Average monthly weight loss?? mine seems low

kir911
kir911 Posts: 228 Member
edited October 7 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been on MFP consistently since the end of September, faithfully and honestly logging my food, working out typically 5-6 days a week. I have lost 14 lbs since then, making my average loss about 3-4lbs a month. I have made modifications to my diet and calories a couple of times trying to get more of a loss and nothing seems to work. I have upped my calories, lowered my calories, ate all my exercise calories back, ate part of them back. Now I am trying to limit my starchy carbs and focus more on veggies and fruit as my carbohydrate source and upping my protein intake. I have lost a considerable amount of inches, approximately 20" inches in this time frame, but it is not showing on the scale. I know the whole adage of "muscle weighs more than fat" but does anyone else have suggestions? I do work nights, 7pm to 7am and have 3 kids, so sleep is probably an issue. Does it make sense that my sleep could be hampering my weight loss this much? Positive feedback or ideas appreciated!

Replies

  • netchik
    netchik Posts: 587 Member
    Sleep has a huge effect on weight loss. Definitely need it to let your body recover, metabolise etc. However, your weight loss averages are good. 1lb a week is spot on, and a consistent number that will more likely stay off.
  • BellydanceBliss
    BellydanceBliss Posts: 330
    hunny you dont want to lose weight any quicker than that otherwise you runt eh risk of gaining it back plus it isnt healthy to lose more than taht.
  • tiedye
    tiedye Posts: 331 Member
    That seems like sustainable weight loss. I think it's better to slowly adjust your lifestyle for the long term. It sounds like you're losing up to a lb per week, which is really great! Especially since you've lost inches. I applaud your loss! I work nights too and hear ya about that. It really screws with sleep habits and hormones.

    Maybe someone else will have more suggestions...Sorry I wasn't much help. But I do think you're doing the right things for the long term.
  • kir911
    kir911 Posts: 228 Member
    It seems like I see everyone losing weight at a much faster pace. I have a total of about 60 more lbs to lose, I am not exactly at the end of my weight loss...and I have not once had a High loss week. I guess I am just envious of the losses I see others having consistently weekly that are much higher.
  • HannahMarieMcDougald
    HannahMarieMcDougald Posts: 544
    I have lost 14.9 lbs since Sept 2011 :-)
  • Elle_Jamaicangirl81
    Elle_Jamaicangirl81 Posts: 418 Member
    Dont compare yourself with others... you'll only set yourself up for disappointment. We are all different, just keep up the good work with your decisions and exercise and you'll see your results.

    its not a race.
  • MrsTattie
    MrsTattie Posts: 79 Member
    Well done on your weight loss!! That is tremendous.
    I have been on diets before and get disheartened with the slow weight loss. But think of where you would be if you HADN'T lost that weight - and remember that loss was over Christmas as well. Also think of this Christmas coming up - how good are you going to look this year?!! Think of the pictures of this coming Christmas....
    Slow and steady - I agree with other posters - this will be easier to keep off. This is about the rate that I aim to loose this time around and I will be delighted if I have lost that amount in 3 months!
    Keep going!
  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 2,951 Member
    yes don't compare yourself with others, you are doing GREAT! keep doing what you are doing and in no time it will all be off! ( you could be like me and only of lost 4 lbs in a 3 month period) :D so think positive :)
  • LuciaLongIsland
    LuciaLongIsland Posts: 815 Member
    It seems like I see everyone losing weight at a much faster pace. I have a total of about 60 more lbs to lose, I am not exactly at the end of my weight loss...and I have not once had a High loss week. I guess I am just envious of the losses I see others having consistently weekly that are much higher.

    The same with me. I have consulted several doctors who all told me a pound a week is great. I wont gain it back. I had a frien who lost a lot of weight quickly and gained it all back.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    One pound a week is PERFECT! :drinker:

    As far as inspiration and motivation, I like photos better than the scale or measurements. Sometimes the scale moves slowly, or doesn't move at all, or moves in the other direction. The measuring tape is good, but a fraction of an inch change is hard to celebrate... I wonder if I'm measuring in the exact same place or just pulled the tape tighter. Or my waist and hips might not change, but the belly pooch between the two can change. And the mirror... change happens so gradually that I never notice any change in the mirror. Heck, I didn't even notice when I was gaining weight!

    But taking pictures with the self-timer, from the front, back and side, in undies or a bathing suit... it's a lot easier to be objective. It's like looking at someone else. You might not like them, but don't delete them. No one else need ever see them, but you'll appreciate your progress even more later if you hate your early pictures.

