Weight Loss doesnt seem to add up - Frustrated

flosoup38 wrote: »

I am currently eating around 1300 - 1500 calories most days. Maybe one day a week with calories around 1800. I exercise at least 3 times a week sometimes more (1 weights circuits class, 2 taekwondo classes plus biking walking and swimming with my kids) As of the past 4 weeks I have been 100% committed to calorie counting and exercising but I'm unhappy with the rate of losses.
Week 1 was 5lb and I was delighted (NO EXERCISE)
Week 2 was 4 lb and again delighted (Started exercise)
Week 3 was 1lb and that was ok
This week I have weighed in and stayed the same and I am really miffed as I have tried so very hard.
I know this journey is going to take a very long time as I want to lose at least 6 stone BUT I still want that magic wand and I really want a bigger loss than 1lb a week especially when I'm working my *kitten* off to get it :-(

Anyone any ideas?

Sounds like you're doing just fine to me. You can't sustain a loss of more than 2lb a week. Lower your target, aim for 2-3 stone initially, it's a lot less to get your head around. As you approach your goal you can extend it if you feel ready to.

1lb a week in a year is 52lb!! Keep it up!

Yep- your numbers are fine right now. It's not unusual to have big losses the first couple of weeks when you have a lot to lose, but a lot of that is water weight. Now you're leveling out. As the pp said, you're basically losing 2.5 lbs/week right now, but the scale isn't likely to show a 2.5 lb loss *every* week.
Try this: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear

(Off topic, but I LOVE your pic! )

Don't overclock your weight loss expectations based on the first few weeks, it's not sustainable and not realistic and will lead to frustrations. Instead focus more on how you feel and keep drinking that water! Non-scale-victories (NSV) are just as important, if not more important on your new journey! Keep up the good work thus far!

For it to be a sustainable weight loss you need to lose no more than 2lbs per week. I have lost 89 lbs at the rate of one to two pounds/week. I'm still going and it's not hard to keep the weight off.

Hello flosoup38,

1) Stay the course!
2) The initial big weight loss rate is fun, but wouldn't be healthly at all to continue.
3) After the first 3 weeks of dieting and weighing about every other day, I decided to only weigh in one day a week. Due to the weight variables (current water %, meals eaten, uh - meals eaten but not yet discarded, and all that), I do weight a couple times after "daily events" if I haven't had a weight loss on that day.
4) Pay attention to weekly trends, not specific days! 2 weighins ago (about 2 months into diet), I had weight loss but not as much as I expected (I had quite a bit of exercise that week). I was like "WTH! All that work for nothing!". Then the next weigh in reflected a 4.5 pound decrease. It reminded me I needed to look at trends and again, stay the course.
5) Keep a log! Being a nerd, I have a spreadsheet that I keep track of dates, weights, and calculate rates. That's in addition to what MyFitnessPal keeps track of.
6) As others have stated, also keep in mind that weight is a number, focus on changes in your health and performance improvements that you already see and your end goal activities!

--Alan