Seeing Benefits

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Supafly666
Supafly666 Posts: 4 Member
in Getting Started
Morning All,

Still quite new here. I started using My Fitness Pal about 2 weeks ago now.

I have nigh on cut sugar out of my diet all together, no sugar in brews, no sweets, chocolate etc.

I have also been staying under my daily goal (calories, fat etc)

Cut out takeaways

And I have been exercising frequently, I walk around 2 miles to work every morning at quite a brisk pace and i also have around half an hour on my exercise bike in the evening.

I was just wanting to know if anyone has any information on when I should start seeing some benefits of this change? From weighing myself the first time I was 4lbs lighter than when I last weighed myself a while back but it just seems to have stopped.

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Two weeks isn't much time if you don't have a regular schedule of weighing yourself and the understanding of what are your normal non-calorie related weight fluctuations. 4lb drop from a "while ago" isn't great data. Many people find even if their calorie balance is extremely consistent their weight trend isn't and need to adjust their expectations accordingly to a longer term view.

    Plus if you have just ramped up your exercise it's common for people to get soreness which results in water retention.

    What might help you to track progress is: weigh yourself regularly (frequency of your choice), take progress photos as visual changes are very subtle week to week, take and track body measurements.

    BTW - your "goal" could be to gain, maintain or lose weight and losing or gaining goals can be at different speeds. But the idea is to try to get close to your goal not to deliberately undercut it (if that's what you are doing).

    BTW2 - exercise is supposed to be neutral as regards calorie balance if you are using this site as it's designed (your calorie goal is only for a day with no purposeful exercise).
  • Supafly666
    Supafly666 Posts: 4 Member
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    Hi, thanks for your reply. Yeah as I mentioned im quite new to all this. I was just looking to find out if there is a point when someone SHOULD start seeing some benefits, I wasn't complaining at doing it for two weeks and not seeing results.

    I used to eat quite unhealthily previously, like full bars of chocolate and packs of biscuits in work with a burger or something for lunch. Very fatty takeaways for tea then probably more snacks before going to bed.

    Since starting MFP i've swapped the snacking at work to a few rice cakes (snack a jacks) and drinking plenty of water and now my tea usually consists of meat/fish and veg and stopped the snacking after tea.

    Thanks for the advice for the progression photos though i will start doing that.

    In terms of my exercise, my walk to work is something I have done every day for the past 4 years, always at roughly the same pace. I used to cycle to work, so i thought it would be good to get the exercise bike. But in no way do i try and over exert myself though.

    But, hey this is why im writing in here :smiley: im looking for any advice or any recommendations that would help me in my goals.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    For seeing (in the mirror) it's very variable - the more people have to lose the bigger change in weight is required to show up. I hit a point where every couple of pounds shows up in better muscle definition, flatter stomach, vascularity etc... but when I've got quite a few pounds to lose I can't see changes and have to just go by my weight trend.

    But that trend jumps around a lot (5lbs up from a Chinese meal for example).

    There really isn't a way you can say for everyone that a certain number of weeks will show up on the bathroom scales as progress. When I first started calorie counting I would say it took 6 weeks to accurately dial in my calories for an overall 1lb/week loss - but that loss was still quite a wiggly trend line for the nxt few months.

    Many people on here weigh daily and use a weight trending app to track their trends. I weigh daily but just keep a casual eye on my trend.

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