Three weeks in - No change?
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heldavi
Posts: 25 Member
So I restarted MFP in January after taking the whole of December off from tracking.
I am a 5'8" (172cm) 24 year old female, and began the journey at 211lbs. Three weeks later (today), I am 209lbs. No difference in my measurements.
These are my rough diet changes-
BREAKFAST
Before: Shredded Wheat cereal (200cals)/ Now: Overnight oats (400cals)
SNACK
Before: Alpen bar (110cals), Chocolate (95cals) / Now: None (don't need one)
LUNCH
Before: Jacket potato from canteen with cheese and beans (600cals) / Now: Pre-prepared roast chicken breast, brown rice, veg, boiled egg white (440cals)
SNACK:
Before: Crisps (150cals) / Now: None
DINNER:
Before: Anything carb heavy, pizza, pasta, sausages, potatoes, burgers.. etc (700cals estimated) / Now: Soup (150cals) and bread roll (130cals)
DESSERT:
Before: Anything chocolatey (400cals estimated) / Now: Light hot chocolate (40cals)
Before calories: 2,255 / After calories: 1,160
I also now do weight training 5 times a week - 30 mins each night with bodyweight and a 6kg kettlebell, and make an effort to walk in my lunch breaks (usually fit in about 3 miles 3 times a week)
How come the scales aren't changing?
There's lots about losing lots of 'water weight' in the first couple of weeks which I have seen in myself last year (7lbs one time!). How come I'm not getting any weight changes this time, is muscle weight really that easy to gain, or am I going wrong with my diet somewhere?
I finally have a healthy diet which fills me up, and disappointed that I'm not seeing any changes! I know it's only three weeks.. but still!
I am a 5'8" (172cm) 24 year old female, and began the journey at 211lbs. Three weeks later (today), I am 209lbs. No difference in my measurements.
These are my rough diet changes-
BREAKFAST
Before: Shredded Wheat cereal (200cals)/ Now: Overnight oats (400cals)
SNACK
Before: Alpen bar (110cals), Chocolate (95cals) / Now: None (don't need one)
LUNCH
Before: Jacket potato from canteen with cheese and beans (600cals) / Now: Pre-prepared roast chicken breast, brown rice, veg, boiled egg white (440cals)
SNACK:
Before: Crisps (150cals) / Now: None
DINNER:
Before: Anything carb heavy, pizza, pasta, sausages, potatoes, burgers.. etc (700cals estimated) / Now: Soup (150cals) and bread roll (130cals)
DESSERT:
Before: Anything chocolatey (400cals estimated) / Now: Light hot chocolate (40cals)
Before calories: 2,255 / After calories: 1,160
I also now do weight training 5 times a week - 30 mins each night with bodyweight and a 6kg kettlebell, and make an effort to walk in my lunch breaks (usually fit in about 3 miles 3 times a week)
How come the scales aren't changing?
There's lots about losing lots of 'water weight' in the first couple of weeks which I have seen in myself last year (7lbs one time!). How come I'm not getting any weight changes this time, is muscle weight really that easy to gain, or am I going wrong with my diet somewhere?
I finally have a healthy diet which fills me up, and disappointed that I'm not seeing any changes! I know it's only three weeks.. but still!
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Replies
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So, about 1 lb a week? Not bad.
Give it more time - water weight, swelling from new weight training, time of month, etc... it will come.
And no, you aren't gaining that much muscle - as a woman doing bodyweight work you can expect a max of 1/4 lb a week at BEST under conditions of calorie surplus.0 -
Well, I can't see your diary so I'm not sure exactly what you are logging, but, of course, everyone on here will ask "are you sure you are logging accurately, are you weighing your food with a food scale?" - this is crucial and changed my game.
weight loss is not linear. If CICO could have two more letters they would be "OT" - over time!
If anything it sounds like you're eating a little low to me. Plus, as people really shouldn't be losing more than 2 pounds a week, and you lost 2 pounds in three weeks (plus, that's just one day, you could get on the scale tomorrow and be 2 pounds down) - there really is nothing but waiting.
Time and weighing food is of the essence!0 -
EvgeniZyntx wrote: »And no, you aren't gaining that much muscle - as a woman doing bodyweight work you can expect a max of 1/4 lb a week at BEST under conditions of calorie surplus.
Thanks for the info - helpful!
