Slowwwwww

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blueberrymuff98
blueberrymuff98 Posts: 10 Member
in Motivation and Support
I’m doing it all- tracking, walking, eating well and staying in calorie goal- the weight is decreasing so slow! I’ve only lost 4 pounds as of last weigh in—and that was 3 weeks!! I’m a 55 year old woman who a year ago had hysterectomy- is this why?
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  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    edited January 2021
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    Do you use a food scale to weigh everything you eat/drink? If not, you’re probably eating more calories than you think you are. Start there.

    Four pounds in three weeks is great! You may just need to change your expectations!

    Calling @AnnPT77 for the over 55, can’t lose weight answer.
  • blueberrymuff98
    blueberrymuff98 Posts: 10 Member
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    Thankyou! Yes I use measuring tools and scale - maybe I am expecting too much !
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    You are doing great! Weight loss is slow, as it should be.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    blueberrymuff98 wrote: »
    Thankyou! Yes I use measuring tools and scale - maybe I am expecting too much !

    Great! I don’t know how much you have to lose in total, but if it’s under 75 pounds, 1 to 1.5 pounds per week is perfect!

    Shows like The Biggest Loser really skew what reasonable weight loss should look like. That isn’t reality.

    You really want to focus on learning to eat in a way that will work when you hit maintenance weight.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,527 Member
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    1lb a week is good safe weight loss.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • blueberrymuff98
    blueberrymuff98 Posts: 10 Member
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    Thanks for encouraging words! I weigh tomorrow and will see what happens-I remember when I was younger that losing weight was so much easier-it seemed I could just think it and it would happen! Not so anymore! I’m going to keep on plugging on though- for my health!!
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    its a good, sustainable rate of loss.

    I wouldn't change anything.
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,466 Member
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    In weight loss never use the words only and lost in the same sentence. If you’re losing it’s working.

    If you want to be a bit disappointed, fine. Adjust your plan to try to make it better? Fine. But if your brain is trying to tell you this is a disaster or failure, that’s your brain trying to trick you into quitting. Personally I think our brains hate weight loss. There’s no other reasonable explanation. Keep working. Never quit.
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Slow and steady wins the race! Not that weight loss is a race, really. But yeah, you're doing amazing, keep doing what you're doing because it's obviously working!

    Also seconding the suggestion to look for "non-scale victories" ("NSVs"). Those are the effects of losing weight and improving your fitness that don't have anything to do with the number on the scale. Your clothes fit better, it's easier to do daily activities like take out the garbage or carry in groceries, you achieve a fitness goal like walk for X minutes or do X number of reps with good form, people notice and comment on your loss, etc.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    blueberrymuff98 wrote: »
    Thankyou! Yes I use measuring tools and scale - maybe I am expecting too much !

    Yeah...probably need to temper expectations. 4 Lbs in 3 weeks is a good rate of loss.
    blueberrymuff98 wrote: »
    Thanks for encouraging words! I weigh tomorrow and will see what happens-I remember when I was younger that losing weight was so much easier-it seemed I could just think it and it would happen! Not so anymore! I’m going to keep on plugging on though- for my health!!

    I would wager that most of us were more generally active when we were younger. Even when I was a teenager interning in an office setting, there was far more moving around going on than now where everything is automated and/or done on a computer.

    The first time I lost weight I was in my mid 20s...didn't really need to lose weight, but I decided to cut out sodas at the urging of my dentist. I lost about 10 Lbs like nothing...I also didn't own a car and walked and road my bike everywhere and worked landscape construction. I actually thought something was wrong with me and made a Dr. appt because I wasn't trying to lose weight or anything...I was already pretty lean.
  • blueberrymuff98
    blueberrymuff98 Posts: 10 Member
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    You guys are terrific! I did also forget to add I had foot surgery 11/17- and am walking about a mile -slowly!! Trying to do this every day if my foot feels like it- have to work again 2/20- I really thought I’d be down more by then but I will take whatever it is by then—I agree! Our brains hate weight loss! I grew up with food as a positive reinforcement (my mom loved to eat) anyways I do sometimes feel deprived when I would like a chip or cookie!! Learning that those empty calories won’t make me any healthier!!
  • elmusho1989
    elmusho1989 Posts: 321 Member
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    4 pounds in 3 weeks is good! It's slow and steady I'm afraid. I like to reward myself at milestones. Coming up to 14pounds now so I'll do something for that. Good to keep up motivation!
  • MsCzar
    MsCzar Posts: 1,042 Member
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    blueberrymuff98 wrote: »
    ... I do sometimes feel deprived when I would like a chip or cookie!! Learning that those empty calories won’t make me any healthier!!

    Sometimes, I declare a Snack Day. I had one of those yesterday: Milk chocolate, almond/oat/raisin no-bake cookies, popcorn (twice!), a bowl of chili, pork rinds and soft-serve "ice cream" made from frozen bananas and strawberries. It all fit into my calorie goal and quelled all my feelings of snack deprivation. I was back on my two meal plan today - satisfied with no regrets.

