Question about weight loss, feeling disappointed.

mjleirstein
mjleirstein Posts: 4 Member
edited November 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all, I've generally had great success since starting MyFitnessPal. I started 40 days ago weighing in at 263.2 lbs. The first four weeks I lost several pounds and and weighed in last week at 235 lbs. I have been restricting myself to 1500 calories per day or less, but always more than 1200 calories. I've also started to be more active. I am working out upwards of an hour per day. This includes weight training and cardio.

As you can see from above, I've really strived to make healthy choices in my diet and become more serious about my fitness. During the first four weeks using MyFitnessPal I averaged 7lbs. weight loss per week. I only weigh in once per week (Saturday morning). During my weigh in today I lost only 1.6 lbs. I was highly disappointed in this amount. I felt like this last week was the best I've been with my eating habits and my workouts were ramped up in intensity. I was really hoping for the first time in several years I was going to be under 230lbs.

This disappointment will subside throughout the day and I will not allow myself a pity party with garbage food and beer. I will stick to these healthy changes I've made.

I'm just hoping someone might be able to explain why I had such a low amount of weight loss this week. It just seemed like it should have been around my average. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

Replies

  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
    Hi.... you are doing great but please adjust your expectations. In the beginning you will lose quickly due to water weight and waste in system. You can safely lose around 1% per week once you get past the initial drop so your losses will be lower 1-2 pounds per week. Men shouldn't net under 1500 calories, and make sure you are getting enough protein so you minimize loss of lean mass.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    Adding to the chorus - 7 pounds a week is in no way sustainable! Welcome to slow and steady weight loss :smile: A male your weight should never net under 1500 (I'd say closer to at least 1,800 really but that's just off-the-cuff). Have you set up your diet profile here and chosen a rate of loss of 2 lb/week (the max allowed per MFP)? What calorie goal did MFP give you? Eat that, plus the calories earned back for exercise. Your body and energy levels will thank you for it.
  • mjleirstein
    mjleirstein Posts: 4 Member
    I didn't think water loss would be the issue. I'm drinking around 3/4 a gallon per day. This does make sense though since I'm probably sweating it out as fast as I drink it. I agree though I probably need to increase my calorie intake. The issue is I feel full after every meal. I'm eating 5 times per day. I really need to increase my breakfast calorie intake and keep my other meals about where they are. Thank you all for the advise and tips. Much appreciated.
  • Luna3386
    Luna3386 Posts: 888 Member
    The water loss is from glycogen stores.

    I personally struggle to see how you are full, I'm eating about your amount and I weigh 60 pounds less. Are you using a good scale? This is the only way to be 100% accurate.
  • mjleirstein
    mjleirstein Posts: 4 Member
    MFP says my calorie intake for a 2lbs weight loss per week should be 2240 calories. As I said though, I'm eating 5 meals sometimes 6 meals per day and I'm stuffed after each one. I've noticed breakfast is the one meal where I can add calories. I'm usually around 100-150 calories and I should be around 600+.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    edited May 2017
    Check out this thread:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
  • Luna3386
    Luna3386 Posts: 888 Member
    I'd personally eat that much. As a short female I envy you.

    Try adding in more nutrient dense foods- nut butters, whole eggs, etc. If you have plenty of calories you can consume beef over chicken, etc. Of course I can't see your food dairy.

    Eating enough while lifting is important. And if you are new to lifting? You'll see some gains!

  • njitaliana
    njitaliana Posts: 809 Member
    What you lost those first weeks was water loss. It isn't healthy or reasonable to continue losing 7 lbs a week after those first few weeks. Now you are losing at the rate you should be losing at. I think it sounds like you aren't eating enough calories, though. If you are too full to add foods, you might want to add some more fats to your foods/salads. Maybe add a glass of milk with a meal to increase your calories.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    If you are feeling full after every meal, simply substitute higher calorie foods for what you are eating. For example, instead of skim milk drink 2% or whole. Or instead of a boiled egg you could make scrambled, which require a bit of oil. I'm not saying that all of your additional calories must come from fat but those are pretty easy substitutes to make.