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I've lost 3#as well since the new year, and have accepted it. I've been working out like crazy and want it to come off faster. As long as you're losing, I'd be happy with that.0
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Well, I can't see your diary so I'm not sure exactly what you are logging, but, of course, everyone on here will ask "are you sure you are logging accurately, are you weighing your food with a food scale?" - this is crucial and changed my game.
Thanks for your reply, I do weigh everything and do it 'by the book', which makes it more frustrating!0 -
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Well, I can't see your diary so I'm not sure exactly what you are logging, but, of course, everyone on here will ask "are you sure you are logging accurately, are you weighing your food with a food scale?" - this is crucial and changed my game.
Thanks for your reply, I do weigh everything and do it 'by the book', which makes it more frustrating!
Patience is key here; if you're logging and tracking accurately, then you just need to wait for the scale to catch up to what you are doing.
Another thing is to keep in mind that your rate of loss should be reasonable. You shouldn't aim to lose as quickly as possible, but instead at a moderate rate; and this will mean accepting that some weeks you won't lose (trust me, the scale can be a *kitten*), some weeks you'll lose two pounds a week, and some you will only lose one pound per week.
Weight loss mostly seems to be a mind game. That said, you seem to be eating relatively low calorie given your size (I believe when I was a little bit heavier than you, MFP gave me 1500ish calories as my daily goal). Again, faster isn't necessarily better. Keep an eye on your energy levels and your personality; you may crash hard after a few weeks. And if you're exercising, log it and eat back about half of those calories (to start). Give any diet change you make 4-6 weeks, then reassess at that time and see if you need to make some changes.
Congrats on your progress so far!0 -
EvgeniZyntx wrote: »
I see, thanks.
I do like salt with my rice at lunch, I have one packet which is 3g at best. I am using a lime and pepper seasoning for my chicken, and I try and use pepper instead (which I had to do today due to no salt!).
Apart from that, it's in the soups I have, usually about 1g going off the labels..
I have pre-logged everything today, and I am only over the following:
Carbs by 4g (target was 143g)
Sugar by 10g (target was 46g)
Vitamin C by 26%0 -
Give any diet change you make 4-6 weeks, then reassess at that time and see if you need to make some changes.
Congrats on your progress so far!
Thank you, and good idea. Just trying to see if there's anything blindingly obvious diet-wise that I should change. As stupid as it sounds, I didn't actually realise it averages at 1lb a week... I was expecting to have a 6lb change by now! 3lbs isn't too bad, the scale is going the right way and my insides will be appreciating the change I suppose
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I'd say it sounds like you're doing a pretty good job. I would say eat a little more to get your calories to a bit healthier number, but I actually have a feeling you are eating a little bit more than you think. Keep at it. I bet the scale will start changing soon.
By the way, I do not own a food scale. But I do tend to overestimate a bit. Like a cup of rice means I fill it so it's more like .85 of a cup. Or a big apple I will count as 1.5 apples. It helps with being more spot on since I know there are a lot of differences between the measuring and weighing calories.
Or you could just buy a food scale. 0 -
I'd say it sounds like you're doing a pretty good job. I would say eat a little more to get your calories to a bit healthier number, but I actually have a feeling you are eating a little bit more than you think. Keep at it. I bet the scale will start changing soon.
Thanks for your reply, my calorie goal is 1,200 and it does get to about that (or slightly over) with about 3 cups of tea a day with semi skimmed milk and a sugar!0 -
EvgeniZyntx wrote: »
I learned something absolutely new! That would have made memorizing the element table easier, so I wish I knew it long ago
OP, you might have even lost more than the 3 lbs. My water weight from new exercise always equals 2-3 lbs minimum. That takes a varied amount of time to go away, but just realize it can mask losses early on. Oh, and then ToM or the week before can be a big change, too! That's why I like 8 weeks ideally to see the patterns (2 cycles).
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Hi again I have to agree with some others on here. I don't think you're eating enough. I get 1200 calories too but the days I work out, I eat half of them back. Because you're not supposed to go under 1200 net. So on your work out days, try that out and also really watch sodium. Good luck with us 0
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Hello, stay patient you are losing weight just give it more time and you will see it continue. None of us got to our current weight in 3 weeks, so keep doing what you're doing . However, since you're also working out consider eating back some of your exercise calories. I noticed that helped me lose weight just knowing I already had a deficit, and I can eat more. Best of luck.0
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Thanks all, I'm going to continue what I'm doing and reduce my salt intake whenever possible.
I will also eat some of my exercise calories back in the form of bananas 0
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