What happened? Did not lose as much weight as I thought I would.

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amb3rj0y
amb3rj0y Posts: 47 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My weigh in's are every Monday, and so far have been great. I started at 200 lbs and casually got down to 189 lbs. last month I started taking my weight loss more seriously and for the last 3 weeks have been doing the weight watchers old points system (not to be confused with Weight watchers points plus). The past 3 weigh in's I had lost 3 lbs each. This time when i stepped on the scale I had only lost 1 lbs.

I am not sure why this is. I know once you get closer to your goal your weight loss slows down, but I am still more than 60 lbs away from my goal weight of 120. the only thing I can even think of that I did differently this week is that I ate more fast food than usual, but I never went over my point balance.

So far I have not logged this one pound weight loss because i am hoping I may lose a couple more ounces during the day :(

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Weight loss isn't linear. Even when you do everything right, you will have weeks where you may lose less than expected -- water retention due to sodium, hormonal issues, more food in your body, etc.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1
  • amb3rj0y
    amb3rj0y Posts: 47 Member
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    segacs wrote: »
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

    That was a great post thank you for shraring
  • amb3rj0y
    amb3rj0y Posts: 47 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Weight loss isn't linear. Even when you do everything right, you will have weeks where you may lose less than expected -- water retention due to sodium, hormonal issues, more food in your body, etc.

    well I guess then i should be happy I lost anything at all, gotta try to stay positive! :) Thanks for the reply
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    amb3rj0y wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Weight loss isn't linear. Even when you do everything right, you will have weeks where you may lose less than expected -- water retention due to sodium, hormonal issues, more food in your body, etc.

    well I guess then i should be happy I lost anything at all, gotta try to stay positive! :) Thanks for the reply

    Yep, carry on! And don't get discouraged -- 1lb/week is a great pace of loss! The 3lbs/week you were seeing at the outset are probably unrealistic in the long term. That would lead to a daily calorie deficit of 1500/day, which is too high even for very large, obese men -- the maximum recommended pace for them is 2lbs/week according to most doctors.

    So while you may have seen 3lbs/week for a few weeks at the outset, some of that was probably artificial, i.e. water weight. You shouldn't expect or want to keep losing at that pace. As a 5'1" woman myself, I know that we petites have to re-jig our expectations according to our body size. For the last 20 pounds or so of my weight loss I was targeting a pace of 0.5lbs/week, which was much more reasonable for my size and frame. I see that you're my height and have about 60-65lbs left to lose, so you really should be looking for a pace of about 1lb/week at this point -- and once you hit the 140lb-mark you can switch it to 0.5lbs/week. Remember those are averages - some weeks you'll lose less, some weeks you'll lose more, some weeks you might even gain. But you should be focusing on the trend over time.
  • amb3rj0y
    amb3rj0y Posts: 47 Member
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    segacs wrote: »
    amb3rj0y wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Weight loss isn't linear. Even when you do everything right, you will have weeks where you may lose less than expected -- water retention due to sodium, hormonal issues, more food in your body, etc.

    well I guess then i should be happy I lost anything at all, gotta try to stay positive! :) Thanks for the reply

    Yep, carry on! And don't get discouraged -- 1lb/week is a great pace of loss! The 3lbs/week you were seeing at the outset are probably unrealistic in the long term. That would lead to a daily calorie deficit of 1500/day, which is too high even for very large, obese men -- the maximum recommended pace for them is 2lbs/week according to most doctors.

    So while you may have seen 3lbs/week for a few weeks at the outset, some of that was probably artificial, i.e. water weight. You shouldn't expect or want to keep losing at that pace. As a 5'1" woman myself, I know that we petites have to re-jig our expectations according to our body size. For the last 20 pounds or so of my weight loss I was targeting a pace of 0.5lbs/week, which was much more reasonable for my size and frame. I see that you're my height and have about 60-65lbs left to lose, so you really should be looking for a pace of about 1lb/week at this point -- and once you hit the 140lb-mark you can switch it to 0.5lbs/week. Remember those are averages - some weeks you'll lose less, some weeks you'll lose more, some weeks you might even gain. But you should be focusing on the trend over time.

