When does the weight start coming off?

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dmspurli
dmspurli Posts: 12 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've eaten clean and worked out for 2 straight weeks now and although I am definitely feeling better mentally and physically, the scale has barely moved. I'm trying to be patient, but I really need to SEE change to stay motivated! How long does it take for the pounds to start falling off?

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  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
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    dmspurli wrote: »
    I've eaten clean and worked out for 2 straight weeks now and although I am definitely feeling better mentally and physically, the scale has barely moved. I'm trying to be patient, but I really need to SEE change to stay motivated! How long does it take for the pounds to start falling off?

    Are you accurately weighing and measuring your food? You may be eating at maintenance unintentionally.

    Also, have you lost anything? Even if it's two pounds, that's a good rate of loss. Slow and steady is key here.

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    Eating "clean" and exercising don't mean much in the grand scheme. You need to be in a calorie deficit. It's possible if you just started exercising that you're carrying extra water weight that can mask weight loss, but you still need to ensure you're eating less than you burn overall.
  • dmspurli
    dmspurli Posts: 12 Member
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    Oh yes, I'm very carefully weighing and documenting every bite I eat. I have also not eaten over 1200 calories in a day.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,208 Member
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    I opted to use CI<CO ... and it took 10 days before the weight started dropping off.
  • fishshark
    fishshark Posts: 1,886 Member
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    eating clean means nothing to weight loss. i could gain weight in chicken breast and vegetables if i eat enough. CICO is what matters.
  • jo_nz
    jo_nz Posts: 548 Member
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    How much is "barely moved"?
    What is your height, weight and goal? If you are already at or close to a healthy weight then it will likely be slow going, and adding in normal fluctuations, your small change may be the start of a good journey to your goal.
  • Dano74
    Dano74 Posts: 503 Member
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    Takes time and is dependent on individual. Took me a month or so before I got real traction. Don't give each up... 2 weeks is just barely in it. Be consistent and keep going knowing it'll happen.
  • dmspurli
    dmspurli Posts: 12 Member
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    jo_nz wrote: »
    How much is "barely moved"?
    What is your height, weight and goal? If you are already at or close to a healthy weight then it will likely be slow going, and adding in normal fluctuations, your small change may be the start of a good journey to your goal.

    I weigh 160 now and my goal is to get 40 pounds off. I've lost 4 pounds in 15 days, but I expected it to be more in the first week or two before it began to taper off.
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    edited October 2016
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    dmspurli wrote: »
    jo_nz wrote: »
    How much is "barely moved"?
    What is your height, weight and goal? If you are already at or close to a healthy weight then it will likely be slow going, and adding in normal fluctuations, your small change may be the start of a good journey to your goal.

    I weigh 160 now and my goal is to get 40 pounds off. I've lost 4 pounds in 15 days, but I expected it to be more in the first week or two before it began to taper off.

    That's 2lb a week, which is what you should be aiming for. I've lost 2lb every week and am happy with that. Just be patient and you'll get there.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,208 Member
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    dmspurli wrote: »
    jo_nz wrote: »
    How much is "barely moved"?
    What is your height, weight and goal? If you are already at or close to a healthy weight then it will likely be slow going, and adding in normal fluctuations, your small change may be the start of a good journey to your goal.

    I weigh 160 now and my goal is to get 40 pounds off. I've lost 4 pounds in 15 days, but I expected it to be more in the first week or two before it began to taper off.

    Sounds good. You're right on track.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    Patience.

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  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
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    afaik it's not physically possible for your body to burn much more than 2 pounds of actual fat in a week. i forget why. past that it has to reach into your muscle stores instead. so sounds to me like you're doing great.
    dmspurli wrote: »
    I weigh 160 now and my goal is to get 40 pounds off. I've lost 4 pounds in 15 days,

    people do shed water when they start out with a deficit, so that can result in bigger scale drops than that. they also lose muscle along with the fat. but in your case you could be
    a) retaining water to help with muscle repair etc since your body's not used to workouts
    and/or
    b) retaining actual muscle since you've begun working out.

    so that could be cancelling out those two noob-deficit effects and you're just getting the steady drop in numbers.
    but I expected it to be more in the first week or two before it began to taper off.

    this gave me a small logic cramp. if you've only been at it for two weeks, how do you know yet that it's 'tapering off'?




  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    dmspurli wrote: »
    jo_nz wrote: »
    How much is "barely moved"?
    What is your height, weight and goal? If you are already at or close to a healthy weight then it will likely be slow going, and adding in normal fluctuations, your small change may be the start of a good journey to your goal.

    I weigh 160 now and my goal is to get 40 pounds off. I've lost 4 pounds in 15 days, but I expected it to be more in the first week or two before it began to taper off.