  • blueberrymuff98
    blueberrymuff98 Posts: 10 Member
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    MsCzar - I would like recipe for the no bake cookies! I will freeze them and take one out when needed!
    Speaking of motivation- I think it’s here!


  • MsCzar
    MsCzar Posts: 1,042 Member
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    My recipe varies from time to time, depending on what's in the cupboard - peanut, almond or cashew butter, a few squares of milk chocolate, or a white melting chocolate wafers, etc. here's how I made the last batch:

    Calories per ounce
    146

    6 Ingredients

    0.66 cup Rolled Oats

    3 ounces crushed almonds

    6 tablespoons Anthony's Organic Raw cocoa nibs

    1 Tablespoon honey

    2 tablespoons Peanut Butter

    20 dark chocolate melting wafers

    Mix together cocoa nibs, oats, and crushed almonds. In the microwave, melt together melting wafer chocolate, honey, and nut butter. Combine and spread mixture onto a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Place another piece of waxed paper on top and either hand press or use a flat surface like a pot or small cutting board to press flat. refrigerate 1 hour or place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Slice or break up into pieces. Store in a cool place.
  • blueberrymuff98
    blueberrymuff98 Posts: 10 Member
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    Are the chocolate melting wafers those little round discs in candy section?
  • MsCzar
    MsCzar Posts: 1,042 Member
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    Yes, but that's just what I happened to have this time 'round. I have used chocolate bars, Hershey's Kisses, Nestle's Chocolate Morsels... pretty much anything chocolate that will melt. I'm sure there are even better low calorie options and chocolate-free versions with raisins and other fruit; this recipe was simply the last batch I made.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,172 Member
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    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    Do you use a food scale to weigh everything you eat/drink? If not, you’re probably eating more calories than you think you are. Start there.

    Four pounds in three weeks is great! You may just need to change your expectations!

    Calling @AnnPT77 for the over 55, can’t lose weight answer.

    Wait, what?

    I don't think the "can't lose weight" answer is different over 55. (I'm 65, OP, lost 50+ pounds back in 2015 at age 59-60, now hanging around here in year 5+ maintaining a healthy weight, after previous *decades* of obesity.)

    You're doing absolutely the right thing, adjusting expectations. The dumb reality TV shows (Biggest Loser is the classic example) and tabloid headlines or blogosphere clickbait ("Lose 20 pounds in 30 days on Doctor XYZ diet!!") spread the idea that crazy-fast weight loss is normal.

    It's not, and it's not healthy, either. It's not sustainable (alongside a normal life, especially) for the amount of time it takes to lose a meaningful amount of weight (weeks to months or even years). It doesn't help a person learn *anything* about how to maintain the loss. And more, but now I'm ranting.

    So, you've already taken on board the idea that a pound a week is pretty perfect, in real life. That's a good start! (Pound a week, 50 pounds in a year: Nice!)

    I suspect Quiksylver wants me to say this, so I will: Aging in itself is not the main thing that makes many of us have calorie needs that decrease as we get older. It's muscle mass loss (primarily from not challenging the muscles with exercise (or work!) so they stick around instead of atrophy), and reduced activity. The reduced activity is kind of about average changes in lifestyle. (For example, in college I had a cafeteria job, on my feet lifting and carrying for hours, and walked or rode my bike miles every day to get around campus. I was slim and strong. When I graduated, I got a desk job, started driving most places . . . and got fat and weaker.)

    The reduced strength and extra weight conspire to make movement less easy, and less fun, so we tend to do even less, creating a very negative spiral . . . . to reduced calorie needs by middle age if not sooner.

    The good news is, both those things are almost totally in our control. We can regain muscle (via exercise, especially strength exercise), we can move more (not just exercise but also daily life habits**), and we can regain the ability to move that makes moving more fun again. Virtuous cycle, yay! Feel better, look better, gradually have higher calorie needs? What's not to like about that?!?

    You're making a good start, with the weight loss. Add a little fun exercise, when you can, and progress accelerates. (As an aside: If you have time and inclination, while you're dealing with the foot healing, check out seated exercise videos on YouTube. They come in many intensity levels: Some of the ones for wheelchair athletes are *quite* intense. Those folks don't mess around!)

    ** For examples of moving more in daily life:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

    P.S. Fast weight loss would be a Really, Really Bad Idea while you're healing. Healing requires calories, and healing requires nutrition. Fuel your healing!

    Wishing you great success in reaching your goals: Keep going, you'll get there!
  • blueberrymuff98
    blueberrymuff98 Posts: 10 Member
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    Annpt77- thanks for the advice! I will check those videos out! That is exactly what I need- chair exercises here I come! I have some 3,5 pound hand weights too!

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