    Trying on clothes - either in stores or from the back of my closet - is another favorite way to gauge progress. Digging out those jeans you couldn't wear in ages and have them easily zip is wayyyy more satisfying than any drop on the scale.
  • nancy5012
    nancy5012 Posts: 40
    I average about a pound a week. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. The first week I started I lost 3 pounds - never saw another loss like that since.
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    The only weeks I ever have a "high loss" is the week after my period has ended... although I usually maintain at TTOTM and the week beforehand, so guess it makes up for it.
  • learningtolove
    learningtolove Posts: 288 Member
    3-4 sounds perfectly on track to me. Rome wasn't built in a day.
  • AmandaCaswell1982
    AmandaCaswell1982 Posts: 170 Member
    Each pound is a hard won battle-- be PROUD of your losses. It's more enjoyable and sustainable to lose slowly. Hang in there girl. Perseverence is key to weight loss. The way you eat should be for life, and it will take time and effort, but it will be worth it. Remember a pound loss is 3500 calories- that's alot! ;) YOU CAN DO IT!
  • Shausil82
    Shausil82 Posts: 218 Member
    Slow and steady wins the race. You're doing a great job. Along with diet and exercise, make sure you get enough rest and drink lots of water.
    Don't get discouraged, you're doing just fine! :-)
  • vjrose
    vjrose Posts: 809 Member
    You are doing peachy, that is a desirable speed for permanent weight loss. Some of us real fatties lose faster at the beginning due to water, recent weight gain, our bodies really wanting to get rid of it, but in the end we will also slow down if we want it to be forever loss. We dont' get fat in a hurry, it sneaks up like an incoming wave. So we must be patient and watch it slowly recede.
  • megaron01
    megaron01 Posts: 37 Member
    You're on your way to losing that weight............there's no rush cuz you'll get there............just be patient =)
  • sassylilmama
    sassylilmama Posts: 1,493 Member
    You are going at a great pace. A lot of the people losing faster are bigger and do tend to lose faster. But the farther into weight loss you get the slower it comes off. When I started I lost about 12 pounds in a month, now it is 1.5-3.

    And this is kind of a ramble, still getting in my first coffee for the day lol
  • Superchas
    Superchas Posts: 129 Member
    As a serial yo yo dieter the uncomfortable truth is that your willpower only lasts for so long so my earnest advice is that when you are in the mood to lose weight you should do so as vigorously as possible. if you are as overweight as I am you can not lose the weight fast enough so as long as you are eating a minimum number of calories to sustain life, in my case 1200 a day, you are fine. As you lose the weight the ability to exercise goes up far faster and this is how you maintain the weight loss.

    I have lost 71 lbs in ten weeks but that is only 19% of my original weight of 372 lbs so at 301 lbs have almost got to a weight that can be mentioned in polite society. Given that my target is to get to 200 lbs my biggest obstacle is people asking me whether I am eating enough because they remember the old me. There is no way that I could do this at a loss of 2lbs per week, I have tried that every year for the last decade so get the weight off as fast as you can and then worry about what you eat each day.

    Myfitnesspal will tell you how imbalanced your diet is but the secret for me is to have 1000 net calories per day instead of the 3000 that my body weight says I can have.

    Good luck with it

    xx
  • CarolynB38
    CarolynB38 Posts: 553 Member
    As others have said, 3-4lb a month is great. It's sustainable too. You're doing a great job. Keep it up!
  • AmandaCaswell1982
    AmandaCaswell1982 Posts: 170 Member

    And this is kind of a ramble, still getting in my first coffee for the day lol

    YUM ;)
  • kir911
    kir911 Posts: 228 Member
    Thanks everyone...I guess a few words of encouragement every once in a while does make you realize you are on the right track. I am just about to hit onderland and I am really itching for it! only 1.6 pounds to go!
  • kir911
    kir911 Posts: 228 Member
    what is your calorie goal? if our working out that much you may not want to be eating the minimum... maybe bump up to 1400 a day or so... also try not to eat back your exersize cals. and dont worry so much about eating carbs not eating carbs... a calorie is a calorie. make sure you get enough protien (aobut 1g per 1lb of lean body mass) and keep your sodium low. keep at it. if you have overall average weight loss and your inches are going down dont worry about the scale. you are probably putting on muscle!!

    My calorie goal before exercise is 1390...and I have been losing significant inches...so I guess I should stop worrying!
  • fnm101
    fnm101 Posts: 116 Member
    I hear your frustration, but (like many others have said) YOU ARE DOING GREAT! I am in the same boat. This summer, I lost about 14 lbs in 3 months. About half of that was lost in the first month with insane amounts of exercise. What happened at the end of the day? Half of the 14lbs came back quickly once I cut the extreme exercise down. So the game of patience begins...It is much more sustainable to eat and exercise at a decent volume and lose weight slowly over time, rather than doing things that you won't be able to keep up with. It can be challenging, but you (and I, and everyone else!) can do it.

    Congrats on your progress thus far, and keep up the good work!
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