How did I lose 6lbs in my first week?

blancoms · February 2016

I finished logging my first full, dedicated week on Saturday. I do 2-3 30-40 minute workouts 6 days/week burning 500-750 calories a day. I keep as close to 1200 calories a day (some days I have to force myself to get those last 200-300 food calories in.)

At my weigh in It showed a 6 pound loss! From 182lbs to 175.5lbs. I'm 5'3" with 50lbs to lose. Obviously I didn't burn 21K calories. Is it typical to lose "extra" up front from the sudden change in exercise and diet?

I'm not complaining by any means... but I know, realistically, 2 pounds is the most I will be able to lose on average and at the most healthy speed.
My mom is a doctor and when I told her, she, of course, said that was too much and to be careful. But I wasn't trying/expecting that dramatic amount.

snowflake954 · February 2016

The famous "water weight".

acorsaut89 · February 2016

Well if your routine is fairly new, or you've just changed what/how much you're eating (IE 2,500 cal/day to 1,200 cal/day) then yes this is normal . . . your body is in shock almost and doesn't really know what to do. This won't last, unfortunately, but it is very normal to see a large loss at first.

When I first started, I was 340lbs and I lost 20lbs in two weeks just by not eating as much and exercising 4 times/week. Now I don't have those kinds of results, but at first I did. For reference, I am 5'10.

Good luck

DaivaSimone · February 2016

meridianfaith wrote: »

I finished logging my first full, dedicated week on Saturday. I do 2-3 30-40 minute workouts 6 days/week burning 500-750 calories a day. I keep as close to 1200 calories a day (some days I have to force myself to get those last 200-300 food calories in.)

So you're eating between a total net of 450 and 700 calories a day, probably less sometimes because so need to "force yourself" to reach your 1200 calories goal, and you're wondering why you're losing weight so fast ?

Eat some of those exercise calorie back. What you do in the gym is to increase your fitness level, not to accelerate your weight loss. You're already on a 1000 cals a day deficit (which is a lot, probably too much for the amount of weight you need to lose, but still, let's just say a lot), you don't need to increase that deficit with exercise. If you really need to force yourself to eat 1200 calories a day, then go with some calorie dense food (avocado, nuts, nut butter, some ice cream as a treat, etc.), and add a little more protein to preserve your muscle mass.

biodigit · February 2016

DaivaSimone wrote: »

meridianfaith wrote: »

I finished logging my first full, dedicated week on Saturday. I do 2-3 30-40 minute workouts 6 days/week burning 500-750 calories a day. I keep as close to 1200 calories a day (some days I have to force myself to get those last 200-300 food calories in.)

So you're eating between a total net of 450 and 700 calories a day, probably less sometimes because so need to "force yourself" to reach your 1200 calories goal, and you're wondering why you're losing weight so fast ?

Eat some of those exercise calorie back. What you do in the gym is to increase your fitness level, not to accelerate your weight loss. You're already on a 1000 cals a day deficit (which is a lot, probably too much for the amount of weight you need to lose, but still, let's just say a lot), you don't need to increase that deficit with exercise. If you really need to force yourself to eat 1200 calories a day, then go with some calorie dense food (avocado, nuts, nut butter, some ice cream as a treat, etc.), and add a little more protein to preserve your muscle mass.

We tend to overestimate our calorie burn and underestimate calories eaten. So I would venture to guess (and I hope) that's she not netting 450-700 calories. Nevertheless, great advice.

OP, more than likely some of the weight loss is water loss.

hittrain · February 2016

First, let's focus on the positives; congratulations for starting down the path to better eating and healthier habits!!! It sounds like you had a great first week from a weight loss perspective. I think a lot of people who start with "a lot to lose" experience similar results. I am in my second try with this and went from 390-353 in about 4 months. I would have weeks where 5-7 pounds would come off and others where 1-2 would come off. This time, I'm losing ~5 a week and I'm not killing myself with food intake or exercise.

The other posters, and many here at MFP, are going to be able to share the dangers of "too much, too soon" and some of the reasons for accelerated loss early in the process. For me, the important thing is to listen to your body, keep the long term in mind, and maintain a positive attitude about the PROCESS. This can't be about getting the weight off, it has to be about being the best you.

Best of luck and congrats!

Jon

blancoms · February 2016

DaivaSimone wrote: »

Eat some of those exercise calorie back. What you do in the gym is to increase your fitness level, not to accelerate your weight loss. You're already on a 1000 cals a day deficit (which is a lot, probably too much for the amount of weight you need to lose, but still, let's just say a lot), you don't need to increase that deficit with exercise. If you really need to force yourself to eat 1200 calories a day, then go with some calorie dense food (avocado, nuts, nut butter, some ice cream as a treat, etc.), and add a little more protein to preserve your muscle mass.

