Tips to lose more than a pound a week.

angierex13
angierex13 Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been eating healthy, stopped soda intake all together, I work out and lift and I stay with in my calorie goals. I'm not getting the results I want I've only lost about 4 pounds since beginning of April and I hoped for double that . I have 65 pound goal from start at 215 and at 211 now Meaning still have 61 pounds to go! Any tips would be great

Replies

  • buffinlovin
    buffinlovin Posts: 100 Member
    Congratulations on the 4 pound loss :)

    With the amount of weight you want to lose, that seems like a healthy rate of loss. Anything more than that and you may run the risk of losing lean muscle mass.

    If you are staying within your calorie goals, are you measuring your food with a scale? or with measuring cups/spoons? I know someone will come along with links to some really great posts that detail why a scale is better for solid foods (liquids should still be done in cups/spoons). If you're not measuring with a scale, you are, most likely, eating more calories than you realize because the portions are off. If I could recommend anything, it would be to invest in a food scale if you don't have one :)

    I started my weight loss journey on 1/19/17, and I've currently lost 18lbs to date. It's slow, but I am making choices that I can carry with me into maintenance. I started at 219lbs and am at 201lbs :) I am on target 80% of the time, over target but under maintenance 10% of the time, and I give myself 10% to enjoy what I'd like (I'm still mindful, but I don't stress over every bite I eat).

    Contrary to a lot of the articles and ads and books out on the market, you don't need to cut out certain foods, or eat certain foods, or only do XYZ to lose weight. The calories you eat need to be less than the calories you burn, that's it. How you choose to manage those calories (cutting soda, eating cake, different types of diets aka Atkins, Keto, South Beach, Vegan, etc) is up to you.

    Weight loss is also not linear. A lot of things can affect it: Hormones, Water Retention, Extra/Tougher Exercise (causes temporary water retention to repair muscle tissue). If you like data, I'd recommend weighing every day at the same time under same conditions (I weigh after I get up in the morning, after going to the bathroom, while the water is heating up in my shower). This can give you more insight when you see your weight fluctuate.

    Good luck in your journey :)
  • angierex13
    angierex13 Posts: 6 Member
    edited May 2017
    My calorie intake is 1400-1500 , I measure mainly by eyeballing . And measuring cups with meat I do the eyeball as deck of cards size
  • beanz744
    beanz744 Posts: 221 Member
    u r on the right path but ur system needs a little treak.

    1. buy food measuring tools
    2. lift heavier n heavier weight as long as u can handle it. if u can lift 30 ibs with 12 reps then try 32.5 or 35 for 6 reps n then 8 reps n so on
    3. 4 pounds r nothing to sneeze it. CONGRATS!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    angierex13 wrote: »
    My calorie intake is 1400-1500 , I measure mainly by eyeballing . And measuring cups with meat I do the eyeball as deck of cards size

    Some people are good at eyeballing....others aren't. Some foods, different shapes, etc.....just aren't easy to measure.

    Using more accurate food measures (digital scale is best) will help ensure you are really eating 1400-1500 calories.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    angierex13 wrote: »
    I've been eating healthy, stopped soda intake all together, I work out and lift and I stay with in my calorie goals. I'm not getting the results I want I've only lost about 4 pounds since beginning of April and I hoped for double that . I have 65 pound goal from start at 215 and at 211 now Meaning still have 61 pounds to go! Any tips would be great

    you are losing a pound per week almost, I don't see a problem.

    I would make sure that you have a food scale and use it, and make sure that you are accurately logging.
  • elizabethmcr
    elizabethmcr Posts: 6 Member
    I've only lost eight pounds in the last six months. I wish it were double that number but I've come to accept that as long as the scale is moving down I am totally content.

    I see tracking calories and weight as a lifelong commitment for myself as I have always struggled to maintain.