    Thanks I was so discouraged when I got on the scale this morning and saw that one pound loss. All week I get excited to weigh myself and see the number go down, for some reason it has been my biggest motivator. I know I shouldn't give the "all mighty scale" so much power, but I do. I'll just try to readjust my expectations and be happy for any loss that i can get at this point. I am constantly having to remind myself that I did not gain all this weight over night, so I should not expect to lose it over night either.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    You might find it helpful to weigh daily instead of weekly. I think you are building up a lot of anticipation about your weekly weigh-in, and if it isn't a big number, you feel discouraged. Weighing in daily (and plotting your weigh-ins on a chart app like Trendweight) help you put the fluctuations into perspective. Each weigh-in is just a data point, nothing more, nothing less. Don't give them too much importance. You're in this for the long haul.
  • desweds
    desweds Posts: 126 Member
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    Any week you loose weight is a victory.
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
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    The longer you do this the more you will get to notice your ebb and flow. Once you've lost the initial water weight then you will settle into a 1 pound per week loss ...maybe a pound and a half. But it doesn't neccessarily happen everyweek like clock work. There are times that I will lose 2 to 4 pounds in a span of a couple of days and there are other times where I will go 2 weeks without losing anything. But you just have to continue to stick to your plan and not get discouraged. If you stand back and look at the overall trend you will notice your overall weight will continue to go down. But especially with women there are going to be times such as around ovulation or around your period where you will actually see the number on the scale go up. But don't panic....its just water weight. Just continue on like you're doing and the scale will catch up. Patience is the key.
  • JeffBrown3
    JeffBrown3 Posts: 161 Member
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    I love any losses, whether it's .01 or 2 lbs. Congrats on your losses so far, you're doing great!!
    segacs wrote: »
    You might find it helpful to weigh daily instead of weekly. I think you are building up a lot of anticipation about your weekly weigh-in, and if it isn't a big number, you feel discouraged. Weighing in daily (and plotting your weigh-ins on a chart app like Trendweight) help you put the fluctuations into perspective. Each weigh-in is just a data point, nothing more, nothing less. Don't give them too much importance. You're in this for the long haul.

    I love this idea, I am going to start doing this. Thanks!!
  • amb3rj0y
    amb3rj0y Posts: 47 Member
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    Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement :)
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    You "only" lost a pound? A pound is a FANTASTIC achievement - I'd be absolutely delighted with that loss!
    You're doing incredibly well - give yourself a break :)

    You've been losing hefty amounts consistently, please don't be disappointed that you didn't lose at the same rate as the first few weeks - you are losing fat now and that's what matters.

    cgkevh9uxage.jpg
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    I suggest that you take measurements. That can really pull you up when the scale doesn't move (and it will happen). You can compare measurements from a month ago and see your progress. The scale doesn't tell the whole story. Best. B)
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    PinkPixiexox wrote: »
    You "only" lost a pound? A pound is a FANTASTIC achievement - I'd be absolutely delighted with that loss!
    You're doing incredibly well - give yourself a break :)

    You've been losing hefty amounts consistently, please don't be disappointed that you didn't lose at the same rate as the first few weeks - you are losing fat now and that's what matters.

    cgkevh9uxage.jpg


    ^^ love this illustration!
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    PinkPixiexox wrote: »
    You "only" lost a pound? A pound is a FANTASTIC achievement - I'd be absolutely delighted with that loss!
    You're doing incredibly well - give yourself a break :)

    You've been losing hefty amounts consistently, please don't be disappointed that you didn't lose at the same rate as the first few weeks - you are losing fat now and that's what matters.

    cgkevh9uxage.jpg


    ^^ love this illustration!

    It definitely puts it into perspective! :)
  • valmaebel
    valmaebel Posts: 1,045 Member
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    I would suggest using other measurements with your weigh in. Like measuring your waist and hips and thighs for example. There are weigh ins where I have no loss or even a gain..but have dropped several inches. So even on those weeks I have something to celebrate. Gives a broader picture of how I'm doing as well.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
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    llqffi57fuqn.png

    Here is my almost 2-week weight stall followed by a quick plunge in weight. Just to re-iterate that weight loss isn't linear. I know pretty much exactly how many calories I ate, and I should have been losing 1.5lb/week, but sometimes your body holds onto water for whatever reason. I "lost nothing" over a 12-day period, and then "lost" 4lb over an 8-day period.

    I then went on work travel, ate at maintenance for the week (up 3.5lb) and 3 days of eating back at my deficit I'm down to 189.2.

    I didn't lose 0lb (of fat) over 12 days, I didn't lose 4lb over 8 days, I didn't gain 3.5lb over 1 week, and I didn't lose 3lb over 3 days.

    It can be incredibly discouraging to see a stall, but you have to just keep on following your plan and wait patiently for the results. If I look at my long term results, my plan says I should have lost 29.5lb over 18 weeks, my actual results are 29.7lb via the scale, and 29.1lb via trendweight, so I know my plan is working, the scale just doesn't always reflect that on any given day.

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