Week 2 Weigh In Scaled Didn't Budge

lisakatz2 · April 3

Well, I finished week two of healthy eating and fitness. The first week I dropped three pounds on the scale. This week it didn't budge. Should I freak out now, or later, lol.

Yes, I am tracking my calories precisely, weighing and measuring everything and recording every food that I consume. I'm on an 1800 calorie a day allowance with 40/30/30 macros (carbs, protein, fat). I currently weighed in this morning (before breakfast) at 200 pounds. I'm 61 years old, 5 foot four. Chronic dieter but now I'm determined to "eat for life."

lisakatz2 · April 3

Sorry, it should read "scale" not scaled , lol.

Lietchi · April 3

Patience, young padawan, patience. You ddin't gain the weight in two weeks, you won't lose it in two weeks.

Short term fluctuations and stalls are not a good basis to judge progress: weight fluctuates because of changes in water weight and food waste in your system. Stress, weather, sore muscles, salt intake, constipation, time of month,...: all of these things can cause fluctuations on the scale.
Focus on the long-term trend: at least one month (menstrual cycle if applicable) or two to judge your progress.

It's especially common to lose a bit more at the start (which will include fat as well as water weight) and then see a stall (re-calibration of water weight level as fat loss continues to happen).

lisakatz2 · April 3

Thank you for the reassurance! What you say makes a lot of sense.

I was just looking in the mirror and I'm convinced I look less bulge-y in the stomach. I think my jawline's coming back too. I measure on Fridays.

Lietchi · April 3

Take progress pictures and body measurements

Even if you have a hard time seeing the differences in your appearance week to week (our brain can play tricks on us, and gradual changes are harder to spot), you'll be glad to have the proof afterwards and often you can see the changes better afterwards.

tulips_and_tea · April 3

Don't freak out at all! Losing 3 lbs the first week and none the next is perfectly normal.

I agree with @Lietchi: body measurements and pictures are very helpful. The scale is just ONE tool and so it doesn't always tell the full story. Keep it up and be consistent and patient!

Retroguy2000 · April 3

Week one includes water weight loss. Keep going, and I recommend tracking your weight change not including week one.

I favor weekly weight checks because I don't stress about the fact a weekly snapshot isn't necessarily representative. For you, you may prefer daily checks and then use a 7-day rolling average to get a decent result. There are apps that do this for you. I've seen Libre or Libra mentioned, something like that. Or you can do it yourself in a spreadsheet. On any given day you can expect quite a bit of variance due to water weight and digestive progress from the day before, including your sodium and carb intake, etc.

mtaratoot · April 3

Go ahead and freak out right away. Go nuts. Get it out of your system.

Then dust yourself off and get back on the path. Trust the process. Take the long view. Keep sticking to it! That's the only way. It does work. Make small changes if over time (several weeks) your results don't match your expectations.

The best time to start is a few years ago, and the second best time is RIGHT NOW. Just stick to it!

BethHockaday · April 3

I had the same problem and then re-evaluated my plan. I was 214 lbs at the start of the year. I am 57 and 5’3” and recently lost my husband. I was side tracked a bit (understandably so) but when I switched plans, my calorie allotment dropped to 1360 calories per day. I dropped 10 lbs in 2 weeks with daily treadmill workouts and keeping an eye on my nutritional intake. My sodium intake was shockingly high so I made lower sodium choices (“No Salt” salt substitute is a God send!). I don’t expect to lose 5 lbs a week every week (initially you lose water weight), but I feel consistency will win the weight game for me. Don’t lose hope- keep an eye on the bigger picture 😊

Lietchi · April 3

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

Week one includes water weight loss. Keep going, and I recommend tracking your weight change not including week one.

I favor weekly weight checks because I don't stress about the fact a weekly snapshot isn't necessarily representative. For you, you may prefer daily checks and then use a 7-day rolling average to get a decent result. There are apps that do this for you. I've seen Libre or Libra mentioned, something like that. Or you can do it yourself in a spreadsheet. On any given day you can expect quite a bit of variance due to water weight and digestive progress from the day before, including your sodium and carb intake, etc.

Libra for Android or Happyscale for iOS are the most frequently mentioned apps 🙂

lisakatz2 · April 4

mtaratoot wrote: »

Go ahead and freak out right away. Go nuts. Get it out of your system.

Then dust yourself off and get back on the path. Trust the process. Take the long view. Keep sticking to it! That's the only way. It does work. Make small changes if over time (several weeks) your results don't match your expectations.

The best time to start is a few years ago, and the second best time is RIGHT NOW. Just stick to it!

mtaratoot, I love this! I have NOT given up and never will. I'm energetic, focused, and excited about my fitness/wellness journey. I was surprised at myself that I did not freak out, but things are a LOT different this time around. I'm in it for the long haul, I'm eating for life, not on yet another restrictive diet.

lisakatz2 · April 4

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

Week one includes water weight loss. Keep going, and I recommend tracking your weight change not including week one.