Since August I've had an extremely sedentary lifestyle due to a couple factors...two knee injuries, quit my extremely active job, and depression. (Like a few weeks ago I literally would wake up, drive my kid to school, then sleep til 2pm...I figured it better since it burns more calories than watching TV).
I also have hypothyroidism so I'm pretty worried about how to tell how much my body actually needs. I've read so many contradicting things, I'm trying to figure out what works best for me, and without doing one extreme "diet" since I know I won't stick to it in the long run. I don't want to underestimate what I need to do and then get discouraged in two weeks. (this is not the first time I've failed using MFP).
I definitely love avocado so maybe I'll start putting some of those in my salads and I definitely plan on eating a lot of protein.

blancoms · February 2016

hittrain wrote: »

First, let's focus on the positives; congratulations for starting down the path to better eating and healthier habits!!! It sounds like you had a great first week from a weight loss perspective. I think a lot of people who start with "a lot to lose" experience similar results. I am in my second try with this and went from 390-353 in about 4 months. I would have weeks where 5-7 pounds would come off and others where 1-2 would come off. This time, I'm losing ~5 a week and I'm not killing myself with food intake or exercise.

The other posters, and many here at MFP, are going to be able to share the dangers of "too much, too soon" and some of the reasons for accelerated loss early in the process. For me, the important thing is to listen to your body, keep the long term in mind, and maintain a positive attitude about the PROCESS. This can't be about getting the weight off, it has to be about being the best you.

Best of luck and congrats!

Jon

Thanks, Jon. This is probably my third try using MFP in a year. It seems like each time I quit my weight goes up slightly more. I feel SO much better about myself this week. You know, not being lazy. Before, I didn't eat a lot (volume wise) or hardly any dessert type food, but it was a lot of starchy food like tortillas, beef, pork, crackers, tons of rice. I want the "diet" I'm on now to be close to what I hope to continue to do throughout my future. So, a lifestyle change. Smarter choices, like fish and a lot of vegetables and fruit.
Its just difficult to know whats right and wrong for myself - the amount of food, the type of food i need to cut back on, etc.

acorsaut89 wrote: »

Well if your routine is fairly new, or you've just changed what/how much you're eating (IE 2,500 cal/day to 1,200 cal/day) then yes this is normal . . . your body is in shock almost and doesn't really know what to do. This won't last, unfortunately, but it is very normal to see a large loss at first.

When I first started, I was 340lbs and I lost 20lbs in two weeks just by not eating as much and exercising 4 times/week. Now I don't have those kinds of results, but at first I did. For reference, I am 5'10.

Good luck

The exercise is new in regards to the last couple months. I used to be pretty active. The large drop (Even if it is water weight) is motivating to see on the scale at the very least.

hittrain · February 2016

OP,

The good news about this journey is that you can control it. That's not to say that you'll have challenges (medical, work, family, etc.) but if you look at it as a lifetime journey instead of the day-to-day grind that we sometimes make it out to be, you will succeed. Allow the challenges to make you better and continue to develop good habits; it's about progress, not perfection!

Jon

dotti1121 · February 2016

I lost 6 pounds my first week too! I think the more you have to lose...it comes off quickly with even the smallest lifestyle changes...and I'm fine with it being a lot of "water weight"

alexgav · February 2016

I agree with what others said. Large weight loss during the first week of working out and healthy eating is common (water weight comes off). It happens to me every time I come back from a vacation. It's not uncommon to me to "gain" 4-6lbs during 1 week of vacation. Normally 2lbs comes off the first day I work out and eat healthy, and 4lbs during the first week is not uncommon. Mostly it's from eating lots of salty and sweet foods which causes you to retain water.

I'd be worried if you continue losing weight at that pace. 6lbs/week in general is not healthy (shoot for 2lbs week or 1% of you body weight). 1200cal/day seems pretty low to me if you are working out twice a day 6 days a week (if I understand correctly what you are saying).

Are you tracking your exercise in MFP Exercise section? If you add your workouts in the Cardiovascular section of MFP, it will tell you how much "extra" calories to eat to make up for the exercises while still maintaining caloric deficit. I feel that MFP is a bit too generous with some of their "extra calories from exercise" estimates, and as someone else said - people tend to underestimate how much they eat. E.g. if I drink a coffee, I use two single Half&Half creamers and 3 packets of Splenda. That's about 32 calories (3 "zero-calorie" Spendas is 12 calories, creamer is 20 calories). Three cups of coffee would be around 100 calories.

Anyway, congrats on the great first week! Hope you stick with it and have great success long term.

How did I lose 6lbs in my first week?

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