Does your weight loss reflect your effort?

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Terpnista84
Terpnista84 Posts: 517 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know weight loss isn't linear, but does anyone find that your weekly deficit reconciles with the weight you lost?

It's been 5 days since my weigh-in and it's shown that I have lost 1.5 lbs. Now if we are being strictly mathematical that means over the five day period my total calorie deficit was 5,250, with a daily deficit of 1,050. I used MFP to calculate my daily deficit and the average was 1,170. I think this is fairly accurate as I leave some room for error in my food tracking and I also don't enter in the calories from strength training.

I'm asking because I have a target that I'd like to reach by a certain time and was wondering if this weight loss will be a good representation of what I will lose each week (not counting for hormonal changes and water retention). I'm also still a little sore from strength training so my DOMS may be causing me to retain more water so I may weigh even less. I put on a pair of shorts today that were so tight exactly one week ago and they were so easy to button and I know 1.5 lbs doesn't make that big of a difference. It may have helped that I have cut carbs significantly.

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Calculated calorie need and weight loss prediction has been spot on for me. Also my calorie intake in maintenance match estimations for a woman my size, age and activity level.

    Be aware that you can only control your behavior directly, and your weight indirectly, by your behavior. A healthy weight goal will be one that corresponds with a healthy lifestyle.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    As you say weight loss isn't linear, some weeks you'll lose consistently, others not as much but the main thing is the overall trend is downwards. I sometimes went from no loss in a 3 week period to losing 2lbs in a whoosh. That's how it goes sometimes.

    If you have cut back on carbs a good bit that is the main reason for you feeling those shorts were looser.

    The main thing is not to get too hung up on the number on the scale. Take measurements and photos as you go along so you can see your progress in other ways.

    Keep up the good work. :smile:
  • Terpnista84
    Terpnista84 Posts: 517 Member
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    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    As you say weight loss isn't linear, some weeks you'll lose consistently, others not as much but the main thing is the overall trend is downwards. I sometimes went from no loss in a 3 week period to losing 2lbs in a whoosh. That's how it goes sometimes.

    If you have cut back on carbs a good bit that is the main reason for you feeling those shorts were looser.

    The main thing is not to get too hung up on the number on the scale. Take measurements and photos as you go along so you can see your progress in other ways.

    Keep up the good work. :smile:

    Thanks. I was a little disappointed that I didn't lose more due to the carb cutting, but these shorts fitting better is an even greater reward. I will definitely be taking progress photos.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    It aint a race :smiley: you WILL get there so try and be patient - and I know its not easy (take it from one who took a year to get to goal and had only 20lbs to lose! - my own fault as I wanted eat as much as I could yet still lose and I really feel thats the reason I've kept the weight off (almost 4 yrs at maintenance)
  • Shells918
    Shells918 Posts: 1,070 Member
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    In short, no.
    According to my calculations I should have lost about 20 more pounds. Apparently my body didn't get the memo. I have calorie deficits every day, but am losing at a snails pace. I haven't had a significant loss in months. It's very frustrating, but I keep trying.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    Shells918 wrote: »
    In short, no.
    According to my calculations I should have lost about 20 more pounds. Apparently my body didn't get the memo. I have calorie deficits every day, but am losing at a snails pace. I haven't had a significant loss in months. It's very frustrating, but I keep trying.

    That is annoying, if you haven't lost in ages then its time to rethink things, tighten up the logging or perhaps try to move a little more...
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
    edited August 2016
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    Terpnista84 wrote: »
    I know weight loss isn't linear, but does anyone find that your weekly deficit reconciles with the weight you lost?

    It's been 5 days since my weigh-in and it's shown that I have lost 1.5 lbs. Now if we are being strictly mathematical that means over the five day period my total calorie deficit was 5,250, with a daily deficit of 1,050. I used MFP to calculate my daily deficit and the average was 1,170. I think this is fairly accurate as I leave some room for error in my food tracking and I also don't enter in the calories from strength training.

