Is this normal weight loss during the first month?

tigersgrowl1093
tigersgrowl1093 Posts: 45 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm just wondering if it's normal for me to be losing this much during the first month. I mean, I'm not complaining, but I wonder if something is off.

Initial weigh-in was 239.
First week: 232.5 - I expected to lose quite a bit, water weight and all.
Second week: 232 - I ate on target every day that week, so was shocked to see only .5 lb loss
Third week: 227.4 - I got a new scale, so I probably didn't actually lose 4.6 lbs
Fourth week: 223.6 - Based on the number of calories I ate over the week, I should have lost MAYBE 1 lb, but closer to .75 lbs.

My deficit is set to 1.5 lbs per week, as I have ~100 lbs to lose.

Is it normal to still be losing water weight? Is MFC perhaps underestimating my calorie goal, even though all online calculators pretty much give me the same?

I do use a scale, so unless the meal is gotten at a restaurant (where I use the restaurants calorie count), my food gets weighed.

Thanks for any insight!

Replies

  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    It's unusual, but not unheard of.

    How drastic of a calorie deficit are you eating at...and how accurate are you with measuring your caloric intake?

    Do you also exercise, and do you eat those calories back?
  • LHWhite903
    LHWhite903 Posts: 208 Member
    How are you weighing yourself? Are you doing it at the same time of day? After you have gone to the restroom? Are you wearing the same thing each time or weighing naked?
    I like to weigh myself daily, naked, in the morning, before breakfast and after using the restroom.
    As long as you are consistent in how you do things, you will get a better idea of your weight change week by week or however you do it. Also, while weight loss isn't always linear, fat loss can be. Perhaps a weight trend tracking site, such as TrendWeight, or Happy Scale, can be of use to you.
  • GeoBaybee
    GeoBaybee Posts: 69 Member
    For that weight, that is not an unheard of loss. Congratulations! It seems as if your hard work is paying off. As long as you feel good, keep doing what you're doing :)
  • Cynsonya
    Cynsonya Posts: 668 Member
    I'm new too. At my three week weigh in I'd lost a total of 13.2 pounds.

    I think when we have a substantial amount to lose and go from eating many more calories than we should to a strict calorie deficit, we drop quite fast the first month. I don't expect my current rate of loss to continue.

    According to MFP I should have lost 6 at the three week mark.
  • SarahIluvatariel
    SarahIluvatariel Posts: 96 Member
    This response is probably overkill, but I feel like it sheds some light on why I had the same thing happen... I put my MFP goal to 2lbs/wk loss, and ended up consistently losing around 3-3.5 lbs / week for several months. So...


    Keep in mind that the MFP goal of weight lost per week is based only on fat loss. But the reality is that we loose fat (aka triglycerides + water), muscle (aka protein + water), and glycogen (aka carbohydrates + water) simultaneously when we eat at a deficit. Your macro-nutrient goals for those three groups, combined with what type of activities you do will determine what percentage of each you will lose.

    There are ~3500 calories in a pound of fat, but only ~400 calories in a pound of glycogen. So, given that 1 lb of anything = 454 grams of anything...

    1 lb fat = 454 grams fat = 87% triglyceride + 13% water = 394g triglyceride + 60g water = (394*9) calories of energy + 60g water = 3546 calories of energy + 60g water

    1 lb glycogen = 454 grams glycogen = 22% glucose + 78% water = 100g glucose + 354g water = (100*4) calories of energy + 354g water = 400 calories of energy + 354g water

    So you can cut your calories from anywhere between 400 to 3500 and still lose a pound of weight, depending on how much of each kind of energy your body is burning. (Likewise, the reverse is true for having a surplus of calories and gaining weight.)

    At the beginning of a diet, you're likely to burn more glycogen (because it's easiest/fastest for our bodies to access/burn). Since glycogen is mostly water, we tend to call it "losing water weight".

    In the middle of your diet, your glycogen stores are low, so your body has to work harder to access your fat stores to burn those.

    After you go back to maintenance, your body will want to replenish its glycogen stores (perfectly normal/healthy!), so you'll likely re-gain a little weight. This is also why if you simply reduce your deficit (but still have a deficit!) at some/any point, you might gain weight! --because your body really doesn't like being low on glycogen, so it'll try to replenish it at any chance it gets.


    p.s. I wish, of course, that I knew everything, but I definitely don't! ;) This information is only based on my own meager googleings. :) I'm not at all an authority on the subject!
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    It's not bad for you to be losing that much. People with 100 lbs to lose frequently find it comes off super fast initially, then slows down. Less than 100 to lose and I'd worry, but I only had 61 to lose and I lost 11 of it in the first week of eating at a deficit, then it slowed down. Just don't get discouraged when the slow-down hits, and make sure you're updating your weight in MFP so it adjusts your calories otherwise you'll end up at maintenance at some point and wonder why you're not losing anymore. I'm also of the firm belief that this happens to women more often. Maybe we carry more water initially, maybe we put more pressure on ourselves to get this right because of societal body-size/shape expectations, either way the vast majority of my friends on here with 75+ to lose experienced this with no adverse results. Try to pay attention to how you feel. If you feel fine, you probably are fine. If you feel not-fine, up your caloric intake a little until you feel fine again.
  • size102b
    size102b Posts: 1,370 Member
    Tbh if your young you'll lose quick I used to 2-3lbs a week once in my 40s its 1/2-1lbs a week
    Make the most of this let it be a lesson to lose it and keep it off as it becomes very tough as we age
    Well done great loss
  • kportwood85
    kportwood85 Posts: 151 Member
    I weigh just a little less than you, but, I started on Christmas day. I've lost 14 pounds since then. I'm not complaining, it seems fast. But, I figure it will slow down eventually. I may as well enjoy it while I can. My goal at this point is to lose 50 pounds, but, technically I could lose almost 100 and be at the very bottom edge of a healthy BMI.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    yeah, seems about normal.

    just be forewarned, the loss WILL slow. right now you have more to lose and your body is adjusting.
  • tigersgrowl1093
    tigersgrowl1093 Posts: 45 Member
    Thanks for the responses! I figured it was pretty normal, but I've never actually tried to lose weight before so it's all new to me.

    To answer some questions, I eat 1500 calories a day. I'm pretty sedentary - just the average amount of steps per day.

    I have the deficit set to 1.5 lbs per week, but I plan to go down to 1 lb per week once I get to 200 or so. I'm 5'4", so ideal weight is probably from 120 - 140.

    Thanks again!
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    Another thing to keep in mind is that weight loss isn't linear. Keep logging your weight and watch the trend. If you view the graph here after a couple of months and can draw a line from start weight to end weight and it's going down, you're doing good. ^_^

    Also, don't forget to recalculate your calories every 10lbs or so. As you lose the weight, your body requires less calories to function, so if you don't recalculate, you'll end up in maintenance without realizing it.

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