I favor weekly weight checks because I don't stress about the fact a weekly snapshot isn't necessarily representative. For you, you may prefer daily checks and then use a 7-day rolling average to get a decent result. There are apps that do this for you. I've seen Libre or Libra mentioned, something like that. Or you can do it yourself in a spreadsheet. On any given day you can expect quite a bit of variance due to water weight and digestive progress from the day before, including your sodium and carb intake, etc.

I'd rather not do daily checks, because the weight fluctuations will only mess with my head. I'm really more invested in losing body fat and inches than seeing the scale go down. For the time being, I'm going by the mirror and how my clothes fit.

lisakatz2 · April 4

When should I be concerned about the scale not moving? Another week?

Haven't done by measurements yet, will Saturday morning. My size 18 pounds are still a little tight *sigh*

Lietchi · April 4

Lietchi wrote: »

Patience, young padawan, patience. You ddin't gain the weight in two weeks, you won't lose it in two weeks.

Short term fluctuations and stalls are not a good basis to judge progress: weight fluctuates because of changes in water weight and food waste in your system. Stress, weather, sore muscles, salt intake, constipation, time of month,...: all of these things can cause fluctuations on the scale.
Focus on the long-term trend: at least one month (menstrual cycle if applicable) or two to judge your progress.

It's especially common to lose a bit more at the start (which will include fat as well as water weight) and then see a stall (re-calibration of water weight level as fat loss continues to happen).

Quoting myself for emphasis

ddsb1111 · April 4

Download Happy Scale or the Libra App. Enter every weigh-in there. After 4-6 weeks you should see a trend. Adjust calories slightly in whichever direction is needed or stay the course if you’re losing as expected.

Whatever you do, don’t over complicate things or make this an emotional roller coaster. As long as you weigh and log everything, stay consistent, watch the trend, and adapt where necessary, you will get there. Breathe, relax, and enjoy the many milestones that come on the way to reaching your goal weight.

For more years than I can count, weight loss was a constant battle. Now, using a system that takes the guesswork out of everything, I actually enjoy the process and know more about myself than ever. I hope you learn to enjoy the process too.

robertw486 · April 4

lisakatz2 wrote: »

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

Week one includes water weight loss. Keep going, and I recommend tracking your weight change not including week one.

I favor weekly weight checks because I don't stress about the fact a weekly snapshot isn't necessarily representative. For you, you may prefer daily checks and then use a 7-day rolling average to get a decent result. There are apps that do this for you. I've seen Libre or Libra mentioned, something like that. Or you can do it yourself in a spreadsheet. On any given day you can expect quite a bit of variance due to water weight and digestive progress from the day before, including your sodium and carb intake, etc.

I'd rather not do daily checks, because the weight fluctuations will only mess with my head. I'm really more invested in losing body fat and inches than seeing the scale go down. For the time being, I'm going by the mirror and how my clothes fit.

If daily checks might mess with your head, all the more reason to do it. And if you really want to screw with your head, weigh yourself 5 or 6 times over the course of a long day with activity involved!

And yes, I'm dead serious. Doing that, as well as following the suggestions given before mine, will show you that weight loss is rarely linear, predictable, or constant. Yet over time with good logging it will show the trend is almost exactly as predicted. Here is a thread that might give you some good information to ponder... https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10196160/scale-stress-syndrome/p1

Once you realize that weight loss isn't linear, relax and stick to the plan. The simplicities of energy balance work, they just don't always work in a perfectly predictable and immediate way. But all the little details such as when to weigh yourself..... just do you and consider what others say as noise that might not fit you. That applies to many of the minor details. If being too strict with diet encourages you to binge, have that donut instead of binging and make up the calories elsewhere. If you need a break now and then, take one. Imperfection can still reach goals.

I once logged in the neighborhood of 7000 calories one day, and IIRC more than my calorie goal was in alcoholic drinks. The next day I still went for a (slightly hungover) bike ride, even if shorter than the usual. And you know what? I lost weight that week.

And I want to add a strong second vote to @mtaratoot 's suggestion. Go ahead and freak out now. Freak out loudly, strongly, and with great angst and physical flailing. Blame society, junk food companies, mental health states in this world, politicians if desired, and all the "naturally fit" people you see in your line of sight at the time. But report back to us how it went, and take video to post here if possible.

Then get over it, and do your thing by your plan.

AnnPT77 · April 4

lisakatz2 wrote: »

When should I be concerned about the scale not moving? Another week?

