesome. Keep up the good work!

1lb = 3500 calories. Very few people will able to maintain a 2lb a week loss, it's actually quite a large amount! I lose about 1lb a week, which is exactly what my goal is set to and it's sustainable in the long term for me. You didn't gain the weight in a week so you have to be realistic about how quickly you will lose it, plus science. Keep going, one week is no time at all!

I think 2 pounds is very good to say you just started. That's how much I lost in the beginning and my starting weight was 263. I'm now 221. At least u didn't gain 2 pounds. Slow and steady always wins the race.

As others have said, a 2 pound loss in one week is a great accomplishment. Keep in mind that if you changed your eating habits drastically (less sodium from fast food, for example), some of that was water but you're definitely doing the right things to reach your goal.

I know that seeing a loss is what keeps many people motivated but you need to understand that weight loss isn't linear. You won't always lose the same amount from week to week and some weeks you might not lose at all due to water retention disguising your fat loss. You will be much happier and successful if you can avoiding tying your level of motivation to what you're seeing on the scale today. I'd highly suggest that you pay more attention to the trend over time that what's happening today or this week. For example, you'll likely not see a loss around your time of the month if you tend to retain water but the week after it should be gone again.

I'd also highly suggest that you start tracking your body measurements right now. Sometimes when the scale isn't moving we're still shrinking. If you need to see a visual indicator of progress that will help. It's also just good to see changes beyond the number on the scale.