    Don't stop even when you aren't seeing the results you want!!
  • ScottishRob1
    ScottishRob1 Posts: 49 Member
    My wife has been on MFP for 3 months now and has lost 16 pounds, she is almost fanatical about weighing her food and counting everything. She is unable to exercise much because of past injuries but I think her weight loss and yours are very healthy and sustainable. I was able to lose about 25 pounds the first 6 weeks but since then it has leveled off to about a pound a week and I am also pretty careful about counting the calories. Keep up the good work, the long view pays off!
  • OY74NmFGBL
    OY74NmFGBL Posts: 384 Member
    I agree when I first started I weighed and measured everything to make sure I was eating the right portions. I still measure some things but now I can eyeball some. I started at 210 when I started seeing a RD and she started me on a 1200 Cal plan and it worked well for me. I averaged about 1 or 2 a week. After being on the plan a while I tweaked things some like switching from whipping cream in my coffee to half and half. That small change made a difference in my fat loss for sure. I have since switched to 2% milk in my coffee. In the beginning I didn't have much time to get the exercise I wanted in but still was able to lose doing what I was doing with my foods. Almost one year later (6/2/17) I'm down 73.5.

    Stick to it. Your results are normal and slowly but surely the pounds will come off ☺️
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    edited May 2017
    angierex13 wrote: »
    My calorie intake is 1400-1500 , I measure mainly by eyeballing . And measuring cups with meat I do the eyeball as deck of cards size

    If eating 1400-1500 per day should result in 2 pounds per week weight loss, and you're only getting 1 pound per week - then eyeballing is not working out for you.

    Two choices: keep going as you are, and be satisfied with the current rate of weight loss. Or improve your logging accuracy, which will mean cutting back on food intake to actually eating 1400-1500. because right now you're eating ~500 per day more than you think on average.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    angierex13 wrote: »
    My calorie intake is 1400-1500 , I measure mainly by eyeballing . And measuring cups with meat I do the eyeball as deck of cards size

    thats your problem ..get a food scale and weigh as much as you can ...
  • stelly76
    stelly76 Posts: 120 Member
    elizabethmcr wrote: »
    I've only lost eight pounds in the last six months. I wish it were double that number but I've come to accept that as long as the scale is moving down I am totally content.

    I see tracking calories and weight as a lifelong commitment for myself as I have always struggled to maintain.

    Don't stop even when you aren't seeing the results you want!!

    So true! Don't get discouraged! Healthy weight loss takes patience.

  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    angierex13 wrote: »
    My calorie intake is 1400-1500 , I measure mainly by eyeballing . And measuring cups with meat I do the eyeball as deck of cards size

    you made this one easy for us! this is your problem right here - obviously eyeballing is not working (it rarely does)!
  • moonstroller
    moonstroller Posts: 210 Member
    How much more than a pound per week? It's all a matter of how much you eat and how much you burn. Cut calories and increase your exercise routine until you're losing what you want, just remember even going to the extreme will still result in weeks where you won't lose what you want.
  • Spartan_Gingi
    Spartan_Gingi Posts: 194 Member
    Oh man, please don't eyeball! I did that 20 lbs ago, and only really started to lose after I bought a digital scale off Amazon for less that $20.00. Boy, was my estimating wrong!
  • angierex13
    angierex13 Posts: 6 Member
    Welp. I think I will go out and buy a scale today!! Maybe that's the solution!! Thank you everyone for the tips and encouragement!!
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    angierex13 wrote: »
    Welp. I think I will go out and buy a scale today!! Maybe that's the solution!! Thank you everyone for the tips and encouragement!!

    It will make a big difference! Good luck and keep at it!
  • wonderwomom03
    wonderwomom03 Posts: 1 Member
    I started out 3/20/17...at 213. 7 1/2 weeks later I am at 186. That's a 3.6lbs per week average this whole time. I started off exercising short amounts of time, got all the way up to an hour on the elliptical and 30 minutes on the treadmill. For the last week or so I have decided to just do an hour on level 10 with an average rpm of 68. I do this 5 times a week and limit myself to between 1100-1300 calories. I've found great substitutions for my favorite things. I don't starve myself, just chose salads and soups over other things. It was so much easier then I thought it would be.

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