Haven't done by measurements yet, will Saturday morning. My size 18 pounds are still a little tight *sigh*

I'm going to be frank.

Maybe I'm wrong, but IMO you have posted several threads that sound . . . anxious, stressed. We've said many times that you need to go for a longer time period on a given new regimen, like 4-6 weeks, to know whether and how well it's working.

Here's a thing, true if a bit oversimplified: Stress increases cortisol production. Cortisol adds water weight. Water weight increases stress (if a person lets it). Don't. It's a potential negative spiral.

You are doing fine. Give it more time. If you haven't lost at all in 6 weeks, adjust at that point. To lose a meaningful total amount of weight in a "for life" manner is going to take a while. It'll take forever, in one sense, because weight maintenance is "for life" when a person reaches goal weight. High anxiety and stress about the process isn't sustainable . . . in terms of long-term mental health, and possibly even physically.

Other people tell me that I shouldn't encourage others to stuff down their feelings. Maybe think of this acknowledging and experiencing those feelings, reasoning with yourself about them, without needing to act on them? For myself, I don't find "freaking out" or worrying helpful at any point, so I try not to go there.

What I like instead is gathering some reasonable data, analyzing it, and adjusting my plan to be more realistic/effective if needed. Another poster here described weight loss as a long sequence of problem-solving opportunities. I like that framing. To me, it's like a fun, productive science fair experiment for grown-ups. The emotional roller-coaster aspect of it is counterproductive, for me.

I started here at 59, 5'5", just slightly lower weight than you are now. I got to a good weight, and you can, too. Even if you were losing fast - which isn't a good plan, and isn't your plan from what you've said - it's going to take quite a few months, at minimum. Try to settle into a routine that you can readily sustain that long . . . eating, exercise, and mental engagement.

Sincere best wishes!

lisakatz2 · April 5

Sorry if the point didn't hit home for me up until now, but now it's clear to me. I'm not feeling stressed, maybe impatient like some new people here about their upcoming/ongoing journey. I have to give myself credit that I'm not weighing myself daily, which for me is not good. I have been scale obsessed in the past and it just led to a lot of self-loathing.

ddsb1111 · April 5

You seem to switch what you think we want to hear and what you believe. It’s very understandably so! You don’t want anyone to give up on you, and you don’t want to give up on yourself.

Left me be the first to say, you can be confused, anxious, ask questions, and admit your frustrations and fears, because it will help you feel better about your needs being met, and for us, we will have a clearer understanding where we need to develop your confidence. But let me be clear with you… No one can do the work but you.

Trust me when I say, most of us have experienced the same anxieties. Most of us hit a wall where the yo-yo dieting wasn’t going to save us from our ailments anymore. We had to decide- life or death, illness or health, quality of life or addiction to a lifestyle. We can all make excuses that could circle the earth a million times, but knowing our choice can be improved by another choice…. is worth a different approach, don’t you think? And that approach, whether it takes 3 months longer, heck even 12 months longer, doesn’t seem like that big of a deal at all, in the big scheme of things.

If there’s anything I can express it’s this:

I implore you to be forward with your anxiety. If you act as if you understand something when you don’t, then we can’t help.

Secondly, please don’t give up on yourself, or us. We won’t give up on you, and this I can promise you. We will be here now, 3 months from now, and even 3 years from now (MFP willing). We can’t do the work for you, but we can solve the riddles with you along the way. Only you can decide if you are going to change your life, or change your “diet right now”.

lisakatz2 · April 5

"You seem to switch what we want to hear"

This is not true. I should probably not have posted "should I freak out now or later, lol" I was joking, reflecting back on the days when I would freak out and feel absolutely terrible. Not that way this time around. I did break down just to prove it to myself and weighed myself again, the scale went UP 1.5 pounds but I didn't "freak" because I got the answers and reassurance here that I was seeking. I know I didn't gain weight (fat), I've been logging and measuring my intake consistently and have actually been still undereating my calorie goal every day (although not nearly as much as before).

I don't feel I am anxious. I used to suffer from generalized anxiety and panic attacks so I know what that feels like. If I felt frustrated, and you want to call it anxiety, call it that. Now I've "gained" 1.5 pounds and I haven't batted an eye. Just logging some feedback here this morning. I feel very motivated, focused, and energetic. Going back to weighing myself once a week and this time, I'm not going to deviate. I'm convinced now that if I continue with my current eating habits the scale will go down at some point. I was hoping for a pound a week but it's obvious to me now that progress is not going to be linear. It was, when I was more restrictive, but I could never sustain that way of eating.

ddsb1111 · April 5

Your posts are confusing to me, but maybe I’m just slow, which could be true 😊haha. Anyway, since you’re in a great place, I’ll just say good job and keep pushing.

Week 2 Weigh In Scaled Didn't Budge

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