Weightloss Help

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Hi I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice please. I starting using MFP again just over 6 weeks ago and also joined the gym. I have been going to the gym 2-3 times a week. My oldest child also started school recently and it's a 20 min walk there to drop him off and I then have the same walk back afterwards. I have usually been having the weekend off.

So I have been very active recently and have been tracking my calories and eating only some of them back. Some days I don't eat any back as exercise decreases my appatite but I then usually eat more calories on my rest days when I am more hungry to compensate.

I have only lost 8lbs in the 6 weeks. Previously when I have been using mfp without being as active I have lost a lot more in this time frame. Has anyone else had this problem? Does exercise actually slow down your weightloss ?

I am a 31 year old female currently weighing 18 stone 11.5lbs. I was at my heaviest a few years ago 22 stone 4lbs.

Any advice would be appreatiated x

Replies

  • Hannahwalksfar
    Hannahwalksfar Posts: 572 Member
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    8lbs in 6 weeks is very good! What are your stats?
  • Fantasyfan882017
    Fantasyfan882017 Posts: 26 Member
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    I am a 31 year old female. I currently weigh 18 stone 11.5lbs and I am 5ft 4.5 in height. Is that the stats you need ? x
  • Hannahwalksfar
    Hannahwalksfar Posts: 572 Member
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    What did mfp say your calories are and what activity level did you put in?
  • Fantasyfan882017
    Fantasyfan882017 Posts: 26 Member
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    Mfp gave me 1620 calories to lose 1.5lbs a week. I put in sedentery and then add in exercise calories on the day I exercise x
  • BHFF
    BHFF Posts: 421 Member
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    Are you getting what you want or do you have more questions?
  • GrizzledSquirrel
    GrizzledSquirrel Posts: 120 Member
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    Sounds like great progress. Keep doing what you’re doing?
  • TheChristianSimone
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    I think your expectations are too high. Just because results happened one-way last time doesn't mean you will have the same this time. I have lost 100lbs twice, how it came off each time was different. Now doing it a 3rd time it's been very different. I'm older, the body has changed etc. Keep making healthy habits consistently and you will get your results.
  • owr35
    owr35 Posts: 6 Member
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    First things first, congratulations on your success!!! Those 8 pounds are still closer to your goal than you were before you started.
    So muscle gain is a funny thing in that for every pound of muscle you gain you will gain a pound of water weight along with it. Therefore, your process might not look like it’s going as fast as you think it is. But this most certainly is not a reason to stop any weight training that you are doing at the gym. With every pound of muscle you gain you’re also going to be burning 50 more calories at rest! Which always blows my mind lol.
    There are two things that come to my mind that might help you fight the feeling of not accomplishing your goal as quickly as you originally thought you could.
    1. There are machines that’ll read your body fat percentage/ muscle mass percentage which will more accurately help you figure out what you’re actually “losing.” Meaning even if you’re gaining muscle mass and the water that comes along with it you can still see the accurate amount of body fat that you have lost.
    2. You can focus on non-scaler victories. I personally have a little black string that I measured my waist with when I first started. When I feel like I’ve stalled I take out the black string and remind myself how far I’ve come. For you this victory might be a pair of pants or a dress- it doesn’t matter but it will always make you feel so good when you accomplish this non-scaler victory.

    I really hoped this helped I know how difficult and frustrating weight loss can be. I’m also sorry for how long my reply was haha I really tried not to ramble. I’d love to become motivational buddies if you’d like!
  • Fantasyfan882017
    Fantasyfan882017 Posts: 26 Member
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    Thanks for all your replies :) I know I'm still losing its just I've been so active lately and just a little disappointed I'm not losing weight a bit faster than I am. I'm not going to give up tho! x
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,449 Member
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    Thanks for all your replies :) I know I'm still losing its just I've been so active lately and just a little disappointed I'm not losing weight a bit faster than I am. I'm not going to give up tho! x

    Don't be disappointed. Instead be happy that you are doing it right. You're not losing muscle while you lose so you won't end up 'skinny fat'. Plus, you'll have a much better chance of keeping your healthy lifestyle if you do it correctly. Hopefully the changes you are making are for life not just for a temporary weight loss.

    Good luck and don't ever give up.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    owr35 wrote: »
    With every pound of muscle you gain you’re also going to be burning 50 more calories at rest! Which always blows my mind lol.

    @owr35

    Your mind may be blown to know that the 50 cals a day per pound of muscle was an enormously inaccurate guess that was debunked years ago.
    It's (sadly!) more like 6 cals / day / pound of muscle.

    If you want to know more this is worth a read - https://bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dissecting-the-energy-needs-of-the-body-research-review.html/