1000 calories a day and working out - no loss this week

With 20 pounds to go expect weight loss to be in the 1/2 - 1 pound a week range. If you've gained 1 pound while eating 1,000 calories a day.....it's not fat.....it's water (or waste). High sodium, time of month, sore muscles all contribute to weight fluctuation.

If you lost 6 pounds the first week most of that was water weight.....were you low carbing by chance? When you start a new diet you drop lot's of water (and a little fat) the first week.

1,000 calories is way too low to be getting proper nutrition.....unless you are 4'8" tall or something. MFP will give you a 1200 calorie minimum BEFORE exercise. Logging exercise gives you more calories.

Fast weight loss will also help you lose a fair amount of lean muscle mass. Change your weekly weight loss goal to 1/2 pound a week, add strength training and meet protein goals to help you retain lean muscle. You don't want to end up skinny-fat.

I agree that much of that first 6 pounds was probably water. Ironically make sure you are drinking lots of water to help your body get rid of the excess. Also some people lose in bunches, like down 6 up 2, down 4 up 1, down .5 etc. Be patient. If you already lost 60 you know this works. I am going through the same thing you are and can tell my rings get tight when I gain so I know it's water. I'm on my last 20 or so and have lowered my expectations to half a pound a week. I want to be sure when I go into maintenance that I don't gain weight so want to lose the last bit slowly. Look at it this way you are going in the right direction ultimately.

clairewoodall83 wrote: »

Hi all,

I kick-started my diet in the new year and lost 6 lbs in the first week. We're on day 4 of the second week and I've gained a lb.

What's am I doing wrong this week?

I'm sticking to 1000 - 1200 calories and running 4 times a week (about 4k).

I've lost 60lbs a couple of years ago doing this and I want to loose about another 20 lbs.

Can anyone suggest where I'm going wrong?

Places where you may be going wrong:
1. Having unrealistic expectations - with 20 lbs to lose, a goal of 0.5 lb/week is appropriate.
2. Not eating enough to fuel your body and your workouts... If you are regularly eating 1000-1200 AND exercising on top of that then you are undereating, risking not getting adequate nutrition, burning out, fatigue, loss of lean body mass. You really should be NETTING at least 1200 cals, and probably more since you have only 20 lbs to lose.
3. Not understanding that weight naturally fluctuates and isn't going to be a straight linear downward trend. The 6 lbs you lost in week one was likely a lot of water weight "woosh" from after the holidays, many of us experienced the same. Then your weight likely normalized, and as things settle down you will probably lose again, but you should be losing more slowly and it won't be consistent from week to week.
4. Not logging accurately - are you using a food scale?
5. All of the above.

KusiQuyllur2015 wrote: »

We have similar goals. I'm also jogging every day and eating around 1100 cal. Feel free to add me.

Your goal is to under eat and lose lean body mass?

Are your weigh-ins at the same time of day? 1/2 lb a week seems painfully slow imho, but probably sustainable and healthy!

Michelle45Quest wrote: »

Good Morning Cheryl,
I'm new to being really serious about my weight loss at this point in my life. Can you give me some meal plans or information on how you lost the weight, thus far.

If you send me a friend request you can see my meals by day. I generally try to eat between 1200 and 1300 with my exercise. Lately I haven't been perfect due to my frustration at my rate of loss slowing down but am now averaging about half a pound a week. I eat less calories in the early part of the day and more in the evening which I know is opposite of what I should do but that just works for me as the evenings always find me wanting to snack. Boom Chick a pop from Costco is my friend. It is 250 calories in 7 1/2 cups and I usually eat half of that. You will see it on my eating diary most days.

For exercise because I started out at 232 pounds I just walked. I got a Garmin Vivofit 2 and decided to start slow. I set it for 4000 steps and now am up to 8000. Some days I get more but other than that I don't do a ton of exercise. I would like to start lifting to build muscle. I bought a treadmill this winter because it was getting too cold to walk outside and I do a hill program which really increases my heart rate. If I'm at work and busy in the evening I walk the mall on my break.

As time went by I began to substitute things in my diet to try to improve my health. I met with a dietician and she encouraged me to eat more vegetables so I started spiralizing. I use alot of zuchinni in place of pasta. This way I reduce carbs and calories and increase nutrition. I am getting so I prefer veggie noodles over standard pasta which used to be my favorite food.

In the beginning I allowed myself a cheat MEAL (not day) once every two weeks or so but I would still try not to overdo it. This is a dangerous area and I was very careful and often still stayed within my calories but would allow myself a meal out or something I wasn't usually eating much of like bread. I am reluctant to even share this because it is so easy to overdo it but I am being honest about how I got here. I rarely do that anymore because I just couldn't stand the thought of going over. As time has gone by I can no longer overreat because I get a stomach ache. My stomach has shrunk! I feel better when I eat healthy and I no longer miss alot of the stuff I used to eat.

Hang in there this really works if you stick with it and you really do need to log EVERYTHING you eat. That is what keeps us honest.

When I first lost ~60 lbs, my weight loss was all over the place, even when I ate the exact same meal plan weeks I a row. I could be stalled for a week and then lose more weight. I could go up a few pounds. As long as you are consistent, it will go down. Pay attention (totally giving myself this pep talk right now too) to the overall trend of your weight, not week-to-week weigh-ins or you'll drive yourself insane.