Probably overthinking...but demotivating!

khalikhoopri
khalikhoopri Posts: 81 Member
edited November 23 in Motivation and Support
Hello all,

I am a serial starter who is stuck at 182 lbs! I just re-started my journey only two days ago. During these two days I have been maintaining my calorie intake to 1600 calories (I am around 5`6``). One my first day in addition to maintaining my 1600 cal I did >13k steps, 20 mins of elliptical, and 1 hour of power step class; the next morning I was 178 lbs! The following day (day 2) I was very sore but I maintained my cardio and did about 14k steps, alongwith some home (upper body) workouts, but the next day (today morning) I was around 180 lbs! Now I may be overthinking but this has happened quite often in the past, leading me to give up. I usually maintain my calorie intake 1600 calories and workout like hell, only to find out I have gained weight after a week or 10 days. I am assuming that it is not due to muscle gain (as it probably doesn't happen this fast, or overnight). Should I be doing just cardio to shed the pounds before starting weight training? Should I wait to start taking protein shakes (I haven't started it, just bought it) for few weeks. Even if I am able to see a bit of decrease in my weight it would be motivating to continue. I really don't want to give up this time, so any help would be highly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
p.s. I would be doing intermittent fasting this time just to change up things a bit.

Replies

  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    Sounds normal. Big water loss first day, equalizes soon after. Body holds water to help repair muscles, so maybe a gain after hard exercise. The first week or two the scales just goes crazy. Stick with it. Use a weight tracker like happy scale or weightgrapher and pretty much ignore the first week.
  • khalikhoopri
    khalikhoopri Posts: 81 Member
    corinasue1143 wrote: »
    Sounds normal. Big water loss first day, equalizes soon after. Body holds water to help repair muscles, so maybe a gain after hard exercise. The first week or two the scales just goes crazy. Stick with it. Use a weight tracker like happy scale or weightgrapher and pretty much ignore the first week.

    Thanks for your reply. At the cost of sounding very impatient :smile: when should I really start seeing that 1.5 lbs loss per week?
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,534 Member
    Change your thinking.

    Make a plan, stay away from the scale. Increases in activity cause short term water retention in muscles. You have to stick with your program long enough for a good trial period.

    All the gadgets and calculators create the impression we can run our bodies like machines and lose weight. There are just too many variables and gray areas in calorie counting to be that exact. That's why we need patience and experimentation. Give things more time.
  • khalikhoopri
    khalikhoopri Posts: 81 Member
    88olds wrote: »
    Change your thinking.

    Make a plan, stay away from the scale. Increases in activity cause short term water retention in muscles. You have to stick with your program long enough for a good trial period.

    All the gadgets and calculators create the impression we can run our bodies like machines and lose weight. There are just too many variables and gray areas in calorie counting to be that exact. That's why we need patience and experimentation. Give things more time.

    Thanks :smile: will try to be a bit more patient...
  • Out_of_Bubblegum
    Out_of_Bubblegum Posts: 2,220 Member
    khalikhoopri wrote: »
    corinasue1143 wrote: »
    Sounds normal. Big water loss first day, equalizes soon after. Body holds water to help repair muscles, so maybe a gain after hard exercise. The first week or two the scales just goes crazy. Stick with it. Use a weight tracker like happy scale or weightgrapher and pretty much ignore the first week.

    Thanks for your reply. At the cost of sounding very impatient :smile: when should I really start seeing that 1.5 lbs loss per week?

    It's pretty normal to feel that way, especially in the beginning.... but here are a few things to think about:

    1 - Even if you lose 1 lb per week on average instead of 1.5.... think about the difference 6 months from now, how you will look, and feel.

    2 - Where would you be in 6 months if you DIDN'T stick to it?


    It always takes longer than we want... but it DOES happen - in it's own time. Keep logging, and keep working, because it does work.



  • khalikhoopri
    khalikhoopri Posts: 81 Member
    bwmalone wrote: »
    khalikhoopri wrote: »
    corinasue1143 wrote: »
    Sounds normal. Big water loss first day, equalizes soon after. Body holds water to help repair muscles, so maybe a gain after hard exercise. The first week or two the scales just goes crazy. Stick with it. Use a weight tracker like happy scale or weightgrapher and pretty much ignore the first week.

    Thanks for your reply. At the cost of sounding very impatient :smile: when should I really start seeing that 1.5 lbs loss per week?

    It's pretty normal to feel that way, especially in the beginning.... but here are a few things to think about:

    1 - Even if you lose 1 lb per week on average instead of 1.5.... think about the difference 6 months from now, how you will look, and feel.

    2 - Where would you be in 6 months if you DIDN'T stick to it?


    It always takes longer than we want... but it DOES happen - in it's own time. Keep logging, and keep working, because it does work.



    Thanks for your uplifting words :smile:
  • PixelPuff
    PixelPuff Posts: 902 Member
    Wait and see your trends over a month. We don't use linearly, it bounces around... Keep an eye on the downward trend overall.

    I hit a point where my weight didn't change for a month, I'd woosh down at my period... Rinse and repeat. But it'll vary day to day.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    It took about two weeks for me to see some progress on the weight loss, so don't give up!
  • khalikhoopri
    khalikhoopri Posts: 81 Member
    DebLaBounty wrote: »
    It took about two weeks for me to see some progress on the weight loss, so don't give up!

    Thanks...really gives a good perspective :-)
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