Why is weight loss so slow?

rikkejanell2014 · December 2016

today is day 25 of my weight loss Journey I have exercised every single day for 1-2 hours a day. I do cardio and weight training. starting w is 207 current weight is 198. I guess I just figured that I would lose way more than what I have so far. there are some days the scale doesn't move for a few days. and yes I log everything I eat and I stay in my calorie deficit every day. I heard about losing inches. I guess I just thought that with the 30 day workout challenge I would lose my weight loss at the beginning. after my 30 Day Workout challenge I'm going to go for 5 days a week working out my goal is to lose a total of 60 pounds.I would like to be 140 by November 2017.

billglitch · December 2016

have you ever considered LCHF? I averaged nearly 4 pounds a week for the first 6 months and about 2.5 since then. That said...you are doing great

Machka9 · December 2016

You've lost 9 lbs in 3.5 weeks. That's pretty quick! In fact, it is faster than the recommended rate of 2 lbs/week.

everher · December 2016

Hate to be the one to break it to you but it's only going to get slower.

As you slim down and your calorie deficit becomes smaller the losses will become slower. You are actually losing weight at a fairly fast pace right now. Enjoy it while it lasts.

queenliz99 · December 2016

You're doing great!

AnvilHead · December 2016

The biggest issue you're facing is unrealistic expectations. 9 pounds lost in less than 4 weeks is pretty fast and it most likely won't continue at that pace indefinitely.

bbell1985 · December 2016

That's actually pretty fast. A good rate. Congrats!

jemhh · December 2016

It's not slow. Your expectations are off.

atjays · December 2016

You're doing really well. It works differently for everyone but the biggest part is getting the habits ingrained and set which it seems like you've done. You'll have slow weeks where the scale doesn't budge and you'll have huge weeks where suddenly you're down several pounds. Keep up what you're doing!

ccsernica · December 2016

Slow? That's fast.

Consider that it probably took you years to put the weight on. Expecting it to fall off instantly just isn't realistic.

GottaBurnEmAll · December 2016

OP, do you understand the general math of weight loss?

Generally speaking, 3500 calories = one pound.

If you're eating 3500 calories less than you burn per week, you can expect to lose around one pound a week. That's a 500 calorie a day deficit.

If you're eating 1000 calories less than you burn a day, you can expect to lose around 2 pounds a week.

In the beginning of dieting, people often lose weight faster than this because they are losing a lot of water weight. After the initial water weight losses stop, weight loss patterns fall into this general "math" range. There might be slight deviations due to inaccuracies in logging.

It doesn't sound like you understand how the numbers work since you've been expecting to lose more, so I thought I'd explain this to you.

Hope this helps.

kejw08 · December 2016

You need more realistic expectations. That is actually quite fast, as cliché as it sounds, you didn't gain it overnight so you won't lose it overnight.

ShammersPink · December 2016

60lb by November is slightly over 1lb/week, which is tough but not unreasonable.

The rate at which you've lost so far is much faster than that, which will include rookie losses, so I personally wouldn't worry about it being too fast - it would be too fast if it continued.

You should be very pleased with your progress, and try to be a bit patient - there will probably be weeks at a time when the scale doesn't move (or moves in the wrong direction).

Christine_72 · December 2016

I didnt weigh as much as you OP, but if you wanna talk slooooowww weight loss... It took me 2 years to lose the 30lbs that i needed to lose! You're doing great

JeromeBarry1 · December 2016

Drink more water. No, more. More, I said, MORE!

vanmep · December 2016

How long did it take you to gain it?

nowine4me · December 2016

That's great progress. Toward the end of my loss phase, I was happy with 1 pound a month.

shadow2soul · December 2016

2.5 lbs a week isn't slow. It's actually pretty fast. Now some of that loss is most likely water weight (everyone experiences a water weight drop at the beginning).

However, if you are wanting to lose mostly fat it's going to be slow. Your body can only use so much of it's fat stores a day (roughly around 30 calories per lb body fat if I remember correctly) and this is usually equals about 1% bodyweight loss per week (roughly around that anyway). If your deficit exceeds what is required for you to lose 1% bodyweight per week, your body will start to use lean body mass for fuel as well as fat. This means that along with burning fat, your body will burn muscle, organs, connective tissues, and other things that are not fat.

For sustainability the recommendations are:
0.5 lbs per week if you have less than 25 lbs to lose
1 lb per week if you have 25 - 50 lbs to lose
1.5 lbs per week if you have 50 - 75 lbs to lose
2 lbs per week if you have 75 + lbs to lose

The NIH recommends 1-2 lbs per week for safe healthy loss.

jadevalentine · December 2016

I didnt weigh as much as you OP, but if you wanna talk slooooowww weight loss... It took me 2 years to lose the 30lbs that i needed to lose! You're doing great

[/quote]

I am impressed with your perserverance Christine_72! Inspirational! I really needed to read this today.

Christine_72 · December 2016

jadevalentine wrote: »

I am impressed with your perserverance Christine_72! Inspirational! I really needed to read this today.

I am a very impatient person, but also very determined and stubborn. Losing so slowly was annoying, and i could have done it quicker if i was stricter. But the time was gonna pass either way, and i was happy and not incredibly hungry all the way through, so i got there eventually, and without white knuckling it through every day

Why is weight loss so slow?

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