When should I be worried?

I just started my weight loss journey. It's barely been 2 weeks. The first week i was down 3+ pounds, which I'm sure is mostly water weight.
But after that, for past 5 days i have lost nothing. Should I continue doing what I'm doing or reassess? I'm eating 1500 calories a day. 35 F, 165cm, 97.6kg. (just for reference).
When should I be worried that I'm not losing?
Also, don't tell me to not check my weight daily. I know the cons but I choose to do it.

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,881 Member
    edited July 2023
    Just be patient 🙂 It's very common after losing quick water weight at the start that your body 'recalibrates' its water weight level, causing a temporary stall on the scale (masking fat loss, which is still happening 'behind the scenes').
    It's best to compare between similar relative points in your menstrual cycle to assess whether you're still making progress, 5 days is way too short a period to evaluate fat loss.
  • happensthistime
    happensthistime Posts: 18 Member
    Thank you very much 😊🙏.
    This eases my mind.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,600 Member
    You should never be worried about it. It's a science fair experiment. Plan, analyze, assess, adjust.

    Follow the same regimen for 4-6 weeks, then evaluate based on average weekly results over the whole time period. If you're female and of relevant age, compare body weight at the same point in at least 2 different monthly cycles to calculate average weekly loss rate.

    From checking a TDEE calculator, I expect you to lose around half a kilo per week on an accurate 1500 calories (faster if male). . . but that won't happen evenly, it'll happen with many ups and downs (bumps on a gradual downhill slope). That's normal weight loss.

    I'm female, your height, started losing at about 83kg and 59 y/o. I lost fine eating 1400-1600 plus all exercise calories. I admit I'm a mysteriously good li'l ol' calorie burner, and one person's loss rate sheds zero light on what someone else should expect, but I was almost twice your age, soooo. . . .

    Hang in there. Odds are you're fine.

    BTW, it's fine to weigh daily if it doesn't cause you emotional upheaval/distress. I've weighed myself daily for many years, starting well before even seriously trying to lose weight. It's just data, a momentary snapshot of my body's relationship with gravity. It's not a numeric score for my worth as a human being.

    Best wishes!

  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,247 Member
    edited July 2023
    Never a need to worry you just need to be patient. Fatloss can be a “throw and adjust” process. Generally if no loss in around a month or maybe a little longer then it’s time to re acess what you’re doing. No loss in that timeframe means no caloric deficit so now comes the “adjust” part of the process.

    Diet is the main driver of loss so look at that and see where you can cut back and if you can make some different food choices. Adding activity would also be an option or a combo of both would be optimum.
  • happensthistime
    happensthistime Posts: 18 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    You should never be worried about it. It's a science fair experiment. Plan, analyze, assess, adjust.

    Follow the same regimen for 4-6 weeks, then evaluate based on average weekly results over the whole time period. If you're female and of relevant age, compare body weight at the same point in at least 2 different monthly cycles to calculate average weekly loss rate.

    From checking a TDEE calculator, I expect you to lose around half a kilo per week on an accurate 1500 calories (faster if male). . . but that won't happen evenly, it'll happen with many ups and downs (bumps on a gradual downhill slope). That's normal weight loss.

    I'm female, your height, started losing at about 83kg and 59 y/o. I lost fine eating 1400-1600 plus all exercise calories. I admit I'm a mysteriously good li'l ol' calorie burner, and one person's loss rate sheds zero light on what someone else should expect, but I was almost twice your age, soooo. . . .

    Hang in there. Odds are you're fine.

    BTW, it's fine to weigh daily if it doesn't cause you emotional upheaval/distress. I've weighed myself daily for many years, starting well before even seriously trying to lose weight. It's just data, a momentary snapshot of my body's relationship with gravity. It's not a numeric score for my worth as a human being.

    Best wishes!

    Thank you. This helps. A lot.
  • happensthistime
    happensthistime Posts: 18 Member
    Never a need to worry you just need to be patient. Fatloss can be a “throw and adjust” process. Generally if no loss in around a month or maybe a little longer then it’s time to re acess what you’re doing. No loss in that timeframe means no caloric deficit so now comes the “adjust” part of the process.

    Diet is the main driver of loss so look at that and see where you can cut back and if you can make some different food choices. Adding activity would also be an option or a combo of both would be optimum.

    Thank you. I'll wait and watch for now! 😊
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,261 Member
    Give it a month and if you still haven't lost weight then I would suggest to eat a little less.
  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
    You might want to consider a weight trending app (Happy Scale for iPhone, Libra for Android). I have weighed myself daily for years, I pay zero attention to the changes from day to day, but rather the trend. It will show you where you are losing/gaining/maintaining over a span of time.
  • happensthistime
    happensthistime Posts: 18 Member
    Give it a month and if you still haven't lost weight then I would suggest to eat a little less.

    Yes. Thank you. For now, i wait and watch.
  • happensthistime
    happensthistime Posts: 18 Member
    karahm78 wrote: »
    You might want to consider a weight trending app (Happy Scale for iPhone, Libra for Android). I have weighed myself daily for years, I pay zero attention to the changes from day to day, but rather the trend. It will show you where you are losing/gaining/maintaining over a span of time.

    Great idea.. I'll get one.
  • happensthistime
    happensthistime Posts: 18 Member
    Update: this morning, i shifted some weight..
    Anyways, all your advice is valuable. And thank you. I'll keep it in mind in future..
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,985 Member
    Welcome to the interesting world of waterweight and other weight fluctuations :D It's not only waterweight that can hide fat loss. If you start to eat different it's possible you poop less frequently, and your intestinal fill of course also has weight that might hide fat loss. Give it time. If you're weighing your food truthfully and stick to it then the fat will go.
  • ReReNotMe
    ReReNotMe Posts: 63 Member
    Honestly I would worry less about weight at the beginning and more about sustainability and things like fitness and healthy eating. Two weeks in and your body is starting to get used to the changes you're making so it may take a while to see long term results.

    If you want the maths it takes 7700 calories to lose 1kg so if you want to lose 0.5kg a week (steady and sustainable for your size) you need a net calories of -550/day. I'm 19, started at about 110kg with a BMR of about 1900cal/day so eating 1800 cal/day and burning about 6-700 cal through a mix of weightlifting and cardio like cycling, running and dance. Not overloading myself has made weightloss fun and sustainable as it's doable through small changes. If anything I'm able to push myself in my workouts with more energy and burn more and lose more weight.

    Honestly my weight loss has slowed a bit through stress at work limiting my time at the gym and the water weight coming off but with what I'm doing being sustainable I'm feeling better, reaching fitness goals like being able to run for over 20 minutes comfortably at the end of a workout, being able to lift a new pb in weightlifting or being able to be more confident in my fitness and stamina. That imo is a lot better than losing 2kg a week and feeling terrible through overly restrictive eating and over exercising. Pace yourself and set goals that aren't just focused on weight and you'll see progress.

    Hope that helps. Good luck :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    karahm78 wrote: »
    You might want to consider a weight trending app (Happy Scale for iPhone, Libra for Android). I have weighed myself daily for years, I pay zero attention to the changes from day to day, but rather the trend. It will show you where you are losing/gaining/maintaining over a span of time.

    Yes, I weigh daily. That's how I learned I retained water when I ovulated, as well as premenstrually. It also helps me get used to the fluctuations. Weighing daily helps trending apps get a sense of the trend faster. I use Happy Scale and pay attention to the trend, not the daily numbers.