    All in all, good work. Just adjust your expectations a bit and understand that a 1.6 pound loss is fantastic. At a certain point you will look back at this thread and laugh at the fact that you were disappointed with it :)
  • ugofatcat
    ugofatcat Posts: 385 Member
    I am very interested to see what you are eating on 1,500 calories and feeling stuffed.

    I agree with @Luna3386 and am struggling to see how you are full. I eat between 1,800-2,200 a day (and sometimes 3,000) and I feel hungry frequently, and I weight about 80 pounds less then you. OP, do you think you could open your journal?
  • vivelajackie
    vivelajackie Posts: 321 Member
    When I started a couple years ago there were a couple of weeks where I lost 10lbs in a week. All of it water, and expected since I was over 400lbs. The progress slowed to 10lbs in a month, to 1-2lbs a week, which is more to be expected. I would try to add more calories like others have said. You don't want to get to a point where you have to lower your calories and have nowhere to go, since 1500 seems to be the baseline for guys.
  • Allie2060
    Allie2060 Posts: 32 Member
    I had the same experience. Lots of weight coming off the first couple of month. After that 1-2lbs per week. I'm losing weight under a doctor's supervison and she said this is totally normal and to be expected. She also reminded me that I didn't put on the weight quickly, so not to expect to lose it quickly. Try weighing yourself monthly instead of weekly, which might not feel as discouraging. Good luck to you.
  • mjleirstein
    mjleirstein Posts: 4 Member
    Ugofatcat, I'm not saying I'm full after every single meal. Of course there are times I'm still hungry. I think my board is open now for you to review. Feel free and let me know if you see something I should or shouldn't be doing.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Reimput your goal into MFP with your new weight, as one gets lighter one needs fewer calories, and to lose 1.5 a week as you now probably have only 50-75 lbs to lose.
    (Re-do your calorie goal every 10lbs lost, and at under 50lbs to lose drop to 1lbs a week)

    Eat all those calories, plus at least 50% of your exercise calories. MFP is set up for calories to be eaten back from exercise, however as most burns are estimates, start with 50% and adjust as needed.

    Buy yourself a digital food scale and weigh all foods, measure liquids with cups and spoons, for greater accuracy.

    1200-1500 is too low for any man unless he is short, light, and older, and could lead to problems down the road.

    As others have said the big loss at the beginning was more water than fat.

    Cheers, h.
  • Verity1111
    Verity1111 Posts: 3,309 Member
    edited May 2017
    mjleirstein wrote: »
    MFP says my calorie intake for a 2lbs weight loss per week should be 2240 calories. As I said though, I'm eating 5 meals sometimes 6 meals per day and I'm stuffed after each one. I've noticed breakfast is the one meal where I can add calories. I'm usually around 100-150 calories and I should be around 600+.

    Losing 7lbs a week means you lost excess water your body was holding while you were overweight and less active. This will not happen every week without starving yourself and making yourself very sick. 2-4lbs per week is the most I would say can or should be done every week and 1-2lbs is way more likely. 2-4 takes tons of hard work and restriction and part of your loss will still be excess water from reducing sodium intake and increasing exercise etc. Also you may even have a week where you lose nothing if exercise is new because muscle repair after exercise requires extra water in the body and that water will fall back off later after a couple weeks if you stick to the plan. 30 lbs in 40 days is actually A LOT. Way more than what will be possible later. Even 20lbs in a month is nearly impossible unless you're very overweight. I lost 21lbs in 6 weeks and it was considered extreme weight loss by many people.
  • Mandamanda93
    Mandamanda93 Posts: 213 Member
    In addition to what everyone else has said, take a little pressure off of yourself! Two weeks ago I was part of a challenge that involved weighing every day for 10 days and I was so stressed about getting under the "obesity" line that I ended up weighing the exact same at the end of the challenge that I did at the beginning.
    Three days later (of not weighing at all), I had dropped three pounds and came in nicely below obesity, leaving me just overweight.
    Stress and pressure are bad for you! In addition to all the water weight, sustainable weight loss, and and macro talk going on here, manage your expectations and focus on how you're feeling. Drink enough water, get enough sleep, and don't stress so much about reaching an ambitious goal. You're doing incredibly! Keep it up, and you will get there.
    Take care =)
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