    You aren't very heavy, so it's not going to be huge losses unless you drastically cut carbs (but then it's mainly glycogen depletion). I would caution you a bit in trying to lose fast because low calories will tend to make it harder to get adequate nutrients, especially enough protein to help maintain muscle mass. Which in all honesty, people actually want fat loss, since the more muscle you have, the leaner you will be and faster your metabolism will be.

    Personally, i try to shoot for a sweet spot where I can lose weight but still get adequate protein and give me enough energy to push through my workouts.
  • zilkah
    zilkah Posts: 207 Member
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    In my opinion that's a pretty big loss. 4 lb in 15 days is A LOT of weight gone! Gj
  • koda_102
    koda_102 Posts: 21 Member
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    I totally get what you are saying, but don't focus on the number on the scale. Focus on your inches around your waist, arms, legs, bust, whatever! You could weigh the same for a while, yet you could be trimming inches and not even know it!
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,567 Member
    edited October 2016
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    You don't write how tall you are, but it's unlikely that any healthy deficit would get you to lose 2lbs per week to start with, thus you are already ahead of the game.

    Think about it this way: if your calorie amount to neither gain, nor lose weight is at around 1800kcal per day then
    - you'd need to eat 1000 less daily to lose 2lbs per week
    -> this would come down to only eating 800kcal per day. This is neither healthy, nor would you lose only fat, but also a lot of good, healthy muscles.
    - Once you've reached your goal weight your body would still carry more fat than you'd like and you might actually look skinny fat.
    - another problem is that muscles burn more energy than fat. Losing muscles means your maintenance calories will be lower than if you mainly lost fat
    - Additionally keep in mind it is much easier to lose muscles due to dieting than to regain it, especially as a woman. Do make sure you keep those muscles! They are also important at age as they prevent osteoporosis!
    -> Slow and steady wins the race! Lose weight slowly, stay patient, remain healthy.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited October 2016
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    weight fluctuates a lot more than the other factors in the kind of lifestyle change you're making, so this is like you're picking the least 'supportive' way of reality-checking whether you're on the right track of not.

    if the scale is making you feel impatient or ripped off or trapped, you may be setting yourself up for a big 'what's the point' fail that doesn't have to happen. i think i'd suggest you try to use other benchmarks such as physical well-being or endurance/strength numbers instead, just for the first month or so. i found that helped to get me into the mental/emotional groove of the change.

    what i did was tell myself 'you've been [who knows how much] overweight for [who knows how long] by now. it is not going to kill you to still be [who knows how much] overweight for a little longer. and besides, what's your alternative? you're going to be who-knows-how-much overweight whether you do this or not. so just chill for six weeks. think about something else for that time. THEN, if you're still not happy about where you're at in six weeks, you can freak out.'

    good luck and hang in.
  • 1958val
    1958val Posts: 7 Member
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    dmspurli wrote: »
    jo_nz wrote: »
    How much is "barely moved"?
    What is your height, weight and goal? If you are already at or close to a healthy weight then it will likely be slow going, and adding in normal fluctuations, your small change may be the start of a good journey to your goal.

    I weigh 160 now and my goal is to get 40 pounds off. I've lost 4 pounds in 15 days, but I expected it to be more in the first week or two before it began to taper off.


    you are doing well it takes a lot to get a little off i ha ve lost 2 kilos which is 4lb 4oz in 25 days and i am happy with that it is only from keeping away from the sugar that my weigjt is starting to move
  • 1958val
    1958val Posts: 7 Member
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    you are doing well keep going at the healthy amount of weight loss
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    This is a long story, so hear me out. I track my net calories daily. I accumulate my net calories in a spreadsheet.
    I weigh daily. I track my weight in the same spreadsheet. This spreadsheet has a start date. From my start date, I have my start weight. My total calorie deficit has been accumulated since my start date. Each day I calculate (total calorie deficit/3500) to see the number of pounds I should have lost if the science and my logging and the food and exercise databases are accurate. The science is accurate and has been proven repeatedly. The weakness in this are my food diary, which can be sloppy, and my exercises, which can be sloppy. I put real effort into not being sloppy with my food and exercise logging. Each day I calculate the percentage difference between my actual weight and my weight as predicted by my calorie deficit. Almost every day, the percentage difference is less than 1%. That is, if you are honest and accurate with your food and exercise logging, accurate with your activity level, and have accumulated a 3500 calorie deficit in a week, you could still show zero weight loss. Stay with the program. Stay in the calorie deficit. If your total deficit grows to 7000, you are very likely to see the scale move down. You're a woman. Your monthly cycle of menses can impose 5-10 lb swings in weight based only on water retention and TOM. You have to be patient, knowledgeable, and stubborn to lose weight, but you can do it.

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