    I'm asking because I have a target that I'd like to reach by a certain time and was wondering if this weight loss will be a good representation of what I will lose each week (not counting for hormonal changes and water retention).     I'm also still a little sore from strength training so my DOMS may be causing me to retain more water so I may weigh even less. I put on a pair of shorts today that were so tight exactly one week ago and they were so easy to button and I know 1.5 lbs doesn't make that big of a difference. It may have helped that I have cut carbs significantly.

    Nope, weight loss is not linear.

    But, you already know that. :)
  • battyfitch
    battyfitch Posts: 117 Member
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    From what I've read - though I can't speak from personal experience - the losses tend to slow down the nearer someone is to the goal/ideal weight. I'm assuming it's because a 3500-7000 calorie deficit might be feasible when someone has 60 odd pounds to lose, but when it gets closer to 10-20lbs a more reasonable deficit would be 1750-3000 a week. So it might depend on what you're aiming for.

  • Vegplotter
    Vegplotter Posts: 265 Member
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    battyfitch wrote: »
    From what I've read - though I can't speak from personal experience - the losses tend to slow down the nearer someone is to the goal/ideal weight. I'm assuming it's because a 3500-7000 calorie deficit might be feasible when someone has 60 odd pounds to lose, but when it gets closer to 10-20lbs a more reasonable deficit would be 1750-3000 a week. So it might depend on what you're aiming for.

    No one eats 7000 calories in a day! Do you mean 350-700?
  • battyfitch
    battyfitch Posts: 117 Member
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    No. But I was talking about over a week, not a day.
  • Vegplotter
    Vegplotter Posts: 265 Member
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    Terpnista84 wrote: »
    I know weight loss isn't linear, but does anyone find that your weekly deficit reconciles with the weight you lost?

    It's been 5 days since my weigh-in and it's shown that I have lost 1.5 lbs.
    MFP allows you to dial up the loss you'd like to achieve, in the goals section, you don't have to worry about the maths. If you stick to the calorie level I certainly find that weight loss is pretty linear, after the first week.
    But I'd advise starting with a higher calorie deficit and then ratcheting your consumption up as you get closer to your target weight.
    I should think that there is nothing more depressing than having to reduce calorie intake at the end of a diet.
    The first week of a diet is likely to be the highest loss, so don't bank on 11/2lbs every week on the calorie level you are on.
    Good luck!
  • MaybeLed
    MaybeLed Posts: 250 Member
    edited August 2016
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    Vegplotter wrote: »
    battyfitch wrote: »
    From what I've read - though I can't speak from personal experience - the losses tend to slow down the nearer someone is to the goal/ideal weight. I'm assuming it's because a 3500-7000 calorie deficit might be feasible when someone has 60 odd pounds to lose, but when it gets closer to 10-20lbs a more reasonable deficit would be 1750-3000 a week. So it might depend on what you're aiming for.

    No one eats 7000 calories in a day! Do you mean 350-700?

    I reckon I could eat that much, I've definately logged a 6000 day in the distant past. Just don't make it a challenge!

    In answer to the OP, mine bounces around a lot. In the 130 ish days I've lost quickly, gained, lost slowly and stayed the same.

    Happy scale gives you a ballbark figure where you can set a certain date and it will tell you what you're likely to be based on your trends
  • TangledThread
    TangledThread Posts: 312 Member
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    The math didn't work out for me week to week because of normal fluctuations but it was within 10% over 30 days. It takes careful logging with a food scale for accurate numbers.

    As I got closer to goal the math still worked, but I got hungrier and it was harder to stay on track. MFP kept removing calories and I kept putting them back because I wasn't willing to go lower than 1480. I still lost in equal proportion to what I ate.

    Recently I moved into maintenance and kept on losing while eating more because I had more energy and could work out harder and became even more active in daily life. I'm having a harder time estimating the increased calorie burn so currently my numbers aren't adding up... but give me 3 more months of data points and I'll get it.

    Personally, I don't like to have a set weight/body goal for a certain date because the goals we want are usually too ambitious to be reasonable. Myself, I would like to have defined arm muscles by next month but it isn't going to happen.

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