HELP not losing weight. Losing motivation

Good morning! I have been on this app for 30 days, logging my diet religiously. I have not lied and I've done my best to measure correctly. I'm trying to lose 50 pounds. I have a goal of 1200 calories a day. I go to the gym 1 to 3 times a week. After 30 days I have only lost 5 pounds. I feel like I'm doing all this work for nothing. How to I lose more weight?
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Replies

  • BigBangBeliever
    BigBangBeliever Posts: 5 Member
    I was expecting 2 pounds a week which I figured was about 10 pounds a day. I am a 22 year old female at 5'1 at 175. I started at 181 and my goal is 130. Technically 130 is still "overweight" if you go by bmi. Right now I'm in the "obese category".
    Thanks guys, I just feel like I should be losing more.
  • itsthehumidity
    itsthehumidity Posts: 351 Member
    Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm curious as to how much you expected to lose in 30 days? You've done a great job to lose 5 pounds this month! Keep your momentum going because you are doing great!

    I'm guessing she has seen a lot of those magazines at the grocery checkout lines that all have the same type of headline: lose 3 pounds a day! Shred that belly fat and be 15 pounds lighter in a week! Etc.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Did it set you to 1200 calories when you chose 2 pounds a week? If so, that's the lowest MFP will give you, which means your goal is too aggressive. A pound a week is better for you to make sure you fuel your body and retain as much muscle as possible.
  • BigBangBeliever
    BigBangBeliever Posts: 5 Member
    Lol no, I expected 2 pounds a week for 5 weeks. :p I have realistic goals, I don't want to be supermodel skinny. I never read those magazines hah
  • SassyMommasaurus
    SassyMommasaurus Posts: 380 Member
    A lot of different factors go into how fast you'll lose weight. Different people lose weight at different paces, so you may not fall into what the "average" (which really isn't accurate at all and discourages people when they don't meet it) person loses. 5lbs is still a great amount for a month, in fact that is my monthly goal.
  • seekingdaintiness
    seekingdaintiness Posts: 137 Member
    I was expecting 2 pounds a week which I figured was about 10 pounds a day. I am a 22 year old female at 5'1 at 175. I started at 181 and my goal is 130. Technically 130 is still "overweight" if you go by bmi. Right now I'm in the "obese category".
    Thanks guys, I just feel like I should be losing more.


    A lot of people have the delusion that fat people lose weight more quickly. It isn't true.
  • seekingdaintiness
    seekingdaintiness Posts: 137 Member
    You're doing great by the way :) It's a long term process. People who lose quickly tend to put it back on quickly, remember that.
  • BigBangBeliever
    BigBangBeliever Posts: 5 Member
    Thank you everyone. I'm working on making a work out routine for 3 days a week. Just some days I'm not motivated. I am trying to move away from the scale and over to the tape measure to measure progress as well.
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    I would change your goal to 1 pound per week. This is a more reasonable calorie goal since MFP defaults to 1200 and for most people this is too low especially if you are active.
  • mplyler512
    mplyler512 Posts: 1 Member
    Maintaining proper diet and hydration while working out is the most important factor at play. If that is happening, then what this tells me is that you lost 5 pounds of fat in the last month, all while maintaining/strengthening muscle and staying hydrated. 5 pounds is a fantastic start! Just think where you will be in the next few months at the same rate.
  • 1smallgirl
    1smallgirl Posts: 1 Member
    Congrats on losing 5 lbs in 1 month. That's great. Remember it took a while to put those calories on. It will take a minute to get them off. You can increase weight loss slightly by burning more calories, but make sure you are looking at your reports and getting in your nutrients.
  • Zella_11
    Zella_11 Posts: 161 Member
    5 lbs gone--good for you! You are doing everything right. Now, on to the next 5 lbs...
  • beautifulwarrior18
    beautifulwarrior18 Posts: 914 Member
    edited June 2016
    Good morning! I have been on this app for 30 days, logging my diet religiously. I have not lied and I've done my best to measure correctly. I'm trying to lose 50 pounds. I have a goal of 1200 calories a day. I go to the gym 1 to 3 times a week. After 30 days I have only lost 5 pounds. I feel like I'm doing all this work for nothing. How to I lose more weight?

    WTF! Since when is losing 5 lbs not losing weight? Hello! You didn't gain 50 lbs in 2 weeks and you sure as hell aren't going to lose it in two weeks!

