Any dietitians here that would answer a couple questions?

If you started exercise recently you could have some water retention going on from that, which would mask fat loss on the scale.

Are you weighing all food in grams and carefully selecting entries from the database, or are you taking a more casual attitude towards calorie counting? There's nothing inherently wrong with a more casual method (especially when you have more weight to lose). However, a less exact calorie counting method usually underestimates calorie intake, which could, possibly, explain why your weight loss is less than you would expect.

Congrats on the 12 pound loss!

First, I don't know about getting an actual dietitian to respond. I would imagine like many other medical related issues, it would be inappropriate for one to give you a professional analysis over the internet.

What was MFP telling you that you'd lose per week if you ate 2700? The max setting it allows is 2 / week, and if you're losing 1 pound more than that per week (based on 12 pounds in ~4 weeks), you're on average 500 calories per day below that rate (500 calories a day would add 1 pound to the loss). So your weight loss would generally be consistent with eating no more than 2200 calories per day on average.
How much below 2000 do you think you're consuming when you say below 2000?

It seems 200 calories a day is easy enough to be a factor between accuracy, water weight, and changes in activity. Generally, as people lose weight, their is tendency to become more sendentary and reduce their non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT).

Ultimately, you will have to accept progress slower than even now if you are determined to reach a healthy weight. Losing just 1 pound per week can be hard when you are near a health weight or lean.

stuarttwiddy wrote: »

yirara wrote: »

You did notice that the lowest rate of loss you can chose on MFP is 2lbs per week, right? This is mostly considered the maximum healthy rate of loss. Lose too fast and you also lose a lot of muscles. Ok, you have a lot to lose, and you could potentially lose a bit faster, but overall it's probably good you didn't lose more than 12lbs in the end. And it will eventually slow down more as a smaller body needs less energy. Congratulations on your loss though!

Yes...I know everyone says 2lbs a week but I just need to dropa alot of weight quickly or i will lose interest and go back to the old ways. That's why i wanted to drop a bunch at first to get motivated...not kill myself over 2 or 3 lbs a week. Thanks for your reply tho.

How about simply not 'killing yourself' to lose weight? The easier you make it on yourself, the less motivation you need and the more likely you'll stick with whatever you're doing long-term.

I never 'killed myself' to lose weight. I just lowered my calories to a level I could easily sustain and still be in a calorie deficit, while still eating all of my favorite foods, and gradually increased my activity level (natural evolution when I realised being more active meant more food) by doing exercise I enjoyed.

2.5 years down the road and honestly, it's been ridiculously easy and nearly painless, never once did I think about giving up.

So you want to have a "casual attitude " towards calorie counting and not take it too seriously or accurately, yet at the same time you expect a large, quick weight drop?

Honestly, I think your progress so far is good and it's just your expectations that need adjusting. 3lbs a week IS fast, especially for someone being casual about monitoring intake, so I would suggest just keep going.