    I would suggest breaking your 50 lb goal up into smaller goals. It seems to me like you're getting overwhelmed by that number. I'm doing my ticker 10 lbs at a time. So right now, my goals is to lose 32 pounds (because I've already lost 23). Once I hit 32 pounds, I'll make it say 40 lbs, and once I hit 40 lbs, I'll make it say 50. Break it into smaller more manageable goals. As I get smaller and the weight gets harder to lose, I'll break it into 5 lb increments.

    Until then, CHILL! Losing 5 lbs is better than losing 0 lbs.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Good morning! I have been on this app for 30 days, logging my diet religiously. I have not lied and I've done my best to measure correctly. I'm trying to lose 50 pounds. I have a goal of 1200 calories a day. I go to the gym 1 to 3 times a week.

    Keep doing it that way. Maybe don't focus on the 50 lb but just worry about the one day in front of you. You got this.
  • Zella_11
    Zella_11 Posts: 161 Member
    Have patience OP--losing weight takes time :) Be proud of your loss so far!
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    Good morning! I have been on this app for 30 days, logging my diet religiously. I have not lied and I've done my best to measure correctly. I'm trying to lose 50 pounds. I have a goal of 1200 calories a day. I go to the gym 1 to 3 times a week. After 30 days I have only lost 5 pounds. I feel like I'm doing all this work for nothing. How to I lose more weight?

    How are your measuring your food? Try to avoid cups/spoons/eyeballing/guessing and use a food scale for the most accurate counts. Also make sure you are logging correctly and avoiding homemade or generic entries.
  • kc_lea
    kc_lea Posts: 65 Member
    I read a really great article recently about the idea of your body's "set-point" and how it really is a long-term commitment if you want to change it. In a nutshell: Your body is happy where it is, and it really is a slow process to "re-train" it to be happy at another weight.

    So actually, if you lose weight slowly you're more likely to keep it off than if you happen to be "lucky" and drop a bunch of weight really fast. Not only will your body have the time it needs to let go of its old stasis, but also, you've taken the time to build sustainable lifestyle changes, built a new perspective on food, and started exercising consistently.

    5 lbs/30 days is awesome. I'd love to see 5 lbs of weight loss, but I also recognize that at the rate I'm going, it'll be another month for me. Good job!
  • xtina315
    xtina315 Posts: 218 Member
    I was expecting 2 pounds a week which I figured was about 10 pounds a day. I am a 22 year old female at 5'1 at 175. I started at 181 and my goal is 130. Technically 130 is still "overweight" if you go by bmi. Right now I'm in the "obese category".
    Thanks guys, I just feel like I should be losing more.


    A lot of people have the delusion that fat people lose weight more quickly. It isn't true.

    I agree my doctor thinks I should have lost 40-50 lbs by now and I started this out in march at 219.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    I was expecting 2 pounds a week which I figured was about 10 pounds a day. I am a 22 year old female at 5'1 at 175. I started at 181 and my goal is 130. Technically 130 is still "overweight" if you go by bmi. Right now I'm in the "obese category".
    Thanks guys, I just feel like I should be losing more.

    I'm older than you but started out almost exactly the same. mfp won't allow you to set your controls to a 1000 calorie deficit because you're not big enough...do with that what you will.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    Personally, I eat all my calories, then work out and only eat back a quarter of those calories. mfp people will tell you not to lose 2 pounds a week.
  • BigBangBeliever
    BigBangBeliever Posts: 5 Member
    Thank you everyone. I'm feeling better about this. I guess I just saw some posts about people losing 100 pounds or more in a year and thought I could do 50 in about 8 months. I appreciate all the responses!!
  • cavia
    cavia Posts: 457 Member
    5lb in a month is a normal rate of weight loss. Keep doing what you're doing. Keep the focus on losing the next pound and not all the pounds after that. They will add up.
  • Wicked_Seraph
    Wicked_Seraph Posts: 388 Member
    Thank you everyone. I'm feeling better about this. I guess I just saw some posts about people losing 100 pounds or more in a year and thought I could do 50 in about 8 months. I appreciate all the responses!!

    Everyone's body is different. You'll drive yourself crazy if you compare your weight loss to someone else's.

    I did the same thing you did, fwiw - I was CRUSHED a while back when I was like "wtf dood only a couple of pounds in a month???" It helps to also set goals that have nothing to do with numbers on a scale.
  • GrnEyes839
    GrnEyes839 Posts: 74 Member
    I changed up my exercise and found that it worked better. if I can help in any way let me know.
  • butterfli7o
    butterfli7o Posts: 1,319 Member
    You're losing, congrats! Keep it up. It will pay off.